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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 7:59 PM
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I hiked Read's Tower last year in whiteout conditions. This is a short but very scenic hike so I knew I'm gonna come back on a clear day. On Canada Day I did it again with a large group of my friends from Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. This time weather cooperated and there was no wind despite a dismal weather forecast. Many hikers go as far as the highpoint of Read's Ridge. Read's Tower is a short but very worthwhile steep scree hike from the Ridge. It grants improved panorama over Spray Lake as well as great views towards Sparrowhawk Tarns, Bogart and Buller.
It's a popular hike. We met several groups on the trail. One group of four apparently decided to descend Read's Ridge straight to Sparrowhawk Tarns. They got cliffed out, panicked and called for help. Some my friends who relaxed on Read's Ridge when the rest did the Tower heard shouts coming from that direction but they thought someone is just having fun. Parks wardens were rushing to the scene as we neared the trailhead. Fortunately, we were later told that the group managed to retrace their steps to safety...
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Edited by - Engor on 07/05/2012 8:05 PM
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Edmonton, AB
Canada
464 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 8:10 PM
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How supportive the snow is?
I'm thinking about doing Mount Sparrowhawk to Read's Tower sometime in the next few days. If I have to post-hole, then I gonna wait for 2 more weeks.
It's interesting that some people got into trouble on a hiking route... |
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Edmonton, AB
Canada
216 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2012 : 9:57 PM
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I sure hope that wasn't the group of mature hikers (from Canmore) that I met on Read's Tower. They were following Potter's description for a Read's Ridge/Red Ridge loop, although they only intended to reach the tarns before returning along the Sparrowhawk Creek Trail. I said that I hadn't done the route, but showed them a Gemtrek map which indicates that there's a trail down to that area along a creek to the east of the tower. Hope that's not what got them into trouble, but perhaps they improvised or followed something from Potter's description (which can be a little vague at times from my experience)?
Engor, were you part of that large group of people looking for "the lakes"? I'm guessing that I passed your group while I was on my way back down to the parking lot around 2pm.
Steven, I went there that day with the intention of doing Sparrowhawk and bailed. The ascent gully between Sparrowhawk and Read's Tower looked like it would require an ice axe at the very least, and that I would be in snow the rest of the way to the summit. I'd give it another two weeks.
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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2012 : 6:31 PM
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Steven: Arcturus pretty much answered your question. I can't say how supportive snow is since the trail to Read's Tower was completely dry. We easily avoided a couple of snow patches.
Judging from park rangers' rescue missions hikers more often get into troubles on hiking trails than scramblers on routes. I guess the reason for this is that hikers overall are less experienced than scramblers.
Arcturus A park ranger told me that the only unaccounted car belonged to someone born in 1955 so possibly that was the group you are talking about. According to my friends, the group in question didn't go up Read's Tower. Instead, they decided to descent from the Ridge to Sparrowhawk Tarns swinging eastwards. That's where they were cliffed out and panicked. Hikers on Sparrowhawk Tarns trail heard calls for help right above them, according to park rangers. It is consistent with what my friends told me.
I descended before from Read's Tower to Sparrowhawk Tarn Trail. A series of cliff bands block the descent but there are several weaknesses on the left side that offer an easy way down.
I'm not sure what you mean by "looking for the lakes" :-). We were a large group of 12 people. There was another large group of 10 or so hikers on the trail. We followed beside each other creating a traffic jam :-) |
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Edmonton, AB
Canada
216 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2012 : 7:03 PM
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I'm certain the group I met would have been the first to the tarns, so it must have been somebody else who ran into trouble.
I didn't know what "looking for the lakes" meant either, but at least two people (who must have been just ahead of you) asked me that very question. After a moment of puzzlement I helpfully suggested "You mean the Sparrowhawk Tarns?". "Uhh Yeah" . I believe they may have been wearing running shoes as well, so it's not too surprising that some people ran into trouble when they didn't know where they were going, how they were going to get there, and weren't prepared for it anyway. |
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calgary, ab
Canada
149 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2012 : 9:54 PM
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| Mt Sparrowhawk still looks very wintery.... guess i need to wait till sept for this scramble |
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| Engor
Intermediate Member
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Calgary
838 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2012 : 10:58 PM
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| With the current heatwave we have, I think Sparrowhawk will lose all/most snow by the next weekend. |
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972 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2012 : 07:45 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by StevenSong
How supportive the snow is?
I'm thinking about doing Mount Sparrowhawk to Read's Tower sometime in the next few days. If I have to post-hole, then I gonna wait for 2 more weeks.
It's interesting that some people got into trouble on a hiking route...
you cant expect someone to tell you how supportive the snow will be on any given day,it all depends on the freeze overnight. |
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Read's Tower
