Although the skies were still mostly overcast, the view was still expansive. To the west, just past Cameron Lake, was the ridgeline of the Continental Divide and Forum Peak. Beyond (in British Columbia) was a series of rounded Argillite-composed peaks: the bumps of Akamina Ridge. Beyond that, the jagged form of Long Knife Peak.
To the south, we could now see well into Glacier National Park in the U.S. The peaks there were noticeably higher and more rugged, and we could see bits and pieces of hanging and remnant glaciers on their slopes.
Mount Alderson
Looking east from Carthew Summit's ridgeline, the view was also impressive, although perhaps a little less rugged and a bit more intimate. Most prominent was the steeply tilted strata and sharp ridgecrest leading up to Mount Alderson, the highest of the nearby peaks at 8,831 ft (2700m). The next mountain to the north of Alderson was Mount Carthew, a more rounded, gentle summit. In fact, the ridgecrest upon which we stood was part of the lower flanks of Mount Carthew.
Nestled in the valley between these two peaks was a string of watery pearls known as the Carthew Lakes - Upper, Middle, and Lower. Greenish in tint and arranged very favourably from our vantage point, they completed a beautiful alpine scene. We could see the track of the Carthew-Alderson trail wind down to and then around the lakes, heading east down-valley in the general direction of the Waterton townsite.
courtesy JInnes
Carthew Summit group shot
My original plan for the day had been to hike up to Carthew Summit and then decide - depending on our rate of progress - if we wanted to add on a scramble ascent of one of the two peaks on either side of the Carthew Lakes - either Mount Alderson or Mount Carthew. After the "key" incident had occurred and we received Adam's offer of help, I mentally figured that we'd need to rush on without doing a summit, since Adam had indicated that he was going to turn around at Carthew Summit and head back. This would mean that we'd need to keep hiking along the trail with no diversion if we were going to meet with him in a timely manner at the far end.
However, when I mentioned that we had thought about climbing one of the nearby summits, Adam seemed interested in the idea. And so, we decided to jointly climb one. We chose the easiest and lowest (and fastest to complete) of the two alternatives: Mount Carthew.
Hiking along ridgecrest
Climbing Mount Carthew from the Carthew Summit ridgeline was quite straightforward. We simply continued north, up the ridgecrest, leaving the marked trail and heading up along easily-walkable scree slopes. The grade steepened as we neared a craggy sub-summit. Here, a steeper and looser scree-filled gully gained us passage through the crags of the sub-summit.
Beginning Climb of Mt Carthew
As we climbed, the far-off line of clearing we had espied an hour or so before had drifted over us, and soon it transitioned from a mostly overcast day to a mostly sunny one. The scenery around us popped into colorful life, necessitating another round of picture-taking.
courtesy JInnes
Now atop the craggy sub-summit, we could see that we had a very easy walk along a gentle ridgeline to Mount Carthew's true summit. Skirting south around a few minor crags, we gained the final ridgeline and easily walked up it to Mt Carthew's summit. Down and to our right, with the blue-green waters of Upper Carthew lake as a backdrop, a family of mountain goats sunned themselves on the scree. There was a refreshing little breeze, and the cloud of pesky mosquitoes and flies that had been pestering us for much of the morning finally began to lose the scent. It was looking like a near-perfect summit experience
courtesy JInnes
courtesy JInnes
Mt Carthew, western basin
Looking back to sub-summit
We arrived at the 8,629 foot (2630m) summit of Mount Carthew at a very respectable 10:20am. Our food break atop the summit was therefore not quite lunch; perhaps we'll call it elevenses.
courtesy JInnes
Although the ridgeline we had climbed to the summit was basically a walk-up, all of the other aspects of Mount Carthew's summit were quite rugged, from very steep slopes to outright cliffs. The dropoff to the east was especially precipitous, with the colorful tarn of Alderson Lake and the huge headwall of Mount Alderson prominent below. Further off to the east, we could see the beginning of the prairies. The mountains and the flatlands do indeed interface quite abruptly here in Waterton.
The continued clearing away of the clouds meant perfect views in all directions. We could see nearly all of the major peaks of Waterton from this vantage point.
Broad panorama to south-west
courtesy JInnes
Mt Alderson and Alderson Lake
