Patterson's Peak GR:646941

elevation: 2,728 m.  height gain: 450 m. (from Serendipity, includes height loss)
area: Kananaskis,AB
map 82 J/7
2016-Oct-30


Ref: Soistheman's Digital Diary
patterson's peak


Patterson's Peak awaits.
Scramble: RT 14.0 (includes Serendipity Peak); 1.75 up. After reaching the summit of Serendipity, Pawel and I separated from Charles and continued to Patterson's. It had taken a long time to attain the first peak, it made sense to take advantage of this and carry on; I still had energy and I didn't want to have to return to Serendipity... We dipped down to a shallow saddle and traversed in the shade on scree, talus and snow towards Patterson's connecting ridge. Travel was tedious at times, I was thrilled to step on the ridge in the sun. The ridge is straightforward but required careful hiking through boulders and snow. It took us a little less than 2 hours to reach the summit of Patterson's, it was now 3 PM. We had a 20-minute break to replenish and take pics; we couldn't linger, we wanted to reach the trees before dark. We backtracked to Serendipity where we had another quick break before resuming our descent to treeline. The following section wasn't too bad, I managed to make it to the trees without slipping. By now, the sun was setting; we stopped to take pictures and enjoy the last sunrays on the mountainsides. The rest of the hike was executed in the dark. It became increasingly difficult to follow our footprints in the snow, that's when Pawel started using his GPS unit to navigate; at some point, he just kept it in his hand for frequent revisions. This was way more efficient than pulling out an older style GPS, taking a reading and checking the position on the map! After a couple of hours plodding in the dark, we reached the very steep grassy slope that leads to the highway. The descent was slow for me as I suspected it would be, I didn't want to re-injure my knee. Pawel patiently waited while I took my time planting each step in the ground. I was thrilled when the grade tapered and even more so when I saw the bleeping dashboard light of my truck! I sure was happy with this trip, it was a long haul for this time of the year. I think Pawel was also very pleased with this accomplishment. This was yet another fabulous day in the mountains!








looking back

Looking back at the traverse from Serendipity Peak.

connecting ridge

On the connecting ridge.

rock arch

Standing on a rock arch.

on a highpoint

The objective from the highpoint on the ridge.

along the ridge

Picking our way along the ridge.

getting close

Getting close.

glancing back

Glancing back at the connecting ridge as we near the top.

at the summit cairn

Pawel sitting by the summit cairn.

mount head

Mount Head to the south.

northern view


Northern view, Dogtooth and Pyriform Mountains blend as one!


serendipity and pyriform s5


A look at Serendipity (left of center) and Pyriform S5 on the right.


view east


Flatland meeting the mountains to the east.


happy and satisfied


Moi, happy and satisfied!!


heading back


Heading back.


backtracking


Backtracking.


traversing to serendipity


Traversing to Serendipity Peak.


talus, scree and snow


Ascending talus, scree and snow.


last glimpse


Last glimpse.


serendipity take 2


Serendipity take II...


descending


Descending Serendipity before the sunset.


circumventing a gendarme


Circumventing this gendarme.


lower down


Lower down, some of the snow has melted.


last sunrays


Last sunrays on Serendipity Peak.


taking pictures


Enjoying this moment and taking pictures.


beautiful sunset


Beautiful sunset.


fabulous day


Fabulous day!!
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