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Androlumbia, Mount (Little Andromeda)

Summit Elevation (m): 3330
Trip Date: April 19 2015
Elevation Gain (m): 1350
Round Trip Time (hr): 9
Total Trip Distance (km): 20
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 3 – you fall, you break something
Difficulty Notes: Crevasses, seracs and avalanche risk are what makes Androlumbia a peak to ascend with caution and in good conditions.
Technical Rating: MN8; YDS (I)
GPS Track: Gaia
MapGoogle Maps


On Sunday, April 19th we awoke in -15 degrees feeling pretty darn good with ourselves. The previous day we’d skied into our camp beneath Mount Columbia and even managed to ascend the peak before collapsing into our sleeping bags after a long and hard 17 hour day. There was a cloud cap covering Columbia as we struggled out of our warm sleeping bags and slowly started breaking camp. The sky soon cleared completely off – we were going to have a bluebird day on the ice fields. Even though our views would have been clearer on Columbia this day, we were still glad to have climbed the face with some clouds rather than a relentless spring sun heating things up. As we packed camp we made decisions on what to attempt. At first Ben and Steven were pretty keen on tagging both Kitchener and Snow Dome. I offered to follow our ski tracks to just above the ramp and set up camp for all of us while they did the peaks. My condition was that they had to assist me in breaking trail to the Andromeda / Androlumbia col so that I could safely climb it solo and get through the crevasses with a rope / team mates.

Androlumbia Route Map
Vern is colorful with his winter mountaineering load packed into his new HMG 4400 pack.

We followed our ski track back through the trench and up towards Snow Dome until Ben and Steven could continue on the snowmobile tracks to the summit while I would follow our ski tracks back to the trench. (Skiing the snowmobile track helped for crevasses but it didn’t make the skiing any easier as the tracks were mixed and uneven and the snow was very supportive and easy to ski.) As we parted ways the plans changed slightly. Ben and Steven were starting to realize how big Snow Dome was and were hurting a bit after the 17 hour day on Columbia the day before. They agreed that they would only do Snow Dome while I set up camp. Then we would try to get me up Andromeda that afternoon from camp.

South Twin Peak is a monster 11,000er looming over Columbia Lake to the north of the trench. I climbed it a week or two after taking this photo.
Small figures on an ocean of snow and ice. The big “C” in the background, over 6km away.
Looking down the Saskatchewan Glacier towards Mount Saskatchewan at distant left with Amery to its right and Castleguard at far right.

I continued skiing solo along our previous days ascent track. The day was gorgeous. I felt alone and completely free as I skied under a brilliantly blue sky with a cool wind and warm sun on my face. I skied down towards the trench and found a perfect camp site under Androlumbia where we could best take advantage of it’s west face and north ridge to access the Andromeda col and the south ridge route to its summit. I spent the next few hours digging in camp – building a spectacular biffy and kitchen and setting up my mid. I love building winter camps when it’s windless, sunny and warm! I worked in my t-shirt, sweating furiously as I dug large blocks of snow to build a wind wall around the north and west sides of camp. Sitting there drinking a hot cup of coffee while enjoying a chicken sandwich with dutch cheese I reflected how lucky I was to be there, enjoying this wonderful day in this amazing location. Throughout the afternoon I could hear ice fall thundering down the steep faces of Snow Dome and Andromeda – reminding me that we needed to ski beneath the seracs the next day.

I was hoping to bag Andromeda via its south ridge (rising right to left) but we ended up bagging Androlumbia instead – the peak rising at center here.

As the time ticked on and Steven and Ben weren’t showing up, I began to realize that Andromeda wouldn’t be happening for me this day. I wasn’t too miffed as it was a long shot to begin with. I also wasn’t too keen on climbing it solo – and it can be done in a long day trip. I thought maybe we could break trail to the col and I could go back very early on Monday to tag it solo but that sounded too desperate to be much fun and I wasn’t convinced it would come to that. I decided to go for a nap instead of worry about more summits. (Note: I did ski Andromeda in April 2016 as a one day ascent and it was glorious – sometimes waiting is best.)

I woke up 30 minutes later when Ben skied into camp. Apparently Snow Dome was more work than they were expecting – a very common theme on the Columbia Icefield! When Steven rolled into camp 15 minutes later it was very clear to me that Andromeda wasn’t going to happen. It was already 15:00 and my friends were tired and sore and needed a break. They were delighted and grateful to have camp all set up and we decided to chill out for a few hours and see what we’d do later. I mentioned perhaps breaking trail to the Andromeda south ridge and then ascending it the next day solo but I could sense that this wasn’t going to work. Steven had an exam on Tuesday morning and we wanted to get under the seracs on Snow Dome before the day got too hot.

After eating and drinking and sitting around for a couple of hours, we came up with a brilliant plan. I’d been asking why Steven and Ben didn’t go up Androlumbia while I bagged Andromeda but they weren’t convinced. Apparently when they climbed Andromeda they saw a lot of crevasses on Androlumbia’s ridge and were very wary of it. I thought the whole thing looked skiable directly from our camp! Eventually we decided that all three of us would attempt to ski Androlumbia that afternoon and I’d break trail since Steven and Ben were pretty bagged already. I wouldn’t bother with Andromeda and we could ski out on Monday and get under the seracs early in the day. I was happy with this plan. Taking a day off costs me a lot of cash, as I’m a contractor and paid by the hour. This way at least I’d get a second peak and make the day off worthwhile.

Ben was a wee bit grumpy as he struggled into his ski boots again, but as I led the way slowly up the west face of Androlumbia his mood improved. The views were stunning, there was very little wind, and we were quickly realizing how awesome our ski descent would be! There were enough crevasses around to keep us sharp, but they were mostly filled in or obvious. Speaking of crevasses – it was neat to see our ski track down on the main glacier far below. From up close we didn’t realize it, but our tracks clearly crossed many crevasses which were visible from up high as slightly shadowed straight lines. We could also see another group descending to their camp off of Snow Dome. They had ascended the long Saskatchewan Glacier rather than deal with the objective hazards of the Athabasca. Hard to blame them but with the warm temps the approach valley up from hwy 93 to the Saskatchewan must have been a drag.

Hard to believe we were up there 24 hours ago. Note the perfect intersection of tracks on the glacier below from us and a group who did Snow Dome from a camp on the Saskatchewan Glacier.

Near the summit ridge the snow became wind hammered and crusty. Since the skiing would be crappy there, we ditched the skis and boot packed the rest of the way. The views to our right were stunning! Androlumbia is not a popular peak but at nearly 11,000 feet and on the eastern edge of the icefield it is perfectly situated for some killer views. Andromeda looked quite snowy – good thing I wasn’t up there alone breaking trail.

Looking south from the summit of Androlumbia at Forbes, Lyells, Alexandra and Bryce.
Mount Forbes is the highest peak in Banff National Park at 11,851ft.

After taking photos it was time for the best part of this peak – the beautiful ski run down. We enjoyed some great turns, especially Ben and I carving around each other’s tracks on the upper mountain. We got back to camp way too soon. With a couple hours of day light left, we made supper and enjoyed another perfect glacier evening camp. Steven was miffed to find out that a famous icefield thief had got into his food and destroyed most of it while we were up on the mountain. Another reminder of the many things that can happen to ruin a trip. BURY YOUR FOOD on the Columbia Icefield or risk losing it all while you’re gone!

Descending the summit ridge of Androlumbia with the lower south ridge of Andromeda in front of us. You can see why this is the easy route on Andromeda – but it’s much further to the summit than it looks here as the summit visible is a false one and there’s two more before the true summit is finally attained.

Monday morning dawned cold but mostly clear. Andromeda was buried in a cloud cap so good thing I wasn’t up there alone. We skied quickly under the seracs and then carefully down the steepest roll near the toe of the glacier ice fall. After that it was a fast ride to the toe of the Athabasca Glacier and then a long trudge to the cars from there. I highly recommend Androlumbia as a day trip or the tail end of another ice fields trip. Highly worth it for the views and if there’s decent coverage on the glacier the holes should be mostly filled.

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