Scrambling Photos from Mount Coleman

July 30, 2009

Mount Coleman is an advanced scramble in the Scramble Guide. It is located near the Columbia Icefield on the East side of the parkway. You follow the Sunset Pass trail to Sunset Meadows before heading to the mountain. It is not a frequently ascended scramble but is definitely worth ascending for anyone looking for a great day out in the mountains.
I was originally planning a solo scramble for this day until I saw Vern Dewits post on the Rocky Mountain Books forum looking for a scramble victim. I sent him a mail and we arranged to start up Mount Coleman at 5:30. I slept at the trailhead and had some delicious canned peaches for breakfast. At 5:30 Vern arrived and up we went to Sunset Pass. Leaving early meant that we could ascend faster in the cooler temperatures and avoid the horseflies. We also got better photos out of it as well.
We found our way through the bush in the meadows and reached the first gully. It seemed to be a long gully even though it didn't take us too long to ascend. By the time we got to the top of the gully we had finished most of the elevation gain and we had only been out for 3 hours. The views at the top of the gully were outstanding. Mount Saskatchewan, Mount Amery, and Cirrus Mountain were the most stunning features. The scrambling and route finding was very fun. The summit ridge had a very cool drop down to the North Glacier on one side. The summit register had about 2 entries per year in it. So this is a less frequented scramble. Definitely a premier scramble.
On the way down we enjoyed a nice scree slope and some snow patches down in the lower gully. The day grew hotter and as a result many horseflies were now bothering us. We returned to the meadow via a different gully that had some fun scrambling in it as well as many horseflies. Once in the meadows we stumbled upon a very cool twin waterfall. It made for great photos. very rich colors in the water, rock and meadows. After getting down I had a nice ice cream cone at the crossing before heading home. Vern and I share a lot in common and our fitness levels are pretty similar. I think that he may be slightly more fit though

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Mount Coleman from Sunset pass. The ascent col is on the left.

Mount Coleman from Sunset ...

Mount Amery to the South.

Unnamed and probably unclimbed sub peak of Mount Amery.

Unnamed and probably ...

Looking South West to an unnamed peak left of center.

Looking South West to an ...

Looking up the ascent gully.

Vern on a snow patch.

View North West of the Col. Mount Saskatchewan on the far left.

View North West of the Col. ...

An unnamed and probably unclimbed sub peak of Cirrus Mountain.

An unnamed and probably ...

Zoomed in looking far South West to Mount Alexandra,

Zoomed in looking far South ...

Mount Amery to the South.

Vern with Mount Saskatchewan behind him.

Vern with Mount Saskatchewan ...

Willerval Mountain to the South West. Mount Lyell behind.

Willerval Mountain to the ...

Vern hiking along a steep section.

Vern hiking along a steep ...

Easy section of scrambling.

Vern scrambling a fun section.

Vern posing with Mount Amery in the background on the left.

Vern posing with Mount Amery ...

An unnamed sub peak of Cirrus Mountain.

An unnamed sub peak of Cirrus ...

Vern scrambling between snow and rock.

Vern scrambling between snow ...

Vern hiking up another fun section.

Vern hiking up another fun ...

Vern scrambling on more fun terrain.

Vern scrambling on more fun ...

Looking North West Cirrus Mountain is on the right.

Looking North West Cirrus ...

Vern traversing a fun section. Mount Amery behind.

Vern traversing a fun ...

A nice hands on section.

Looking South to Mount Amery and Willerval Mountain.

Looking South to Mount Amery ...

Vern reaches the summit ridge. Mount Amery in the background.

Vern reaches the summit ...

Tuft Peak to the North. Mount Stewart is the distant peak on the left.

Tuft Peak to the North. Mount ...

Looking down to Coleman Lake.

Looking North to Cirrus Mount right of center. Unnamed peak on the left.

Looking North to Cirrus Mount ...

The North glacier of Mount Coleman.

The North glacier of Mount ...

Vern points up to a route while crossing a short snow section.

Vern points up to a route ...

A panorama of the Huntington Creek Valley to the North. The glacier is called the Huntington Glacier. Coleman Lake on the left. Cirrus Mountain left of center and Mount Stewart on the right in the distance.

A panorama of the Huntington ...