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Anthozoan Mountain

Home » Mountains » Banff National Park
Published by vdewit on April 29th, 2009
Trip Details
Trip Activity: 
Scramble
Attained Summit?: 
Yes
Location: 
Banff National Park
Trip Date: 
September 8, 2005
Summit Elevation: 
2,695m
Summit Elevation (ft): 
8,842ft
Related Content
Interesting Facts: 
(info from peakfinder.com) Named in 1925. A fossilized coral known as anthozoan is found in the Devonian limestone of the mountain. Official name.  
Related Trips: 
Brachiopod Mountain
Pika Peak

Trip Report

After scrambling Pika Peak earlier in the day on September 6 2005, and then backpacking from the Hidden Lake campground to the Baker Lake campground it was time to traverse Anthozoan Mountain.

We didn't originally plan on a full traverse of the mountain. To tell you the truth I was quite surprised by how far apart the Brachiopod and Anthozoan summits are. The two are fairly distinct mountains even though they are part of the same ridge system.

I would certainly NOT recommend doing Anthozoan the way Kane has it pictured in the scrambles book. We tried the side-sloping method from the pass and other than losing elevation needlessly and traversing endless blocks of loose scree and slabby terrain we didn't gain anything over the method I would propose! I would suggest that you first tag the north summit via scree slopes directly from the Brachiopod / Anthozoan col and then traverse the entire length of Anthozoan to tag the true summit.

The traverse is moderate at most and is quite pleasant. After tagging the true summit I would either bail to the valley below (you'll have to regain height to the Brachiopod col) or go back the way you came. Really I would suggest that you traverse Brachiopod from north to south, go down to the col and then traverse Anthozoan, bagging both of its summits.

I enjoyed the views off of Anthozoan and once we figured out that the traverse (on the way back) was the way to go I rather enjoyed this little mountain. I wasn't liking things so much on the way up though! After Anthozoan it was time to take our lesson and do a traverse of Brachiopod Mountain.

Backpacking towards Ptarmigan Lake just over Boulder Pass on our way from Hidden Lake to Baker Lake with Mount Douglas and Mount St. Bride in the background.
Backpacking towards Ptarmigan Lake just over Boulder Pass on our way from Hidden Lake to Baker Lake with Mount Douglas and Mount St. Bride in the background.
Vern and Rod hiking along the meadows on the south side of Baker Lake on the way to Anthozoan and Brachiopod. (Jon Pic)
Vern and Rod hiking along the meadows on the south side of Baker Lake on the way to Anthozoan and Brachiopod. (Jon Pic)
Jon hiking up to Anthozoan along the meadows between Brachiopod and Heather Ridge.
Jon hiking up to Anthozoan along the meadows between Brachiopod and Heather Ridge.
Anthozoan from the pass at the south end of Brachiopod. Note the line of ascent that would take you up to the north summit and to the traverse.
Anthozoan from the pass at the south end of Brachiopod. Note the line of ascent that would take you up to the north summit and to the traverse.
Summit of Anthozoan.
Summit of Anthozoan.
Jon heading off on the traverse of Anthozoan from the south summit.
Jon heading off on the traverse of Anthozoan from the south summit.
Looking back at the traverse of Anthozoan from the north summit.
Looking back at the traverse of Anthozoan from the north summit.
Vern and Jon at the north summit of Anthozoan.
Vern and Jon at the north summit of Anthozoan.
Mount St. Bride was an imposing figure on most of our Skoki scrambles in the Baker Lake area.
Mount St. Bride was an imposing figure on most of our Skoki scrambles in the Baker Lake area.