Mt. Assiniboine (3618m), N. Ridge II 5.5

Mt. Assiniboine with the North Ridge on the left side of the face hitting the sun.

Approach: Left car at 1130h, reached hut at 1815h (6h45)

The climb: Left hut at 0500h, reached summit at 0920h (4h20), Returned to hut at 1500h (5h40)

Return: Left hut at 1715h, reached car at 2200h, home at 1300h

Aug. 18^th, 2011

Pat, Peter, Ian and I approached up via Assiniboine Lake from Hwy 93. This was a more scenic approach once out of the trees and up along Assiniboine Lake. The other approach which had less elevation gain was from Bryant Creek along the Spray Lakes rd. In my opinion it was worth the extra effort from Hwy 93 with a more scenic view. As we reached the final col bellow Mt. Assiniboine. We could see the R.C Hind Hut a little further down. We were curious to see what the hut looked like and if anyone was inside. We were surprised to see that no one was inside. We would spend the night in a little more comfort. Instead of sleeping in our bivy sacs (a thin waterproof bag to wrap around your sleeping bag). We were convinced by the comfort of the empty hut. A good thing, since there was a good overnight freeze. I had only brought my -1C sleeping bag! It would have been an uncomfortable sleep. Peter wasn’t feeling too good after dinner and was in bed quite early. He mentioned possibly not climbing tomorrow depending on how he felt.

The dicey bridge crossing on the drive up.

Along Assiniboine Lake.

Above Assiniboine Lake.

The R.C. Hind Hut. Comfort!

View of Mt. Assiniboine from the hut.

Sun setting on Mt. Assiniboine.

Aug. 19^th, 2011

It was a clear and cool night. Peter didn’t feel great and decided to stay in bed. We left the hut by headlamp and had the help of the moonlight to navigate up to the base of the North Ridge of Mt. Assiniboine. The conditions on the mountain this year had more snow lingering than usual. The snow was firm all day and good with the use of our crampons. We managed to climb up on frozen snow and some short sections of ice the whole way up. I found the firm snow and ice made things more interesting and fun. We also made good time going up past the “red band” and “grey band” of rock which are a little more technical (5.5) without the use of a rope and our small rack of gear. Once on the summit ridge we made sure to give the big cornice some space by walking lower down for safety. After the summit photo and high fives were taken. The cold temperature (felt like -10C) and strong winds persuaded us to head down without wasting too much time. We rappelled down the more technical sections (4 rappels) and down climbed the rest with the snow fortunately still frozen and supportive. It took us a bit more time to get down. Which wasn’t a problem since there didn’t seem to be any melting to worry about. While walking back to the hut we contemplated staying one more night and climb either Sunburst Peak, Mt. Lunette or do the walk-out today. We reached the hut with a welcome from Peter who held down the fort. He helped settle what to do by asking if we minded walking out this afternoon. We tried to eat as much as we could at the hut so there would be less weight to carry out. As we packed our bags a couple from Whistler, BC came into the hut to spend the night and planned to climb Mt. Assiniboine tomorrow. We gave them information on the conditions and what to expect and started our walk out back to the car.

Night shot of Mt. Assiniboine before heading out to climb it.

Climbing up the lower half.



Approaching the "Red band".



Sunrise! With "some" welcomed warmth.

Approaching the summit ridge with clouds rising on the North-East face.

Views of the summit ridge.

Summit photo!

The summit ridge. Leaving plenty of space for the cornice to the left.

The Summit.

Looking down the East face.

The first rappel down.



Great views of Magog Lake with
the mountain ranges in the distance.