Unity Peak Lake Louise area Banff Park Scramble from Purple Peak
Summit of Unity Peak June 17, 2017
Cool cloudy windy day with a very alpine feel but manged to get this loop in. Road bike to Temple lodge and then went up left side of ski area and crossed creek to side hill the West side of Wolverine Ridge. Some boulder fields, avi debris, and bushwack but no snow so angle up following games trails. Crossed above the headwall where you ski out of Purple valley and kick steps in dirt up to the notch on Wolverine Ridge. Original plan was to cut across upper wolverine valley to hit ridge at base of Unity cliffs but too much snow so we went up ridge to Purple peak and then ridge to Unity. The traverse around the RH side of the pinnacle on the ridge was alpine(bring your axe) but good steps there now. Took the moderate route up Unity – ramp of broken quartzite rock on RH side of cliff and then route finding up various steps, walls and snow patches. Some slow careful work as quartzite is slippery when wet and snowy. Summit is one person size. Went along broken top and then down NW ridge to col with Redoubt outlier. Took a gully down but it was very broken and running with water and cliffed out so escaped to skiers left on ledges to easier ground – moderate scrambling. There was a snow gully to west but too steep and hard in cold weather. Easier gulley looks to be farther west. Went down steep dirt over slabs lead down to good dirt and fast descent to mossy wet/snowy valley and out the trail(same as skier exit) on left side of creek at valley exit down to skoki trail and back to bikes. Eight minute exit on bikes. 17 km, 1180 m, about 7 hrs with breaks. 5 hrs up and 2 hrs down and out.
Added some good pics from Wietse – thanks.
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