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Lineham, Mount

Home » Mountains » Waterton Lakes National Park
Published by vdewit on April 29th, 2009
Trip Details
Trip Activity: 
Scramble
Attained Summit?: 
Yes
Location: 
Waterton Lakes National Park
Trip Date: 
September 3, 2005
Summit Elevation: 
2,438m
Summit Elevation (ft): 
8,000ft
Related Content
Interesting Facts: 
(info from peakfinder.com) Named in 1916. Lineham, John (A well-known pioneer of the Highwood area, John Lineham was involved in the Lumber, oil exploration, and agriculture industries. He was elected to the Territorial Legislative Assembly in 1888.) Official name.

Trip Report

On September 3 2005 I dragged my brother, Rod and two of my cousins, Tony and Jon up and around the Hawkins Horseshoe in Waterton National Park. It was a clear but extremely windy day. I must admit that all of them performed admirably, especially my brother who was on about 2 hours of sleep due to a screwed up Air Canada flight.

I have to be honest about this scramble. Although it was a clear day I didn't think that this was the best scramble I've ever done. The views were outstanding all day but the wind was so strong that we couldn't even talk to eachother without yelling at the top of our voices. The roaring sound in my ears wasn't too pleasant after 3 hours either! The scrambling isn't too technical either so you don't have that to distract you from the never ending series of 'bumps' on the ridge.

That being said I do recommend doing these three peaks in the same go. Blakiston is quite the trudge but if you look you can find some interesting scramble bits. Near the top of the scree slope there is a trail right up through the cliff face that is moderate hands-on scrambling. That was the best part for me all day! Along the ridge from Blakiston to Hawkins there is a series of good scrambling sections as well but the rest of the day is one long plod. My cousin also had to 'bag' every high point along the whole ridge which is why our total height gain is more than listed in Kane's book.

After finally summitting Mount Lineham we were pleasantly surprised by the excellent scree ski that took us down to the Tamarak trail. Note that when you are heading down the lower slopes of Lineham you should angle left down the clearest part of the gully and you will connect with the trail. There was a lot of recent bear sign in that valley as well!

Taking the Lineham Lakes trail in to Mount Blakiston. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Taking the Lineham Lakes trail in to Mount Blakiston. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
A view of Mount Lineham from the ascent slopes of Blakiston where we would end up about 6 hours later.
A view of Mount Lineham from the ascent slopes of Blakiston where we would end up about 6 hours later.
Lineham falls from the avalanche gully on Blakiston.
Lineham falls from the avalanche gully on Blakiston.
Rod coming up the upper part of Blakiston.
Rod coming up the upper part of Blakiston.
Rod and Jon negotiating the crux on Blakiston.
Rod and Jon negotiating the crux on Blakiston.
Summit of Mount Blakiston.
Summit of Mount Blakiston.
Tony on his way to the second summit (Mount Hawkins) of the day.
Tony on his way to the second summit (Mount Hawkins) of the day.
Vern, Tony and Rod on the ridge to Mount Hawkins with Blakiston in the background. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern, Tony and Rod on the ridge to Mount Hawkins with Blakiston in the background. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Jon on the way to Mount Hawkins.
Jon on the way to Mount Hawkins.
Part of the descent from Mount Blakiston as viewed from a minor bump along the way to Mount Hawkins.
Part of the descent from Mount Blakiston as viewed from a minor bump along the way to Mount Hawkins.
Vern, Tony and Rod on the ridge to Mount Hawkins. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern, Tony and Rod on the ridge to Mount Hawkins. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern and Rod coming down a steeper part of the ridge. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern and Rod coming down a steeper part of the ridge. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern Tony and Rod working their way up to the summit of Mount Hawkins. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern Tony and Rod working their way up to the summit of Mount Hawkins. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern and Tony at the summit of Mount Hawkins. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Vern and Tony at the summit of Mount Hawkins. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Some of the scenary along the ridge.
Some of the scenary along the ridge.
Another scenary shot of the ridge (if you look closely you can see another party coming up behind us).
Another scenary shot of the ridge (if you look closely you can see another party coming up behind us).
A flattened view of the ascent route on Mount Blakiston as seen from Mount Lineham.
A flattened view of the ascent route on Mount Blakiston as seen from Mount Lineham.
Another party on the ridge. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
Another party on the ridge. (Picture courtesy Jon Dewit)
The last peak of the day! Summit of Mount Lineham.
The last peak of the day! Summit of Mount Lineham.
The descent route on Mount Lineham - a great scree ski.
The descent route on Mount Lineham - a great scree ski.