Seven of us enjoyed this beautiful ridgewalk on a sunny day that was not too hot and not too smoky. We started from the Pigeon Mountain parking lot at 8:00 am, where the temperature was a lovely 15 C or so. The climb up the old exploration road and then up to the north ridge of Mount Collembola is a bit of a push, but once on the ridge it is smooth sailing to the crux of this scramble, the cliff band just below the summit of Collembola. This cliff band adds a lovely bit of spiciness to this otherwise straight-forward ridgewalk. We were on the summit of Mount Collembola at noon, had our lunch, and then headed off towards the lower summit of Mount Collembola. Gaining this lower summit also requires negotiating a cliff band. Bill found a nice slabby bit of scrambling that led directly to this lower summit, while the rest of us used Daffern's suggested non-scrambling alternative. The climb to the summit of Mount Allan from the Collembola/Allan col can be a bit daunting at this point in the day, but we were all on the summit of Mount Allan by 2:00 pm. From there it is all downhill along the beautiful north ridge of Mount Allan. We arrived back at the Pigeon Mountain parking lot at 6:00 pm. Thanks to Bill,David,Gary,Susan,Gary, and Peter for joining me on one of my favourite ridgewalks. Also thanks to Bill and Peter for their photos. Jack Coordinator and Scribe.
Total Time: 10 hours
Total Distance: 22 km
Total Elevation Gain: Approximately 1690 m
Bill heading toward Mount Collembola, Mount Allan on the right.
Climbing the crux on Mount Collembola.
On the summit of Mount Collembola.
On the summit of Mount Allan.
Looking back at Mount Collembola from Mount Allan.
The four peaks of Mount Lougheed from Mount Allan.
Descending Mount Allan's north ridge.