Morin Peak

Crowsnest, AB, Canada

30 May 2020

With Marcelina

 

Delightful early season scrambling

 

Morin Peak is the local name for a sub-peak that juts out on the western side of the Livingstone Range near the village of Frank. It can be climbed from pretty much any side, for example via the SW ridge (see Dave’s report) or as part of a traverse from South Peak (see Vern’s trip).

When Trevor and I hiked up neighboring Bluff Mountain five days earlier I noticed that Morin Peak was virtually snow-free. A great reason to return to the Crowsnest area and ascend this little peak together with Marcelina, who was looking forward to trying out something a bit more challenging than just a hike. It turned out to be an absolutely fabulous day with an enjoyable approach, fun moderate scrambling, and great company.

We parked in an open area under a powerline right across from an open gate where a track seemed to be heading in the direction of our objective (we didn’t see any “Private” or “No trespassing” signs here). The access road was driveable with our slightly higher clearance car – with a regular sedan you might have to leave your car just before the cattle gate as the road gets quite muddy in places.

For the approach we followed the initial track a short distance, then joined a rough forest trail just past a private house. There were a series of meandering trails that eventually fizzled out and some light bushwhacking brought us to the start of the west ridge. Hiking up this ridge was quite pleasant: a faint trail goes up the spine of it in the lower parts where open meadows and stands of pine and birch trees make for easy travel. Higher up we bypassed a small rock rib and forest on the right, then went back on the ridge crest. Some fun easy to moderate scrambling near the top led to a small cairn where we joined the south ridge.

It’s only a few hundred metres from here to the summit and this was by far the most enjoyable part. The ridge is narrow and quite exposed in places, but offers lots of great hands-on scrambling. I’d probably rate it as an upper moderate in terms of difficulty (Kane classification), and for a beginner scrambler this ridge might certainly be daunting. Also, there is some loose rubble and the rock can be crumbly, so care is required. Just before the true summit the ridge becomes impossibly narrow, but is easily avoided by going around the right (east) and then up a rubbly chute to the summit.

According to the register placed in 2017 and documenting only three entries since then, Morin Peak isn’t very popular – something that’s probably going to change pretty soon judging by how quickly internet reports are spreading these days. The mountain offers a perfect vantage point for the southern part of the Livingstone Range, from the brown shale slopes of South Peak right across to several unnamed high points plus Caudron Peak and Centre Peak further north.

The ridge extending north from the summit looked intriguing so we decided to give it a go. Initially, some cliffs required bypassing the crest via a faint goat trail on a ramp on the right (east) side. Once we had clambered up the ridge top again, the rest was very enjoyable moderate scrambling right on the crest. A piton (probably from a winter ascent) and a stately cairn along the ridge bear witness that people do make it up here after all.

At the intersection with a ridge to the west (cairn) we stopped and discussed how to proceed. Continue along the north ridge and then descend into unknown forest, possibly with tons of bushwhacking, or head down the ridge directly to the west? We decided for the latter, which perhaps turned out to be not the best option, but I don’t know. First, we had to circumvent  a set of steep, bright grey limestone slabs via gullies and ledges on skier’s left. The remainder of the descent was mostly in unpleasant terrain of steep rocky slopes interspersed with bushy or treed areas.

Eventually we hit an ATV track that took us to the site of the former No. 2 coal mine, which forms part of the historical site of Lille, a small town of some 300 people that existed for a mere 10 years and was abandoned in 1913. The track continues down into the valley to the old town site where we explored the remains of the Lille hotel, the coke oven, and a huge pile of coal that’s still sitting there.

Visiting Lille ghost town was a great way to end this trip, one I can highly recommend. Our pace was fairly leisurely so our round-trip time of 8 hours is probably on the upper end.

 

Elevation:

2241 m  (my GPS)

Elevation gain:

960 m

Time:

8.0 h

Distance:

11.4 km

Difficulty level:

Moderate (Kane), T4 (SAC)

Comments:

Stats for loop route.

Reference:

Dave McMurray & own routefinding  

Personal rating:

4 (out of 5)

 

 

DOWNLOAD ROUTE (GPX FILE)

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Morin Peak from the access road where we parked.
A faint trail leads through lovely meadows and light forest to the west ridge.
Finally summer time!
Marcelina on the lower grassy slopes looking back at Turtle Mountain (centre) and Bluff Mountain (right). Down by the power line is where we parked.
Turtle Mountain.
Pleasant open terrain on the ridge.
Crowsnest Mountain (L) and the Seven Sisters (R).
The terrain is interesting and varied here.
No trails higher up, but plenty of route choices.
Easy scrambling on slabs near the ridge top.
The west ridge steepens towards the top.
On the main ridge looking towards Morin Peak summit.
The main ridge is exposed in places – thankfully it’s not too windy today!
A short saddle connects Morin Peak (L) with South Peak (R).
Close-up of the connecting ridge with a major drop-off just below the trees.
Fun scrambling along Morin Peak’s summit ridge.
This is where the ridge narrows but can be bypassed on the right (east side).
A rubbly chute on the right side leads direclty to the summit.
Morin Peak summit cairn.
Looking back along the ridge.
View east towards South Peak.
The long N-S ridge that forms the bulk of the Livingstone Range.
Centre Peak is the highest in the Livingstone Range. Caudron Peak can be seen on the right.
Our trip continues on faint goat trails on the east side of the north ridge. At this point, we scramble back up to the ridge crest.
The north ridge.
Great scrambling here, too!
A relatively new piton screwed into the rock shows that the route is a lot harder with snow or ice on it.
Someone built a big cairn at the point where we descend west down a ridge into the valley.
Another look at South Peak where two scramblers are enjoying the views at the summit.
Looking back towards Morin Peak.
This is the continuation of the north ridge, which presents an alternative descent option.
Lots of loose rock on our initial descent.
And some huge slabs that can be circumvented on skier’s left.
South of here is the ridge we came up.
The descent is steep and slow.
But gets easier the lower we climb.
Snow mold and pine needles on the forest floor.
Lille No. 2 coal mine.
At the site of the former town of Lille looking back at Morin Peak.
The town hotel.
And the coke oven.

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