Park at the Gorman
Lake trailhead, 892877 and follow a well-defined trail to Gorman Lake,
described in Golden
Hikes.
Hike around the lake, the south shore is quickest and continue into the
draw. Head in a south-west direction, veering left to gain
the Gorman-Holt Col,
862873.
Drop down and hike
towards Dawn Mountain's north ridge. Rockbands guard the ridge, we
ascended climber's right of some bluffs; a cornice may need to be
negotiated. Once on the ridge, it is a pleasant walk to the broad
summit. Descend the west ridge into the headwaters of Canyon Creek,
travel in the meadows below or execute a traverse on a natural bench to
the outflows of Dogtooth-Moonraker's eastern basin. Make your way up to
the basin and continue ascending steep terrain to the col. An easy hike on
blocky terrain leads to the top.
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At the trailhead, leaving the truck for the porcupine! |
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The trail goes through a boulder field, Zombie Peak in the background. |
Scramble:
RT 18.25 (includes Moonraker Peak); 9.5 up. With a well established
high pressure system over the area and temperatures in the mid 30's, we
focused on staying cool and hydrated throughout the week. We were
making plans to tackle a long trip with some friends on monday but as
the week progressed, monday's forecast deteriorated. A
fellow scrambler from Calgary was visiting Golden for the weekend to
play golf with friends, Sonny was interested in going out on sunday
before returning to Calgary. Since we were considering postponing the
monday trip due to foul weather, we started thinking about plan B.
Moonraker Peak came to mind, this 25+ kilometer trip would grant the
opportunity to summit two peaks while taking advantage of long days. I
suggested it to Sonny and he agreed to come
along for the marathon. After a late night with him and his friends, we
managed a good 4 hours of sleep before meeting on Golf Course Drive at
5:30 AM. Sonny hopped in the truck with us and we drove to the Gorman
Lake trailhead. It was already warm; sunburned from work, I decided to
cover up with a light white cotton hoodie for the day. We casually made
our way up to
Gorman Lake and Gorman-Holt Col, benefiting from Eos Peak's shadow.
Once in the sun, the heat felt intense; lucky for us, a light breeze
kept us from overheating. We hiked at a slow pace and stopped often to
drink water. We awkwardly gained Dawn Mountain's north ridge at the
edge of a lingering cornice and
followed it to within meters of the top. Fabrice decided to accompany
Sonny to Dawn's summit cairn. Then, we went down the west ridge
into the headwaters of Canyon Creek. This reminded me of Molar Mountain
which also
requires dropping into an adjacent valley... some objectives have a
bigger
price of admission! I enjoyed the meadows and gentle hiking
before ascending again. We climbed steep grassy terrain next to a
drainage and filled our bottles while crossing the creek. We were
getting close now, we continued
towards the basin on sun-cupped snow. The slopes to the col are steep
and the presence of substantial sections of
cornice didn't evoke confidence. A good chunk of cornice
already had failed, we climbed straight line towards the gap. On the
steeper
upper section, we steered away from the shallow snow and scrambled on
rock to the col. With a good lead, I took off my crampons and started
heading to Dogtooth Peak; Fab decided to wait at the col. The hike on
blocky terrain is easy, I reached the top in 20 minutes. The views are
great but I didn't linger, I didn't want Fab and Sonny to wait. While
descending, I looked at Moonraker, it's short but steep. I hoped we
would reach the top safely.
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| Gorman Lake and Bokor Peak. |
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| Following the trail along the lake's south shore. |
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| Back of the draw, no more trail. |
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| Heading to the Gorman-Holt Col. |
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| Looking back at Gorman Lake. |
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| Benefiting from Eos Peak's shadow. |
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| We love pink summer snow that smells like watermelon. |
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| Dawn Mountain from the col. |
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| Climbing to the north ridge. |
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| Holt's upper draw below. |
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| Walking to the far end of the cornice. |
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| Awkward position on steep loose terrain. |
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| Pleasant plod on Dawn Mountain's north ridge. |
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| Sonny Bou on Dawn Mountain for summit number one today. |
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| Dogtooth (center) and Moonraker Peaks still a ways away... |
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| Dropping into Canyon Creek's headwaters. |
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| Ascending a steep grassy slope before crossing the creek near the snowline and filling our bottles. |
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| Travelling on sun-cupped snow towards the basin. |
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| Finally, we're getting close. |
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| Putting crampons on. |
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| Not thrilled about the lingering sections of cornice. |
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| Looking back. |
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| Straight up the firm snow. |
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| Scrambling on rock higher up. |
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| Setting my sight on Dogtooth Peak. |
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| An easy hike on blocky terrain leads to the top. |
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| Dogtooth Peak is the highest in the Dogtooth Range, by 2 meters!
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| View south. |
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| To the west, Mount Sir Donald steals the show. |
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| Canyon Creek and Kicking Horse Mountain Resort slightly right of center. |
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Heading back down with Moonraker in front of me. |
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Continue
on to Moonraker Peak |
| Back to home page |
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