 Sulphur
Mountain
- Canadian Rockies
Monday June 16 2003
Sulphur Mountain is
at the end of a ridge that is over 3.5 kilometers long and starts at
the summit of Sanson Peak
and passes the
Banff Gondola.
From
Sanson Peak you
have some route finding difficulties, chief of which is getting
through or by the
Sulphur Mountain Gondola station.
I found myself inside
sheepishly asking for directions from the gondola operator. The
intrepid mountaineer reduced to getting help to surmount the major
difficulty of the day, a building in my way.
Once by this, the
trail is instantly pleasing and takes you quickly away from the
crowds. I had the ridge to myself for the entire day, an absolutely
awesome summer sway with little more that a slight breeze, just enough
to cool me off in the bright sunlight.
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Click to see the
live Sulphur Mountain
Web Cam. |
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Panorama of Mount Rundle,
Sanson Peak
- Sulphur Mountain and
the Sundance Range
Sulphur Mountain is at the far end of the ridge in the
middle. |
The first of three
summits poses the most difficulty, just a small amount of moderate
scrambling. Once you get to a ledge that traverses out onto a
slab, look back over your shoulder and you'll notice a pair of
gullies doubling back and up onto the slabby ridge.
After a small amount
of hands on scrambling you gain the top of the ridge.
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Panorama from the last summit of Sulphur Mountain looking
south to the next peak |
Now you can see the
second summit across a col on the ridge and about half an hour away.
This next summit has some fossils about half way up. I spotted a
group of three
sea shells.
The last summit is next and when you near the top of that you may
get the feeling that the last stretch looks more difficult
but looks are deceiving. Just persevere and when you get there you
can sit yourself back and enjoy a fantastic view of neighboring
summits like Mount Rundle,
Big Sister,
East End of Rundle,
Ha Ling Peak,
Mount Lawrence Grassi, The Sundance Range, The Goat Range and
also the Spray Reservoir.
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Panorama of Sulphur Mountain from
Cascade Mountain
Sanson Peak is the green blip to the right of the first
rocky peak of the ridge in the middle ground.
Sulphur Mountain is the third rocky summit from the right
side of the ridge in the middle ground. |
Once your done with all of that, march
yourself the 14 or so kilometers back to the trail head at The Cave
and Basin National Historic Site. Enjoy the warm weather.
 mountain is composed of
tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of
water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little
details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the
consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them
are far-reaching.
Sri Swami Sivananda
1887-, Indian Physician, Sage
 ooks,
books, books had found the secret of a garret-room piled
high with cases in my father's name; Piled high, packed
large, --where, creeping in and out among the giant fossils
of my past, like some small nimble mouse between the ribs of
a mastodon, I nibbled here and there at this or that box,
pulling through the gap, in heats of terror, haste,
victorious joy, the first book first. And how I felt it beat
under my pillow, in the morning's dark. An hour before the
sun would let me read! My books!
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
1806-1861, British Poet
©
CanadasMountains.com + Tim L. Helmer
Friday February 08, 2008 11:19 AM
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