Snow Peak on a Summer Day

When the plan to scramble Snow Peak was initially formalized and put out there for an option for today, the possibility was that the Peak would live up to its name!  As Saturday drew closer, the optimism and positive outlook always displayed by V-Joy,  came to fruition!

The moment I saw our destination, I thought to myself, "are you serious", "really", "this is a joke right", "how on earth", "O.K. if you say so"!  We had the weather on our side, the trail to ourselves, a happy crew....so far so good!

We set a good pace for the flatter part of the trail that follows along side the Burstall Lakes, across the flood plain and up to Burstall Pass.  The plain was on the drier side with just a few wet areas that were easy to work our way around.  The shrubs were just high enough that any wildlife could easily be hidden in, so we made sure to announce our presence here. 

Burstall Pass would be our first major break of the day.  We completed some of the elevation to this point and needed to rest and refuel for the scramble ahead to the summit.  The landscape on Burstall Pass looks like something from out of this world.  We had great views for our break, no wind and warmth from the sunshine. 

Our destination was directly in front of us.  Once again I thought "are you serious", "really"!  Others expressed my sentiments also.   We made a plan of how we would attack this Peak.   Mt. Assiniboine was visible in the far off distance to the left of Snow Peak.  

This was a great time to get a close up shot while it was clear.

We hiked and scrambled our way to the summit and it seemed to take no time at all.  We had a 360 degree view which was a generous reward for not a whole lot of effort.  No jumping for my summit shot this time.  The summit was narrow with lots of loose rock.

We spent an hour and fifteen minutes on the summit.  We sat quietly at times in amazement, napped, dined and took lots of photos.  I found the summit canister under a few big rocks and added my name to the list of other lucky folks who had summited on previous days.

Before starting our descent, I took one last shot of the view.  This is what I stared at while I enjoyed my lunch.  Banff is off there somewhere and that is Leman Lake below.  

This trio is brought to you by the letter "f"!  If you are lucky enough to summit Snow Peak one day, you may be fortunate enough to see the scene on the back of this summit stone.  One of my hiking buddies changed into these hiking shoes once we reached a more gentle trail.  

This trio is brought to you by the letter "r"!  K2 joined me for the reflection photo.  We were both in agreement that if you take the time to see all that is around you, you can end up with some unique photos, not just a river, or just a lake or just a mountain.

The whole day was a reward!  If you look on the positive side, even the snow that came down two minutes before the end, was a fitting note to end a hike to Snow Peak on.  The "top of the world" looked so far away and a gigantic hurdle but was close and easy to get to today!