A Classic Canadian Rockies Trip
2019-08-05
First ascent in 1893, Mt Temple is the highest point in the Bow Range (Banff/Lake Louise area), 9th highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, and 39th highest mountain in Canada. Standing at 3544m with 1644m of elevation gain, its a good introduction to high elevation. Phew, with the stats out of the way, let’s get on to the good stuff.
What’s amazing about this area of Canada is the sheer number of people attracted here. First conceived by Canadian Pacific Railroad, Lake Louise was built on a chalet to draw tourists to Canada. And it worked! Lake Louise and Morraine lake contend for the most photographed lake in the world prize... The parks are so busy during summer season that shuttle buses are required if you want to see anything. For us to be able to obtain a parking spot at Morraine lake, the parking lot to the trailhead, we would have to arrive at the parking lot at 4:30AM. Not out of the ordinary for mountaineering lifestyle, but highly abnormal when trying to get a parking spot.
Waking up early does have the benefit of dispersed crowds as the majority of the crowds are only there for their 30mins of instagram pictures and then leave. This gives plenty of space on the mountains.
If you get there early and run the approach, you’ll have the mountain to yourself. As we hustled to Sentinel Pass, we passed about 10 groups and only one looked prepared for a summit push. Guess everyone else knew about the 4:30AM parking lot jam...
The route looks WAY more challenging than it actually is (in ideal weather and conditions). I would rate the trip as a B2-B3. There are really only two places where there are some committing moves, but no more than 3 meters of elevation with little exposure. You can get the best beta for the trip in the Scrambles of the Rockies book.
Because we decided to run up the mountain, we brought very little in terms of clothing options and had to settle on shorts and a puffy for the summit while everyone else was in full on mountaineering technical gear.
The ascent took 3.5 hours and another 2 hours to descend. Plenty of great views with my as always awesome companion.
