King Creek Ridge and the Kananaskis Lakes from Mt. Hood's Summit

King Creek Ridge and the Kananaskis Lakes from Mt. Hood's Summit

Mt. Brock's Impressive North Face from the Summit

Mt. Brock's Impressive North Face from the Summit

The Opal Range from King Creek Ridge

The Opal Range from King Creek Ridge

LANDSCAPES THAT INSPIRE

Mount Hood & King Creek Ridge

September-08-2012

This report is an update to an earlier attempt to summit Mt. Hood back on July 2nd, 2012.

My first attempt to summit Mt. Hood in July came to an end when I ran into a dangerously unstable snow slope on the mountain's east face, a mere 70m from the top. Having thoroughly enjoyed my time in the area, despite this setback, I vowed to make a return later in the season when the snow conditions on that slope should have improved, or even better, melted away completely.

As this particular report is intended as an addendum to my original ascent, please consult my previous report for key information on the trailhead location, route information for Mt. Hood and King Creek Ridge (including detailed directions for the traverse between the two), and other useful details. I'll only be elaborating on a few points here, particularly on following King Creek as the approach route from the day use area.

Trip Information

The King Creek approach route to Mt. Hood is easier and faster than via King Creek Ridge; however, for it to be viable, the water levels along the creek must be low. Dozens of crossings are required and, once past the junction where King Creek splits to drain the Opal Range peaks to the north and south, the best route is often straight up the creek bed. If you can't easily rock-hop the first few crossing, you can expect a long and very wet approach; and should probably bail for the King Creek Ridge route instead.

Thankfully, on this particular day, the water levels along King Creek were quite low. Starting from the day use area, I followed a well-defined (and sometimes bridged) path through a lovely canyon area until I reached the junction (mentioned above) where the creek branches to drain the valley in both directions.

You may be tempted to follow a pair of better-defined trails that head upwards to the climber's right from the creek shortly after this junction; however, these are approach trails for Mt. Brock and Mt. Blane. Following either of those trails up could lead to an awkward, difficult, and perhaps impassable traverse over to Mt. Hood.

From the junction onwards, the trail along the northern branch of King Creek becomes highly intermittent and difficult to follow. The key is to stay close to the creek, and continue heading north until you reach the headwall/saddle that lies between the northern tip of King Creek Ridge and Mt. Hood. When a trail on the right side would seem to come to an end, I would begin searching on the left side of the creek and would often a new trail to follow there for a while (and vice-versa).

The arbitrariness of the trail through this section didn't make sense to me, and I often gave up on the route-finding and simply followed the creek bed, which was thankfully dry at this time. There are also sections of the trail that, due to low traffic, are hidden by knee-high vegetation. Remember, the advantage of this route is that it's less distance and substantially less elevation gain (and then loss) than following the nearby ridge, and not that it's fun.

Things mercifully come to an end once you near the headwall, where the creek curves to a large, sloping waterfall on the right that points directly at Mt. Hood. Ascending to the left of this waterfall here (and the gully above it) will lead you directly to the ascent route on the mountain. A faint trail had formed in this area since I had made my attempt back in July.

As with my first ascent, I chose to take an alternative (and often cairned) route that bypasses the majority of the Kane one and which got me to the col quickly, and relatively painlessly. I kept my fingers crossed as I made my way up past the false summit and was incredibly relieved to see what looked like this in July, now looked like this in September. What a difference a few months can make! It was a bit of a scree slog to the top, but I was happy to face that challenge rather than the possibility of an uncontrolled, and potentially fatal slide into Hood's eastern bowl.

I spent an hour at the summit having lunch and enjoying the excellent views. Despite some haze, I could make out downtown Calgary from nearly 80km away! After filling out the registry, I began retracing my steps down to the col and then followed the Kane route down (a gully which had been full of snow back in July, but was dry now). This is definitely the better descent route if you're soloing, but can easily become a rockfall shooting gallery if there are other people around.

I chose to hike out via the very scenic King Creek Ridge to properly finish off the day, and my second amazing trip through the area this summer. I can't recommend this one enough! But be sure to save it for a good weather day during a late season dry spell.

i ROUTE MAP

8 PHOTO GALLERY

  • r
    Although this route was recorded with a GPS unit, this data should only be used as a SECONDARY navigation tool.

  • King Creek Canyon

    1

    A Mysterious Tree

    2

    Looking Back at Wintour from the Creek's End

    3

    Mt. Warspite with King Creek Ridge in the Foreground

    4

    Mt. Joffre (centre) with Kananaskis Lake

    5

    Looking Through the Notch at the Col

    6

    King Creek Ridge from the Col

    7

    The (Thankfully Dry) Summit Approach

    8

    Rock Layers

    9

    Kananaskis Lakes

    10

    King Creek Ridge's Summit Area

    11

    My Registry Entry

    12

    Mt. Brock from Hood's Summit

    13

    The Southwesterly Summit View

    14

    Mt. Packenham and the view to the Northwest

    15

    Looking East Towards Glasgow and Cornwall

    16

    The Eastern Ridges of Mt. Brock

    17

    The Serrated Opal Range

    18

    Mt. Wintour

    19

    Summit Self-Portrait (with Mt. Packenham)

    20

    Mt. Brock and Mt. Blane

    21

    Packenham's Southern Ridge

    22

    Mt. Brock from the Col

    23

    Descent Route

    24

    Range After Range

    25

    The Kane Ascent/Descent Gully

    26

    Brock and Blane from the Base of the Hood Scramble

    27

    Descending to the Saddle

    28

    Traversing Below King Creek Ridge's Cliffs

    29

    Emerging from the Traverse

    30

    Postcard Perfect

    31

    Ascending the Ridge

    32

    Grizzly Peak, Mt. Evan-Thomas, Mt. Packenham and Mt. Hood

    33

    King Creek Ridge

    34

    Whence He Came

    35

    The Northern Branch of King Creek

    36

    Following the Ridge

    37

    Grizzly Peak

    38

    The Opal Range

    39

    Mt. Wintour

    40

    The Kananaskis Valley

    41

    Looking Back from the Ridge Trailhead

    42

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