Rooftop of the Rockies
In the Lower 48, peak baggers obsess over “14ers” – 14,000+ ft peaks. In Canada, it is all about the “11ers” – 11,000+ ft peaks. John, Logan, Chris and I don’t consider ourselves peakbaggers, but there was one 11er we wanted to ski on our trip to Golden – Mt. Hector. Our friend Wyatt had languished praise on Hector for its simple north facing terrain and great views.
For such a high peak, Hector is a relatively short climb, since you start at a small pullout (only fits about 7 cars if you park efficiently) at 6,000 ft on the Icefields Parkway. After a brief skin through the forest, there is a steep “waterfall” section that we booted. From there on, it is a cruiser skin into the large north facing glacial bowl.
It is incredible how such wind stripped, rocky terrain could exist right next to a large glacier. But that is the essence of the Canadian Rockies!
Despite the bluebird forecast, a lenticular had once again formed on the summit of Hector. By this time, we were sadly familiar with the springtime summit clouds that seemed to form every day. However, as we got closer, the cloud started to part! By the time we reached the summit block, the cloud had receded to just the very tip top. Even in the sun, it was bitterly cold – definitely sub zero windchill.
The summit block of Hector is non trivial. John and I dropped our skis and went over to check out the crux step. It looked like class 3-4 with down sloping holds. With snow coverage, it felt intimidating. We were about to turn around when we noticed a fixed line dangling down above. It had blown up in the wind, but John was able to fish it down with his whippet!
Emboldened by the fixed line, we donned crampons and made some easy mixed moves up to the set of bolts to which the line was attached. It was definitely easier climbing than it looked from below, but we were glad to have the fixed line. The crux move would actually be down climbing a few slabby moves above the bolts. From there, we hiked up mixed snow and rocks to the true summit.
The views were well worth the effort. There are only a handful of places – Alaska and Coast Range BC – where I have seen so many mountains in one spot. In all directions, there were infinite snowcapped mountains. In no direction could you see the end. It was absolutely mind blowing.
After admiring the view, we reversed course, rappelling the short scramble. The ski down was mediocre, but we were very satisfied by the scenery around us.
While Hector was not the best skiing, it was the best summit view of our trip, and one of the best of my entire life! The Rockies are so stunning for their bulkiness above tree line, floating ice fields, and jagged cliffs. Hector is one of the best (and easiest) ways to see so much of the range!