Mount Bell via Boom Lake Scramble on 1-Jul-2013

An amazing and hot blue sky Canada Day on Mt Bell. Seven ramblers left the Boom Lake trail head just after 9 AM and traveled the 5 km to Boom Lake in a little over an hour.
Heading up the avalanche slope above Boom Lake
Heading up the avalanche slope above Boom Lake

After traversing the right side of the lake , we headed up the avalanche slope towards the high col South of Mt Bell. Due to the high temperature (30 deg), we took 2 short water breaks on the way up.

Damian at the high col with the summit of Mt Bell in the distance to the far upper right
Damian at the high col with the summit of Mt Bell in the distance to the far upper right

Boom Lake from the ridge above the col
Boom Lake from the ridge above the col

The group angled up the ridge through broken sandstone blocks until we reached snow slopes higher on the mountain.

Bill leading the group through the pinnacles on the mid section of the ridge
Bill leading the group through the pinnacles on the mid section of the ridge

At this point, we deviated from Kane's route and scrambled up through the pinnacles and traversed a number of steeper snow slopes to reach the upper summit ridge. The snow consistency was good for kicking steps and ice axe placement, but care had to be taken to ensure no slips during the snow traverses.

Cordula traversing one of the steeper snow slopes on the mountain upper section
Cordula traversing one of the steeper snow slopes on the mountain upper section

Clifton and Cordula on the upper ridge below the summit cairn
Clifton and Cordula on the upper ridge below the summit cairn

Once on the upper ridge, we traversed across to the summit cairn to the east,arriving at 2 PM. The views from Mt Bell are some of the best in the Rockies, with a 360 degree view which allows one to see in all directions for 50 plus kilometres. From a view quality standpoint, I would describe it as Cirque Peak on steroids. Our Rambler group was the first to summit Mt Bell in 2013, as the last entry in the summit register was September of 2012. It was warm and windless on the summit and the group had a well deserved lunch break.

Consolation Lake, Tower of Babel and Mt Temple from the summit of Mt Bell
Consolation Lake, Tower of Babel and Mt Temple from the summit of Mt Bell

Summit of Mt Bell on a windless blue sky Canada Day
Summit of Mt Bell on a windless blue sky Canada Day

O'Brien Lake and Taylor Lake from the summit of Mt Bell
O'Brien Lake and Taylor Lake from the summit of Mt Bell

We spent the next 45 minutes admiring the spectacular views and just enjoying the time on the summit. Regrettably it was then time to go and we decided to follow Kane's accent route down. This meant more careful traversing of snow slopes and large broken block sections before reaching the ridge above the col.

Heading back down to the col
Heading back down to the col

The rest of the trek down to Boom Lake was hot, but uneventful. We got back to our vehicles in the Boom Lake parking lot at 7 PM. Total trip time was 10 hrs, with a total elevation gain of 1260 metres and a total distance of 18 km. In cooler temperatures (with less breaks) and no snow, the trip could likely be done in 9 hours. My thanks to Bill, Sim, Cordula, Damian, Arnold and Clifton for their competency on mixed terrain and cheerful disposition on a long and hot trip and for sharing an amazing Canada Day in the the mountains from Kevin S/C.

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