Summit Elevation (m): 2993
Trip Date: Saturday, July 03, 2004
Round Trip Time (hr): Unknown
Elevation Gain (m): 1010
Total Trip Distance (km): 18
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 3/4 – you fall, you break something or worse
Difficulty Notes: Mostly an easy hike, some exposure on the final bit to the true summit.
Technical Rating: SC5; YDS (3rd)
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
Photos: View Album
What a day! We dragged the kids all the way to Helen Lake! Actually they did very amazing. KC must have hiked about 4km in and 1000ft of height gain and Niko went about 700ft of gain and 3km in. On the way back they only went in the carriers for part of the way. I’m very impressed. This was a warm up hike for our upcoming backpacking trip into the Ramparts this September. Hanneke and I are going with some others so she wanted to make sure that she did some hiking before the trip.
We could not have picked a nicer day. It was 25+ degrees and there weren’t too many clouds around. We even spotted a grizzly on the way back but it was a LONG ways off. The kids couldn’t even pick it out. It was closer to the trail but must have wandered away before we got closer. The kids were disappointed but Hann and I were a bit relieved!
There was a lot of people on the trail so we didn’t feel threatened at all. While Hanneke and the kids took a breather at Helen Lake I continued on to bag Cirque Peak.
It took me about 1:40 to go up and down so I was pushing it pretty good (Especially after biking 160+ km for the past two weeks in a row). The ascent was very easy with some scrambling right at the very top. There is some loose stuff but no real exposure if you pick your line to the summit correctly.
A highly recommended hike / scramble for any clear day – the views are fabulous!
