Mount Temple via Southwest Ridge (3545m)

October 5-6, 2024

This is one of my favourite expeditions this year and the highest elevation I have reached! I had not climbed Mount Temple since my first time in the summer of 2016. We camped out in the Paradise Valley and climbed the SW ridge in the snow!

We started at Moraine Lake and hiked over the Sentinel Pass to our campsite in the valley. The next day we woke up to snow, but decided to head for the summit anyways. We stashed our overnight gear in the lockers at the site and headed back up to the Sentinel Pass. It was a great scramble in the snowy conditions, and the crux through the 2nd grey cliff band was some good fun while covered in slush and ice.

The summit ridge was snowy and windy, with near total whiteout conditions up high. 3 out of the 4 other parties on the mountain that day had turned back. My watch altimeter was miscalibrated too low, so after toiling up the ridge in the wind for a while, we unexpectedly had no where up to go. We were on the summit! The descent brought more falling and blowing snow. When we were nearly back down to the pass, a beautiful old raven was hanging out beside the rocky trail. He didn’t seem to be too worried about us, so I was able to get some awesome pictures without bothering him. Soon we were enjoying the wild cloudy views while heading into the Paradise Valley once again.

Back at the campground, we geared up and headed out on the long hike to Lake Louise. We ended up just missing our bus, watching it drive past the Moraine Lake road intersection, but we still had a little luck left. We tried to hitchhike and a friendly couple soon picked us up to bring us down to the gas station in town. Just as we gave up on seeking a free ride to Banff and called for the $280$ cab, some nice guys in a sports car said they were heading to Banff and we could hop in! We squished into the tiny back seat with our bags on our laps and enjoyed a quick rip back to Banff while jamming to loud music in the car. I even saw the Aurora on the way back to Calgary!!!