Mount Ishbel Alpine Climb

Lat/Lon: 51.26°N, 115.77°W
Mount Ishbel is located in the Bow River Valley east of Johnston Canyon in Banff
National Park, one of four connecting national parks located in the heart of the
Canadian Rockies. This peak first caught my attention several years prior when I
skied up to the well-known “Ink Pots” above Johnston Canyon. As part of the
Sawback Range, many consider Ishbel the most sawback-like of the group,
including Mount Louis, Mount Cory, Mount Edith, Mount Norquay and/or The Finger.
This is due in part to a glacier that undercut the southeast facing slopes of Mount
Ishbel resulting in a massive slide some 8000 years ago. Mount Ishbel was officially
named in 1956 after a daughter of a Great Britain Prime Minister. It was first
ascended in 1933 by Packer, Waters, Farish, Innes, DeCouteur and Sterling guided
by the legendary Lawrence Grassi.

There are no published routes up Ishbel that I am aware of. The notes we had would
fit on the back of a business card. Due to the rappels involved to complete a circuit of
the mountain (south ridge to east ridge), I would have to rate Ishbel an Alpine I climb
versus a difficult scramble. There are no published ski routes up the mountain. The
summit affords great views of Mt. Assiniboine as I caught a good glimpse of her
while on the ridge and before storm clouds moved in on us. Of course being in the
Bow Valley, the closer views include Copper Mountain, Storm Mountain, Ball
Mountain, Castle Mountain, The Finger, Mount Bell, etc.

Getting There
The Trans-Canada Highway dissects Banff National Park east to west as you come
in from Calgary. Bypass the Banff town exits and take the Bow Valley Parkway exit.
Turn right and follow the scenic parkway (90% of the time there are bull elk visible
from the road as was the case on the day of our ascent) past the Sawback Picnic
Area to a large meadow on your right. The long south ridge of Mount Ishbel begins
northeast of this meadow and is clearly visible from the road. There is a pullout on
the left. The Bow Valley Parkway is normally closed to traffic for wildlife purposes
from 6:00PM to 9:00AM until June 25th each year. However, there is no gate and I am
not aware of the proper etiquette for climbers regarding this restriction.

Red Tape
You will be required to purchase a national park pass as you enter the park. This
pass is good for all four national parks. If you plan many visits to Canadian National
Parks within one year, you should purchase an annual pass. There are no permit
requirements to climb in Banff National Park, but all camping is regulated. There is
also a backcountry permit required if you plan on spending a night in the backcountry
versus the town campsites. This can be obtained via the parks website which is
included in the camping section below. Park headquarters are located in Banff and
you will drive through the manned kiosks as you enter the park.

This is active grizzly country, therefore, you should always have bear spray on your
person. We just had a grizzly fatality in Canmore, June, 2005. I advise checking with
Parks Canada for any area and/or trail closures.

When To Climb
As with most climbs in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June through
September. I climbed Mount Ishbel in July and the route was free of snow on ascent.
There are no published backcountry ski routes on Mount Ishbel, and the mountain
would not be conducive to ski.

Camping
You can go on line at Banff National Park to pick your camp site and obtain your
camping permit. The closest camping is at the Johnston Canyon Resort and
Campground several kilometers west of where you park your car. Further down the
Parkway is the Castle Mountain Hostel located at Castle junction. You will also be
required to obtain your backcountry permit, if you are going to use a backcountry site,
which is separate, but can be obtained simultaneously.

Mountain Conditions
Banff National Park’s website has weather, wildlife reports, trail closures, etc.
Outside of the parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also useful,
particularly for winter travel.

Route
This is a 5000’+/- ascent day and I recorded 5300’ on my altimeter. The beauty of
Mount Ishbel is that you gain the ridge fairly early, limiting the amount of
bushwhacking involved. Most of the approach is through a marshy area that was part
of a prescribed burn quite a few years back, so it is fairly easy going.   Make sure to
take a compass reading before leaving the road.   You will be able to scope out the
appropriate place to gain the ridge from the road.   The south ridge is roughly an
eight kilometer ride to the summit.

Head due north along the right side of the large meadow, through several Aspen
stands and up to the south ridge of Ishbel. You should gain the ridge in the region of
6500’, still well below tree line. We observed one male Spruce Grouse on this ridge.
The sheep provide a respectable trail that ascends the ridge direct to your first rock
step. This will be an easy going face with a corner to scramble up. You will traverse
left at the top through a keyhole to find easier ground saving some elevation loss.
There will be several traverses from east to west and vice versa as you travel north,
mostly just moderate obstacles until you come across a steep problem blocking the
ridge, keep right to bypass this section and it continues to some enjoyable hands on
climbing back to the ridge. You weave back left again to traverse below the ridge on
the west side and regain it up some loose ledges. Now, most of the ridge goes on
the east side to the summit.   The most airy crux you will come across entails a
solid down climbing move or two on the left with extreme exposure, but good
rock for holds.   My partner chose to take a ramp down the east side and work her
way back up to the ridge.   This manner of retaking the ridge from the east via
some 5th class moves pretty much defines the final 1200’ up Mount Ishbel.

Eventually I came to a razor thin section leaning to the east.   The most noticeable
aspect of Mount Ishbel is that the rock gets considerably worse the further you
progress. This leaning flake of the ridge crest was conspicuously hollow and
fractured. At this juncture, we had noticed for quite some time that we could in fact
have taken a ledge full of scree straight up the east side to the east ridge and
ascend to the summit from there. It was at this point that we had enough of re-
attacking the ridge and down climbed roughly 30 meters to this ledge. As soon as I
reached this ramp there was a cairn, so evidently we were not the first to abandon
the weak knife edged ridge. We took easy street to the east ridge for 400’ and then
turned west to ascend via decent hands on climbing through a few steps for the final
100 meters or less.

There was a summit log at the summit in 2005.    Throughout our ascent, we were
chased by a black cloud or two.   Our relaxing summit jaunt was interrupted by the
“singing” of my alpine ax attached to my backpack on the ground. As I grabbed
the pack in my hand and flew off the summit in retreat both my partner’s and my
helmet became “alive” with electrical current, despite hers having no apparent
metal parts.   I believe this is a phenomenon where as the current is coming through
our feet and resting in our helmets. I could feel the current the second time it
occurred and we set a record for descending the top 100 meters of this peak.   In fact
when we came to the first of three rappel stations on descent of the east ridge, we
quickly down climbed ledges to the right to avoid having to stop and attach our
harnesses and therefore, more metal to our bodies.   By the time we reached the
second rappel station we felt comfortable we were out of harms way.

The rappel stations puzzle me somewhat on the east ridge, as I felt I could down
climb all three of them, but we did use number two and three and continued to
descend the east ridge to a corniced col between Ishbel and an unnamed peak to
the east. Carry on down this ridge until it becomes easier to descend via a gully to
your left.   Watch the rock fall from this point on.   A serous alpine accident has
been documented on this descent.   Once out of the gully, we chose to start
descending to a snow patch below the cliff bands versus descending completely to
the col. We found that this ground made for an easy descent. Once down to the
snow, we enjoyed a moderate glissade to a grassy knoll where we finished our
lunch.   While I awaited my partner at this spot, I observed a Ptarmigan hen directing
her five chicks to disperse in equal distance and hide under rocks as she remained
visible and close to distract me. It was quite the show. From the grassy knoll,
descend down a large drainage to Ranger Canyon. This section is an avalanche
slope free of thick trees and brush until the final 15 minutes before the canyon. Once
in the canyon, follow Ranger Creek (good luck keeping your feet dry) southwesterly
until you finally bypass the steep slopes and ridge on your right and can enter the
forest to follow your opposing compass “start reading” back to the meadow and your
vehicle. We discovered a lone Elk carcass through this old prescribed burn area,
which now serves as an ecosystem rich in grass.

Essential Gear - Alpine Ax, Helmet, Compass, Gaiters, Bear Spray, 50 meter rope,
Rappel Station Gear

Trip Report
In July 2005, Jackie Clark and I took 9.5 hours to complete the long south ridge of
Mount Ishbel. It was an exciting day full of electricity at the summit as our axes and
helmets filled with pre-lightening current. We recorded one fast descent via the east
ridge. There is little beta on this climb. We were told it was a 12-14 hour day. I
consider this a straight forward difficult scramble really with three rappel
opportunities if you want to take them. The best part is that it is a true circuit back
around to Ranger Canyon.

The beauty of Mount Ishbel is that you gain her long south ridge fairly early giving you
a full on ridge climb for most of the day versus the bushwhacking many neighboring
objectives require. The south ridge was roughly an eight kilometer ride to the
summit. We gained the ridge in the realm of 6500’, still well below tree line. There
were several traverses from east to west and vice versa as we traveled north, mostly
just moderate obstacles until we came across a steep problem blocking the ridge.
We kept right and bypassed this section as it continued to some enjoyable hands on
climbing back to the ridge. The most airy crux we came to involved a solid down
climbing move or two on the left with extreme exposure, but provided good rock for
holds. My partner chose to take a ramp down the east side and work her way back up
to the ridge. This manner of retaking the ridge from the east via some 5th class
moves pretty much defined the final 1200’ of the day until…

Eventually I came to a razor thin section leaning to the east. The most noticeable
aspect of Mount Ishbel is that the rock gets considerably worse the further you
progress. This leaning flake of the ridge crest was conspicuously hollow and
fractured. At this juncture, we had noticed for quite some time that we could in fact
have taken a ledge full of scree straight up the east side to the east ridge and
ascend to the summit from there. It was at this point that we had enough of re-
attacking the ridge and down climbed roughly 30 meters to this ledge. As soon as I
reached this ramp there was a cairn, so evidently we were not the first to abandon
the weak “knife edged” ridge. We took easy street to the east ridge for 400’ in gain
and then turned west to ascend via decent hands on climbing through a few steps
for the final 100 meters or less…

As we signed the summit log and took our summit photo, the black clouds that were
chasing us all day proceeded to converge. All of a sudden I heard this zinging noise
coming out of my pack and my partner’s eyes got big as she exclaimed we needed
to get out of there. It was then that I heard my helmet start to zing as well, just a
constant electrical charge as though it were a kitchen appliance vibrating on the
counter.   Only real problem was that it was on my head.   I quickly considered
taking my alpine ax off of the pack and tossing it, but I hate littering nature’s
landscape.   I figured it was safer just to grab the pack and run down the east ridge. I
was zapped one more time and my partner also got zapped in her helmet which is
made exclusively of foam.   I believe this is a phenomenon where as the current was
coming through our feet and resting in our helmets.   I could feel the current well the
second time it occurred and we set a record for descending the top 100 meters of
this peak.   In fact when we came to the first of three rappel stations on descent of the
east ridge, we quickly down climbed ledges to the right to avoid having to stop and
attach our harnesses and therefore, more metal to our bodies.   By the time we
reached the second rappel station we felt comfortable we were out of harms way.

We did use number two and three rappel stations and continued to descend the east
ridge to a corniced col between Ishbel and an unnamed peak to the east.   A serious
alpine accident has been documented on this descent but once out of a gully to the
left, we chose to start descending to a snow patch below the cliff bands versus
descending completely to the col. Once down to the snow, we enjoyed a moderate
glissade to a grassy knoll where we finally finished our lunch.   While I awaited my
partner at this spot, I observed a Ptarmigan hen directing her five chicks to disperse
in equal distance and hide under rocks as she remained visible and close to distract
me.   The idea being that a predator will possibly only find one or two chicks.   It was
quite the show and displays the true harshness of having to live and maintain in
the wilderness versus our small episode on the summit. From the grassy knoll,
we descended down into Ranger Canyon and waded our way out via Ranger Creek.
A fine “circuit” trip!