Home»All Photographs»2013 Hikes»Nigel Peak 09-14-13

Weather-wise, today was the day I was waiting for to try Nigel Peak. With the long drive from Calgary and a pre-hike tent setup, I only started out at 10 a.m.. The typical afternoon thunderstorms that build this time of year in the Rockies even decided to take a weekend off, placing less importance on an early summit time.
I approached via the more circuitous route through Wilcox Pass then south past Wilcox Lake. I ascended the north ridge and scrambled up three steps before reaching the summit.
I picked a line left of the ridgecrest for the first step, realizing part way up that I wasn't on steep mud, but steep mud-covered ice. Right away, I grabbed the rock ridge in front of me and pulled myself awkwardly over the step. I found a much better way around this step on the right, and marked a new route out with cairns here (helmet photo).
The second step was the crux, and involved about 40 feet of stepped shelves of rock ascending the ridge between the glacier on the left and a cliff on the right. The rock was horizontally bedded, making for good foot and handholds.
The third step was a bulge of convex rock that required a bit of a belly thrust (picture a walrus moving up the beach) to ascend. From there, a few short paces along the ridge and you are excited to find yourself on the summit of Nigel Peak at 10,535 ft (3211m) where you will likely use a good portion of your camera battery.
In addition, peak identification is very good from this vantage if you have brought a map, and eating and snoozing on a day this nice are also highly recommended.
I descended via the Kane route through a wonderful scree run. Farther down, the changing colours of the shrubbery foliage kept me company back to my campsite.