Multiple Trips from 2016-2017. Moraine Lake, Alberta.
Round Trip: 5-7 hours. Height gained: Approx 1000m
Easy Scramble from Eiffel Lake
In grand total I’ve made the ascent up to Wastach Peak’s 2850m summit 3 times. First time was a solo adventure after work on June 17th, 2016. The second and third times were both in July 2017, both also after work missions.
This hidden gem of a scramble is hidden in plain sight of Eiffel Lake trail near Moraine Lake. While the peak itself is not officially named, Wastach Pass is officially on the maps and the peak lies immediately west of the pass. For a more challenging approach, Wastach Pass can be accessed from Paradise Valley. I myself having previously worked at Moraine Lake Lodge had the advantage of accessing it directly from work.
There isn’t much to describe with this one and it has seen increased traffic since I first went up in 2016. Follow the popular hiking trail to Eiffel Lake, then simply leave the trail and ascend up a narrow gully to Wastach Pass. In snow free conditions there is an obviously worn path that worms its way up through the scree. Once up into the pass, cut to the looker’s left (west) aiming for a large cube-like boulder.
Pending on the time of year and volume of snow you have a couple choices for how you wish to proceed. If enough snow allows for it, kicking steps would be the faster option.
On all 3 ascents I stuck to the climber’s left. In 2016 I stuck only slightly left to the snow patch. This resulted in a mix of scree bashing and boulder hopping my way up the slope to the summit.
In 2017 however I discovered that going as far left as possible was more fun, resulting in almost moderate level scrambling. The trade off is that if you go too far left the exposure quickly increases and the ledges become increasingly smaller. Basic route finding will aid in finding a happy medium.
Assuming you opted for the funner scrambling route of the climber’s left, you will eventually hit a brief series of ledges. At this point you will need to start veering to the right in order to safely pick up the summit ridge. Otherwise you will end in very steep territory:
As you work your way right the ledges become larger blocks making for a fun and relatively safe scramble. From here you’re within striking distance of the summit. There’s no need to go too far to the right – you’ve gone too far if crossing the snow patch again. In 2017 we connected to the summit ridge slightly above the snow patch’s left. At the top one is rewarded with a scenic ridge walk to the summit. The panorama of the Valley of Ten Peaks and of Paradise Valley almost rivals that of the neighboring Eiffel Peak.
For the descent, if there is still a decent snow patch either glissade or boot-ski back down to Wastach Pass. Otherwise toil your way back down. If you stay to the skier’s left (i.e. where the snow patch is) there is more scree versus blocky ledges which will aid in a fast descent.
Final note on time averages, it really depends on your personal fitness level and energy for this one. With my friend Ben on July 11th we casually wandered up the peak and were back at Moraine Lake in exactly 5 hours. Whereas the other two trips were both closer to 7 hours round trip. Having enough snow to boot-ski back down to the pass also factored into the 5 hour time frame. I’d recommend doing this one as either an early or late season mission for that reason alone.
Also while not marked on the Gemtrek Topo Maps, “Wastach Mountain” does appear next to Wastach Pass on Google maps as of 2018.
Steep Sheep 