Date: August 27, 2023
Location: Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada
Total Trip Distance: 12.31 mi / 19.81 km Total Elevation Gain: 3,939 ft / 1200 m
Trip Duration: 8 hours 9 min
Team: With Alex Catalfamo
Field Notes: This is a great scramble! Although airy and exposed at times, the climb up the ridge is straightforward. Hard sections of the ridge can typically be bypassed on the face. The descent gully down the face is fast and highly recommended. Water can be found when crossing the Elbow River.
Rating: Class 3
Approach Via Elbow Lake
Alex and I were fired up on the idea of back-to-back scrambles this weekend, rather than doing an overnighter. With clear skies in Fernie, we scrambled up to the true summit of Ghostrider Mountain on Saturday. When Sunday gave us another descent forecast, we made the drive up north to give Tombstone Mountain South an ascent. I had originally come across this peak by way of the Explor8tion blog - which is absolutely fantastic if you're looking for scrambles in the Canadian Rockies.
We decided on a later start as I had a feeling this scramble wouldn't take much longer than eight hours round trip. So we loaded up and left Fernie around 8:30 am to make the three hour drive up north. After a quick stretch we left the trailhead around 11:45 am and made our way to Elbow Lake. This area is a gem and Elbow Lake seems like a nice place to camp if you have a family (FYI - I don't think it's a quiet campground by any means as I heard children crying and it seemed very busy).
As we passed Elbow Lake, I took the view in of Elpoca Mountain. From my perspective it seemed massive and the summit so far away. Were we really climbing just 100 meters less than that today? Perspective is everything and from a distance the ridge on Tombstone looked very steep. Was it really just class 3 scrambling? As we got closer to our objective, we made a slight left to go directly towards Tombstone. We crossed the Elbow River and tried to follow a rough path that goes towards the base of the climb. We kept losing it, but didn't care much as it was easy terrain to navigate and we were very close anyways. I've written about this before, but Gaia GPS is simply amazing. I wonder - how often do you really need a paper map now? A sign of the times.
We popped out of the woods, met with the Piper Pass trail momentarily, and then began our assault uphill. And the assault did not stop for the next 1,100 meters. Sensing we were going to have a nice march in the sun, Alex had the awareness to take a water break in the last chance for shade before we really started climbing. We made a prediction of reaching the summit in 2 hours.
Tombstone Mountain Via the South Ridge
As we made our way up the ridge, we ran into our first obstacle that looked like a gendarme - a rock pinnacle blocking our route. As we climbed higher it was easily bypassed on the climbers right. The climb is very straightforward and if one has any descent route finding skills there shouldn't be any major issues.
We worked our way up the ridge, enjoying the consistent cool breeze. Any exposed or tricky parts of the ridge were easily bypassed by simply sidling onto the face. I couldn't help but keep looking back and taking photos of Alex. The scenery was just freaking awesome. I felt super energized and strong and was loving this climb. One thing that surprised me was that this scramble wasn't a total scree bash. There were definitely moments of loose rock and scree, but I found the climb to be quite enjoyable.
About 250 meters below the summit the ridge becomes much trickier and exposed. We decided to sidle climbers left onto the face, bypassing this section of ridge, and eventually climbing straight up the face. From here we were just 50 meters or so to the summit. A short and scenic ridge walk, a final move and we found ourselves atop the peak all by ourselves. What a moment.
One thing to note is that this is not the main summit of Tombstone Mountain. We were a bit fooled by the maps, but the main summit (Tombstone Mountain North) is actually just north and you can look directly at it. It is a beautiful peak that seems to demand a high level of technical skill. What we climbed today is actually 60 meters or so smaller and is referred to as Tombstone Mountain South. Regardless, it's a great prize for anyone who makes the top.
Descent
We enjoyed sandwiches, chocolate and a meat stick while soaking in the views. For sure one of my favorite trips of summer. The views are expansive in all directions. Canada sure has some damn good scrambles. After thirty minutes or so on the peak, we reluctantly decided to head down. As we were coming off the summit, I looked straight down the face. It seemed to be a very fast descent with epic scree-skiing potential. I thought I could see the valley bottom which means it wouldn't cliff out (I didn't know that this is the descent route in the Kane scrambles guide). It took Alex and I about two seconds to say "lets go for it."
An hour later we were at the valley floor. One hour. The scree-skiing as almost as good as being on skis. Not really, but it was probably the best descent I've ever had off of a mountain without being on skis. One important note about the descent is to traverse skiers right as you near the big waterfall / chasm (so it is on your left for the descent). We emptied our shoes of scree for the last time and met up with the Piper Pass trail. We followed this for a bit until we found the turn off back towards Elbow Lake. Just before meeting up with the main trail we took a cold plunge in the Elbow River. Unreal.
As we neared the lake, something magical happened. The golden hour appeared. The mountains were cloaked in that beautiful summer golden glow. Silence fell. No one was on the trails. The temperature dropped. An owl called out in the fading light. Tears filled my eyes. This is why. Only in the nature are things are what they are. And only here can one find the absolute truth.
Happy days...
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