Ptarmigan Peak

Elevation: 3059 m
Elevation Gain: 1420 m
Part of the Slate Range, Ptarmigan Peak towers above its namesake Lake (and several others). The Peak was named in 1909 by first ascender J. W. A. Hickson and his guide Edward Feuz Jr. for the “unusually large number of fearless fool hens” in the area. Ptarmigans are members of the grouse family that are well-adapted to cold climates and abundant in the Canadian Rockies.
My Ascents:
September 11 2021
Trailhead: Fish Creek (Skoki Lodge) Trailhead
GPS Track: Ptarmigan Peak

Skoki and Lake Louise offer spectacular alpine scenery that is, in my opinion, unrivalled (but this isn’t the only reason they’re so special for Brianne and I). In 2012, Brianne and I made our first backcountry trip to Skoki and returned engaged (after a ring-less but summit-full proposal). A year later, we wed on the sunny slopes of Whitehorn 👰🤵 (between Skoki and Lake Louise). In the years since, we’ve returned (almost every year) for our anniversary and commemorated the occasion where we prefer: On Top. Hence, our alpine anniversaries have proceeded for better (under sunny skies), for worse (in whiteout blizzards), for richer (at the nearby Deer Lodge), for poorer (in our camper 😂), in sickness (2019) and health (most years fortunately 🙏). Always loving ❤️, always cherishing and (most importantly), always scrambling!

With September 14, 2021, approaching, it became apparent that our 8th wedding anniversary was not the only milestone at-hand. When last we summitted, Brianne notched her 99th different peak meaning that a successful anniversary ascent would be her 100th 💯. Hoping to find a fun and beautiful mountain for our dual occasions, we turned our attention towards Ptarmigan Peak. While a mountain named after “fool hens” may not sound impressive, Ptarmigan is, perhaps, the most scenically situated peak in Skoki. Its approach/deproach also allows for a bike-and-hike which, thanks to Brianne’s new “wheels” 🚴‍♀️, promised to be much more fun than previous plods up and down the Temple fire road!

LEFT: Arriving at the trailhead as heavy overnight rain abated, Brianne seemed confused as to how she was supposed to get her bike up the fire road. Go easy on her though; this was her first bike-and-hike (and her anniversary 😂).
RIGHT: Hmmm… This approach to getting her bike up the steep road wasn’t exactly what I had in mind… 🤦‍♂️

LEFT: After taking turns pushing her bike up the approach road (and even riding it a bit 🙃), we reached the bike-drop-point near the Lake Louise ski hill’s Temple Lodge. After locking our bikes in the woods (very close to someone’s makeshift bathroom 💩😒), we stopped to enjoy the fall colors and to refuel with health cookies from nearby Laggan’s Bakery.
RIGHT: Mount Victoria makes a welcome appearance between cloud layers. Only 2 days earlier, the forecast for our ascent had called for an extremely rainy 🌧️ day with no views so we were thrilled when dryer (but still unsettled) conditions prevailed.

Autumn’s familiar amber and red hues colored the ski hill’s slopes. As we admired nature’s seasonal show, we noticed a couple of “dots” moving atop the ski hill. Stretching the limits of my camera’s “zoom”, we spotted, what looked like, a pair of far-away grizzly bears (mouse over to see). “Yo Bear!” 🐻

Continuing on-foot above the ski hill, we followed the well-trodden Skoki approach trail, enjoying the fresh mountain air and each other’s company as the dull forest eventually gave way to spectacular alpine meadows and our first views of Ptarmigan Peak (center right).

LEFT: Hidden Creek cuts through the amber-tinged meadows at the foot of Mount Richardson. Leaving the main trail behind, we followed the path that runs alongside this creek to (porcupine-ridden) Hidden Lake backcountry campground.
RIGHT: After passing through the campground (with nary a sight of Pierre or his mischievous twin Pedro), we left the trail behind at a small clearing and started directly up towards Ptarmigan Peak. While I’d promised Brianne “no bushwhacking” for our anniversary, I hadn’t said anything about “larch-whacking!” 🙃

As we followed the path of least resistance up through the (thinner-than-it-looked) larch forest, Ptarmigan towered intimidatingly above.

Eventually, the larch forest gave way to alpine meadows, which then yielded to scree and rubble. Sticking to the vegetation for as long as possible, we made our way up, aiming for the obvious break/gully at center left.

Brianne follows a beaten path (and a couple of other scramblers) up the loose terrain. Having not completed a Kane route in a while, I’d forgotten how nice it can be to have a trail to follow!

As we passed a pair of scramblers, one paused, squinted and asked if I was “the” Matt Hobbs? I happily confirmed that I was and Glen (pictured here) and his partner introduced themselves. It seems that I still have some following amongst scramblers despite my primarily kid-friendly content these days! After chatting with the friendly pair and stopping for some photos, Brianne and I resumed our ascent with Glen and partner “following in our steps.”

LEFT: After rounding a corner atop the gully, a steep rubble slope stood between us and the summit ridge. Mercifully, we were able to pick and choose our way up more stable/solid rock in many places, mitigating the risk of cataclysmic treadmilling.
RIGHT: A patch of wonderfully blue sky reflects in glassy-smooth Hidden Lake as Brianne attacks an optional bit of hands-on scrambling.

Familiar Skoki peaks reared up beyond Deception Pass and greeted us upon reaching the summit ridge below the false summit.

From the false summit, the landscape below took on a new level of magnificence 😍 with Zigadenus Lake (below) and Myositis Lake (above) glowing in the midst of sun-splashed larch meadows. While the sun lit up the Lakes, Ptarmigan Peak’s sheer north face cast an omnipresent shadow over the glacier which feeds them. In addition to this gob-smacking scene, the false summit also offered a good view of the, somewhat, airy ridge and down-climb that separate it from the true summit (right).

LEFT and RIGHT: A closer look at the vibrant lakes and larches below Ptarmigan’s crevassed glacier.

LEFT: While I dilly dallied about with my camera on the false summit, Brianne charged forth along the airy ridge towards her 100th summit. Amusingly, she’d forgotten that this was a milestone summit for her so I suspect that her summit ambitions had more to do with the cheese bunwhiches we’d packed for lunch than any summit tally.
RIGHT: Thanks to a conveniently placed crack, the down-climb featured little in the way of exposure (although its tight confines do create the potential for Winnie the Pooh type issues).

After following me for most of the ascent, Brianne was puzzled when I paused just below the summit so that she could be the first to tag her 100th. Wanting to get on with it and eat her lunch, she didn’t really question it though and powered ahead while I documented.

LEFT and RIGHT: That smile when your husband reminds you that this is your 100th different summit (and you now get to celebrate with a cheese bun)! 💯

An unreal summit panorama 100 peaks-in-the-making! The lake-filled alpine scene also proved to be a perfect anniversary gift 🎁! Click to see larger.

Sometimes there are simply no words… 🤩

A closer look at Ptarmigan’s broken glacier and the silty, cerulean lake below it.

Larch-filled meadows proliferate between Deception Pass (just out of sight on the right) and the unseen Skoki Lodge (which is somewhere among the trees at center left). Beyond, diminutive Skoki Mountain gives way to larger Pipestone Mountain which gives way to larger-still Drummond Mountain at the headwaters of the Red Deer River Valley.

Spectacular alpine views east over well-travelled Deception Pass.

Fossil Mountain (where Brianne and I’s marital journey began) rises up above Deception Pass and Baker Lake (where we celebrated with beer and dehydrated ice cream!). Beyond, Mounts Douglas (left), St. Bride (center) and Lychnis (right) highlight the horizon.

LEFT and RIGHT: A closer look at a pair of iconic Skoki peaks – Mount Douglas and Mount St. Bride.

Still more amazing alpine lakes to the southeast. From left to right: Baker Lake, Ptarmigan Lake and Redoubt Lake. Click to see larger.

Tiny (from up here anyways) Brachiopod Mountain, Heather Ridge and Anthozoan Mountain occupy the alpine middle ground between Baker Lake and Ptarmigan Lake while larger peaks abound beyond.

A closer look at 15-km-distant Bonnet Peak and its icefield amidst a sea of jagged, mostly unnamed, mountains.

Happy anniversary Love! Not many wives get 22 km and 1400 vertical meters of awesome for their special day... 🎁🤣

Lake Louise (distant center right) doesn’t often take a backseat in terms of beauty but such was the case with Ptarmigan’s southern panorama which featured the aforementioned Baker, Ptarmigan and Redoubt Lakes in addition to beautiful Hidden Lake. As though the lakes weren’t enough to overwhelm one’s senses, larch filled meadows and the glaciated peaks of the continental divide also contributed to the visual overload 😵. Click to see larger.

To the southeast, Redoubt Mountain and its namesake Lake sit above, yet another, larch-filled plateau. More distant still, a host of peaks rise up (including from left to right): Mount Avens, glaciated Pulsatilla Mountain, distant Protection Mountain, Bullwark Peak and Armor Peak. Even Stanley Peak can be seen on the distant right in Kootenay National Park.

Looking southwest back down our long, larch-filled approach valley towards the massive peaks of the continental divide.

A tiny Moraine Lake makes a cameo appearance below the Valley of the Ten Peaks. Visible peaks include (from left to right): Mount Bident, Panorama Ridge, Mount Quadra, Mount Fay, Mount Babel, Mount Little, Mount Bowlen, Tonsa Peak, Mount Perren, Mount Allen, Mount Tuzo, Mount Temple, Little Temple, Eiffel Peak, Neptuak Mountain and Sentry Peak.

A closer look at massive Mount Temple: the third highest peak in the southern Canadian Rockies.

Looking west over Hidden Lake and its stunning alpenlands towards the Lake Louise group and Kicking Horse Pass (right).

A closer look at colorful Hidden Lake’s larch-laden surroundings.

Moody views towards the west included “the Jewel of the Rockies” (Lake Louise) at the foot of glaciated giants Mount Aberdeen, Mount Lefroy and Mount Victoria.

Panoramic views to the northwest along the spine of the continent. Click to see larger.

A colorful, sun-splashed scene to the west over Hidden Lake.

Nearby Mount Richardson (center left) and Pika Peak (right) are, essentially part of the same massif as Ptarmigan Peak. Surprisingly the peak between Ptarmigan and Pika is unnamed despite the fact that it’s nearly as prominent as the massif’s 3 named summits.

LEFT: A small glacier clings to life on Mount Richardson’s north face. Richardson is the highest point on the massif (a whopping 27 m higher than Ptarmigan Peak).
RIGHT: Mount Hector (aka: Snoopy) makes an appearance beyond the massif’s sheer north-facing ramparts and a few unnamed (but impressive) outliers.

LEFT: To the north, part of Ptarmigan’s glacier and a tarn left in its wake occupy the high bench between us and the nearby Wall of Jericho.
RIGHT: While Brianne’s 100th summit was spectacular, it was also chilly 🥶 thanks to the brisk fall air. With cheese buns consumed and photos taken in most every direction, we therefore decided to begin our retreat to the warmer meadows below.

Brianne starts down the scenic (but airy) connecting ridge. Surprisingly, we both found the crux crack more tricky to climb up on our return (but at least no one got stuck 🤣)!

LEFT: After regaining the false summit, we located the loosest scree that we could find and made quick work of our descent (taking half the mountain with us as we plunge-stepped down towards Hidden Lake).
RIGHT: Meandering down through open alpine terrain amidst, still-spectacular, scenery.

Brianne stops for a breather and a final view towards bright-blue Hidden Lake. We contemplated visiting the lake on descent but, by this point, were craving our post-hike/anniversary treats below and elected, instead, to larch-whack directly back down to our approach valley (out of sight to the left).

As always, Mount Temple highlights the view down the colorful, larch-filled Corral Creek Valley towards the distant trailhead below.

LEFT and RIGHT: “Goat” 🐐 meet “goat” (actually a sheep 🐑 – there’s a whole song about this in case you ever get confused). As we descended towards the Hidden Lake backcountry campground, we nearly walked right into this young fellow who, like us, was enjoying a wonderful fall day in the alpine.

LEFT: Back on the main trail, GTFD mode was quickly engaged as we hiked the 3 – 4 km to our waiting bikes below.
RIGHT: Now THIS is more like it! Thanks to our 2-wheeled steeds 🚴‍♀️, we cruised down the, usually dull, final 4 km of fire road (catching plenty of jealous glares and stink eyes from hikers enduring their painful plod out)! Woohoo! 😃

LEFT: As though the speedy bike ride down wasn’t a great enough way to cap off the day, Brianne found a chilled anniversary “treat” 🍺 (in a kid’s sippy cup 😂) waiting for her at the car.
RIGHT: Better still, a special 100th summit/anniversary dinner at the nearby Deer Lodge followed for my Love. There’s nothing like a fancy steak to celebrate a milestone 💯 summit!

After a pair of monstrously large steak dinners, we walked waddled over to nearby Lake Louise to cap our 8th anniversary off in one of the prettiest places on Earth.

Happy anniversary ❤️ to my beautiful “Breezy Goat” 🐐; the woman I promised to have and to hold, for better or worse, On Top and in the valleys below! Always loving, always cherishing and still scrambling after 100 peaks and counting 💯!