Lat/Lon: 52.55°N, 117.9°W First ascended in 1926 by J.W. Hickson and Howard Palmer, Fryatt is one of the coveted 11,000'+ mountains in the Canadian Rockies. Located in the Athabasca River Valley in Jasper National Park, Fryatt is an example of what they call a "horn" peak, being sculpted by glaciers on all sides leaving a horn shaped summit. Fryatt is the highest of the group of peaks surrounding the Fryatt Valley. Although the two established alpine routes, Southwest Face Alpine II 5.4 and West Ridge Direct Alpine III 5.8, are sought after due to the height of this mountain, her north and southeast faces remained unclimbed challenges for those seeking new adventure.
Getting There Follow the Columbia Icefields Parkway 31 km south of Jasper to the Athabasca Falls turnoff on your right. Follow the Althabasca Parkway 1.1 km to the Geraldine Lakes Road on your left. Drive along this road for 2.1 km to a signposted trail leading left (east) toward the Athabasca River. This is where you park and either hike or bike in to the Lower Fryatt Campground 11.4 km. Pick your poison. Biking with a 65lb pack on single track is no joy, but it is faster than hiking. Another option is to portage the river saving about 6 or 7 km off of this trial. I biked in. Leave your bike at the Lower Fryatt Campground and proceed on the trail as it follows Fryatt Creek west for a total of 22 km past the Brussels campground, Fryatt Lake, Headwall campground, Fryatt Creek Falls and finally to the Sidney Vallance Hut gaining several thousand feet of elevation. This hut serves as a great base for considerable variation in alpine climbing. My group planned a week back here. I know few climbers willing to hike 22 km for one mountain in the Canadian Rockies.
Red Tape Jasper National Park is one of four Canadian National Parks adjoined in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. You will need a Parks Canada pass for your vehicle and that is obtained as you enter the park(s) from any direction. You will also be required to obtain a backcountry permit and I have included the Parks Canada link for that information. As always in this neck of the woods, you are in bear country and need to hike and camp appropriately. The mosquitoes are actually more scary though.
When To Climb This is a summer area, best to climb from July through September. The Canadian Rockies Summit Alpine Ski Tour book does not mention any of these Fryatt Valley Peaks as objectives, however, ski touring is encouraged from the Sydney Vallance Hut.
Camping The Sydney Vallance Hut received a major facelift and interior makeover in the summer of 1999 and is now a much improved version of the former cabin. It is open summer and winter with a limited capacity of 12 humans or 1 large bear. It has a propane system for cooking and lighting and a wood stove for heating. I have included the link to the Alpine Club of Canada, who manages the hut. If you prefer camping, the last campground into this area is the Headwall campground. I don't advise this campground for any objective. It is poorly placed below an avalanche gully, meaning good bear habitat. It is best to either use the hut above the headwall and focus on Fryatt, Lowell, Olympus, Belanger, etc., or camp at the Brussels campground more than halfway in (very nice) and focus on Brussels and Christie. Campground reservations can be made through the Parks Canada link below.
Mountain Conditions Here is the Parks Canada link to use for camping, wildlife reports, weather and avalanche conditions.
Other Climbs in this Area I climbed five mountains in five days on this week long trip. My group was fortunate in that we had only one rainy day, our first day in the hut, which worked out since we just hauled our supplies 22 km the day before. Everybody did different mountains, but I climbed Lowell, Fryatt, Olympus, Christie and The Three Blind Mice. There are many more options as well.
Route It is about 22k back to the Fryatt Hut, which is a good starting point for this climb. There are also three campgrounds along the way. We biked in for the first 11k and hiked the remainder. I would have preferred to cross the Athabasca River via Canoe saving 7-9k vs carrying a 55lb pack on a bike, but my companions were not keen paddlers and voted me down. It is an option.
Immediately gain a trail that ascends north of the hut to a creek and upper meadow (gorgeous area). Then follow the creek for a short distance and aim northeast for the lower crossing points of several low lying ridges and moraines. You will lose elevation until you find yourself at the base of the col between a 2900 meter unnamed peak and the start of the south ridge to Fryatt. Gain 1000' to the col. (great view of the north face climb of Belanger)
Proceed up and over obstacles on the south ridge, eventually down climbing into a small corniced col continuing until just below the south summit of Fryatt. (On my ascent, we made the mistake of traversing left way to early to gain the southwest face. This put several of us on thin steep ice leading to nowhere sound. We retreated back and loss 800' of elevation so we could cross this ice at a much safer angle. To avoid this mistake, simply go up and over the south ridge to the small corniced col.)
Continue on a plateau until you are under the south summit of Fryatt, traverse left considerably and start climbing loose rock to gain the west ridge at a notch that is not always visible. Two in our party climbed the west side of this notch and we had to belay them over to the east side once on the ridge. Instead of trying to go through the notch which was filled with ice, two of us found a short 5.7 move directly right of the notch on good rock. Once on the west ridge, the climbing improves and fun should be had by all. Towards the end, traverse right below the summit and come back left to finish it off. The descent was interesting due to precarious rock fall. We utilized two rappels (2nd time we broke out the rope) and then each climber chose different lines of descent and found some snow to assist. Rock fall is a high hazard on this face. Enjoy!
Essential Gear Carry crampons, rope, helmet and small rack. I used my crampons in a place I did not need to if I had ascended the route as described above. But you will not know what ice does or does not exist until you are on the climb. I never placed any gear except for the short belay of 2 climbers over the notch, which can be avoided if you climb right of the notch. Keep in mind my group was comfortable soloing up to 5.7.
Other Routes The Selected Alpine Climbs book has one other route, the West Ridge Direct, Alpine III, 5.8. It looks pleasing and would definitely have less rock fall hazard.
Trip Report Four of us took off via an alpine start on August 9. We immediately gained a trail that ascends north of the hut to a creek and upper meadow. Then follow the creek for a short distance and aim northeast for the lower crossing points of several low lying ridges and moraines. You will lose elevation until you find yourself at the base of the col between a 2900 meter unnamed peak and the start of the south ridge to Fryatt. Gain this 1000' to the col and proceed up and over obstacles on the south ridge, eventually down climbing into a small corniced col continuing until just below the south summit of Fryatt.
On our ascent, we made the mistake of traversing left way to early to gain the southwest face. This put several of us on thin steep ice leading to nowhere sound. We retreated back and loss 800' of elevation so we could cross this ice at a much safer angle. This route also involved a tremendous amount of cambered footing and added 5.6 climbing to the southwest face once we started up again.
Once below the south summit of Fryatt, traverse left considerably and start climbing loose rock to gain the west ridge at a notch that is not always visible. Two in our party climbed the west side of this notch and we had to belay them over to the east side once on the ridge. Instead of trying to go through the notch which was filled with ice, two of us found a short 5.7 move directly right of the notch on good rock. Once on the west ridge, the climbing improves and fun should be had by all. Toward the end, traverse right below the summit and come back left to finish it off. The descent was interesting due to precarious rock fall. We utilized two rappels (2nd time we broke out the rope) and then each climber chose different lines of descent and found some snow to assist. Rock fall is a high hazard on this face. Enjoy!
CLICK TO ENLARGE MOST PHOTOS 1. On the Face 2. In the Notch 3. The South West Face from the col 4. Great view of Fryatt from Mickey Mouse Summit (Three Blind Mice) (Hut can be seen in the Valley on Zoom) 5. Summit Photo
