Canada's Mountains

Sunwapta Peak has had a great deal of respect from me ever since the day I was driving back from Jasper in the late 1980's. I was coming down a hill and I looked across a valley, green and verdant, with trees wrapping up the sides of mountains like a great carpet. At the end of the valley rose Sunwapta Peak, an enormous pyramid of massive width and height. The sight of the mountain and the valley brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity... and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.

William Blake
1757-1827, British Poet, Painter

I was somewhere down there twelve years ago looking up at the peak. A long time ago and far away.

Next time I go that way I'll be sure to get a picture of that view for you, to include in this page.

I scrambled up this mountain in late August of 1999, and was very impressed with the ease with which a single lone individual could access a 3315 meter summit. Aside from Mount Temple there are few if any summits that rival Sunwapta in terms of accessibility and size.

Top: Getting near tree line Bottom: Above the trees you get much screes

You start by going to Stanley Falls parking area just down the highway from the Columbia Ice Fields Center.

The trail is close by; It starts on the left side of a drainage that comes down from the lower slopes of Sunwapta Peak. The trail will take you from the highway to the tree line where you gain the vast open slopes of the upper mountain.

Once out in the open, about one hour from the road, the views are awesome. The going is low angle on firm scree and the entire route can be seen from top to bottom so there is no actual route finding.

Overhang near summit

Over the last thousand feet the air begins to thin, so if you are in so-so shape like I was the day I climbed, you may need a break or two. Just persevere, the summit is worth seeing, and some very cool overhangs and a vertical north east face wait to give you a thrill.

 

 

I hope to find the time to repeat this scramble, on a sunny day though, and get an earlier start so the pictures will be bright, blue and cloud free.

Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire.

Jorge Luis Borges
1899-1986, Argentinean Author

We realize our dilemma goes deeper than shortage of time; it is basically a problem of priorities. We confess, "We have left undone those things that ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done."

Charles E. Hummel

The ladies would put the baskets on the table And the men would sit beneath a shady tree The children would listen to a fable While something else came through to me The river got no end, just roll around the bend Then pretty soon the women would all join in On the river hymn... The whole congregation was standing on the banks of the river We are gathered here to give a little thanks thanks The voice of the rapids will echo And ricochet like an old water well Who d ever want to let go Once you sit beneath its spell It's dark and wide and deep, towards the sea it creeps I'm so glad I brought along my mandolin To play the river hymn... You can ride on it or drink it Poison it or dam it Fish in it and wash in it Swim in it and you can die in it Run, you river, run Son, you ain't never seen yourself No crystal mirror can show it clear, come over here instead Son, you ain't never eased yourself Til you laid it down in a river bed If you hear a lonesome drone, it's as common as a stone And gets louder as the day grows dim That's the river hymn... The whole congregation was standing on the banks of the river We are gathered here to give a little thanks thanks The Band Cahoots The River Hymn

Hey now, little speedyhead, the read on the speedmeter says you have to go to task in the city where people drown and people serve. Don't be shy. Your just deserve is only just light years to go. Me, my thoughts are flower strewn ocean storm, bayberry moon. I have got to leave to find my way. Watch the road and memorize this life that pass before my eyes. Nothing is going my way. The ocean is the river's goal, a need to leave the water knows We're closer now than light years to go. I have got to find the river, bergamot and vetiver run through my head and fall away. Leave the road and memorize this life that pass before my eyes. Nothing is going my way. There's no one left to take the lead, but I tell you and you can see we're closer now than light years to go. Pick up here and chase the ride. The river empties to the tide. Fall into the ocean. The river to the ocean goes, a fortune for the undertow. None of this is going my way. There is nothing left to throw of Ginger, lemon, indigo, coriander stem and rose of hay. Strength and courage overrides the privileged and weary eyes of river poet search naivete. Pick up here and chase the ride. The river empties to the tide. All of this is coming your way. REM Find The River