Summit Elevation (m): 3038
Trip Date: August 29 2024
Elevation Gain (m): 950 (from Moose Camp), 1750 from Coral Creek staging area
Round Trip Time (hr): 3.5 (from Moose Camp)
Round Trip Distance (km): 5.75 (from Moose Camp), +60 kms from Coral Creek staging area
Reference Trip: Job Lake Excursions
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 2 – you fall, you sprain your ego.
Difficulty Notes: A very remote peak with a very easy ascent line.
Technical Rating: SC5; RE5
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
In July 2001, Alistair Des Moulins soloed an obscure, unnamed peak towering over Coral Creek in the Job / Cline PLUZ. He ascended it from a camp NE of Coral Lake via south slopes and the west ridge. I wonder how many folks have followed him since or many ascended before him? I’ll bet not many, although in this particular case two ascent parties would be standing on Quixote’s summit within 3 days of each other. At that rate there are over 100 ascents per year! But I doubt that’s the norm considering the over 60 kilometers round trip required just to access the lower south slopes.
While planning a Job Lake excursion I always wanted to include other peaks besides the main draw – 3205 meter Obstruction Mountain. Quixote Peak made the cut as a possible first day ascent after a lengthy approach up Coral Creek. I was never that confident that Sara and I would have the mental or physical energy for this add-on after hiking over 30 kilometers and 800 vertical meters with our overnight packs. But apparently we did! There wasn’t much discussion about it – as we approached Moose Camp on the way to Coral Lake, we both just assumed that considering it was only around 16:00 hours, Quixote was on the menu as a pre-supper snack.
To say I wasn’t feeling the physical effects of a long, muddy, wet, rough, 30km approach hike to Moose Camp would be a lie. I was definitely feeling it as we shrugged into our light summit packs and set off through light forest behind our campsite for the night. This was not Sara and my first multi-day backpacking and peakbagging trip together. In 2022 we’d completed a pretty tough trip into the White Goat Wilderness and learned how to set pace when on these multi-day, high effort trips. It’s not so much about going quick as going steady. Sara sets and maintains a great pace and generally goes in front. I tend to feel the person behind me and speed up too much.
After a very steep ascent on alpine plants and grasses north of our camp, we broke treeline and found ourselves looking ahead at a much foreshortened Quixote Peak.
From lower alpine meadows to the summit wasn’t rocket science but I could have used a small rocket to push my tired body up a bit easier! We ascended easy class II terrain meter by meter, watching the many unnamed summits around us slowly get lower and lower relative to our position.
Circle Game Peak, behind us to the south, featured prominently. I knew we had to get a few 10’s of meters higher than Circle Game and didn’t let myself think we were close until it was lower than us. Two hours from Moose Camp we found ourselves on the first peak of the trip.
Summit views from over 10,000 feet were sublime to say the least. Evening shadows filled countless valleys below us, almost each one with lakes and tarns draining lively streams. A myriad of unnamed, lofty, snow-covered summits surrounded our position, including all of the ones we were planning ascend on this trip and many others besides.
With evening settling in very quickly around us and a very long day under our feet we didn’t linger long at the rapidly cooling summit. Descent was quick and easy and by 20:00 we were wandering back into camp, more than ready to eat a late supper and settle in for the evening.
I highly recommend this lofty, well situated and scenic ascent for anyone in the upper Coral Creek area with some time and energy to spare. There is really no scrambling on this mountain, just a long, steep hike for some million dollar views.
