After dropping a vehicle at the Yamnuska parking lot, 6 of us (Christine, Sim, Bruce, David, Gerald and Greg) began the climb up Loder Peak to the Goat Ridge beyond. For those who don't know and are curious, the Goat Traverse begins with Door Jam and Loder Peak and heads east to Yamnunska. It took two hours to Loder Peak on a windy, cloudy morning while joyfully relating anecdotes and stories of people struck by lightning while on the ridges or being knocked unconscious by the pressure wave while rappeling. Life was good. In spite of weather threatening on all sides, we seemed to hover in a pocket of reasonable weather, and decided to go for it. We did traverse around the last peak before the Goat Mountain Summit. Coming to an exposed little face with a narrow ridge running upwards, we decided to break out the rope for security purposes, but not before a small dog


Following the dog on Goat traverse

easily scampered up and with his owner virtually ran up to the Goat Mountain peak. Most impressive.


Noontime on the Goat Traverse

Approaching Goat Summit from West

We arrived at the Goat Mountain peak at 2:00 pm after about 4.5 hours of scrambling (primarily a scramble 5 with one short section of scramble 7, based on exposure, but with solid hand and foot holds) and 1000 net meters (probably 1250 actual) from the highway.


Lunch at the summit...Sim lets us catch up

At the summit I was thinking that Mn8 was overrating this trip coming west to east...little did I know. We reached our first belay about 500 meters down the ridge from the summit. We belayed, because we didn't see an easy way down. That there are alternatives is a given, our young friends who passed us before the summit with their dog obviously found a way (without a rope, since they didn't have one), possibly of dubious safety, in my opinion, and foolish without a helmet. Nothing like being an old fuddy duddy, albeit, a live and kicking one. We had a few more exposed moments as we finally made the top of the rockface looking east to Yamuska around 6:00 pm.


The route down from the face to the Yamnuska col

At this point, Sim decided to pick her way down to the west Yamuska col ahead of us, in order to return to town in time for her evening plans. After deciding to set up a human anchor to allow the option of belaying down a crack (some of us climbed down), we came to a face that offered no easy way down, and after inspection, and in spite of the knowledge that Sim had found a way down freeclimbing, it was a consensus to set up an anchor using a sling. (many thanks Bruce!) and belay down. Once down the face, a reasonable scramble brought us to the ridge of the coll. The famous Yamnuska scree slope beneath clear skies and the majestic face of Yamnuska was a fitting twilight treat for tired legs and feet. Chris led a blistering pace down from Yam, I think to make sure that we were under 12 hours getting back. In fact the tally was 11.75 hours, with about 1.25 hours of stops. Definitely a mountaineering trip and not for the faint at heart. I would like to personally thank my well experienced companions for their support for less experienced companions. It was an awesome day and a trip to remember (and not to be repeated for a while - my feet threatened mutiny if I didn't add in that last intent)