Sheol Mountain Scramble

Lat/Lon: 50.71°N, 117.23°W
Sheol Mountain is not really a mountain, but rather the eastern extension of Haddo
Peak, a popular alpine climb at Lake Louise. Sheol Mountain is located in Paradise
Creek Valley directly across from the massive and intimidating north face of Mount
Temple, one of the coveted 11,000’+ objectives in the Canadian Rockies. This is the
Lake Louise portion of Banff National Park, one of four connecting national parks in
the heart of the Canadian Rockies. Mount Temple is the only 11,000’+ Canadian
Rocky Mountain that can be easily accessed via its west ridge. However, the climbs
on the north face are quite extreme. No summit gives you a better view and study of
these north face routes than Sheol. The official name Sheol means “underworld of
the dead” in Hebrew. This mountain does not really conjure up such notions
however. I noticed no gargoyles, unique pinnacles, etc. It is a fairly uneventful climb,
but decent outing, particularly if you want to study Temple. It was first ascended in
1903 by a topographical survey team.

The only published route is the moderate scramble up the south slopes to the ridge
between Haddo Peak and Sheol. Sheol Mountain’s summit is actually 40’ lower
than when you gain the ridge. The approach to Sheol Mountain is a commonly used
trail (not overcrowded like many Lake Louise trails though) by hikers at Lake Louise
to access Lake Annette and the “Giant Steps”. You will not find a better viewpoint
for the extremely difficult Alpine V routes on Temple’s north face.

Getting There
The Trans-Canada Highway dissects Banff National Park east to west as you come
in from Calgary. Travel to the Lake Louise exit and turn left through town and then
take another left on Lake Moraine Road. Drive 2.3 km to the Paradise Valley
trailhead on your right.

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. Many times
throughout the past few years this trail has had travel restrictions. Normally the
restriction is that hikers must be in groups no less than six. That would make
getting in this “not so common” of a trail difficult. I advise checking with Parks
Canada before you plan this scramble.

When To Climb
As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June
through September. I climbed Sheol Mountain in June and enjoyed a fast and soft
descent via remaining snow in the gullies. There are no published backcountry ski
routes on the mountain, however, the Paradise Valley trail is a popular cross country
route in the winter.

Camping
The closest camp site is at the end of Paradise Valley Trail at Banff National Park
PA8, another 3.5 km west. You can go on line at Banff National Park to pick a camp
site and obtain your camping permit. You will also be required to obtain your
backcountry permit which is separate, but can be obtained simultaneously if you
plan on camping at a backcountry site.

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 3600’+/- ascent day. Take the Paradise Valley trail approximately 6 km to
the junction of Lake Annette and Giant Steps. Stay right towards Giant Steps for
approximately 1 more km to a broad avalanche slope. This slope is active
avalanche territory, meaning that you should find a relatively easy path (left) through
brush while ascending the slope to the base of the mountain. This also means
good grizzly habitat as they search the new debris for carcasses, etc.

I did the 3600’ from car to summit in 3.5 hours. Once you leave the trail and work
your way through a short amount of avalanche debris to the obvious gully, continue
up this gully to the base of the mountain. Traverse right before the first headwall and
proceed up the next gully you come to, east of the gully you just left. In June, I found
intermittent snow patches in the gully that would prove to be a delight on descent,
but I avoided this gully on ascent. Instead, I kept right of the gully and enjoyed some
hands on scrambling up a few rock problems. This no doubt proves to be a more
enjoyable, however more exposed, route up the gully. I jumped back into the gully at
a short waterfall step as the climbing to the right got more difficult. I then scrambled
up intermittent snow and scree filled ledges to a small ridge on the left that led to
the main west-east ridge from Haddo. As soon as I hit the ridge there was a
significant cairn and an even larger one just to the east at a high point. This is the
highest point of Sheol, but is not the true summit. Again, Sheol is not a true
mountain, but merely an extension of Haddo with the idea being that its summit
represents the end of this ridge. Therefore, ignore this summit looking cairn and
proceed to the end of the ridge to the east.

The crux of this scramble is a descent move on the ridge of about 10 meters. If
you stay right, you will find moderate scrambling on loose ledges and blocks. A
direct descent of this step is straight-up free climbing. Once back on to the ridge,
proceed over easy ground to the end of the ridge for the true summit of Mount Sheol.
Hector and Daly mountains are in the distance to the north. Haddo and Hungabee
make up your western view. Eiffel and Pinnacle are to the southwest and the north
face of Temple and its lone glacier dominate the south some 2000’ higher than the
summit of Sheol itself. On descent, I chose to climb the 10 meter crux for a
challenge, however, it can be easily circumvented to the left. Descend this eastern
portion of the upper bowl on fast scree back to the gully. In June, I had good snow to
glissade down intermittently for 2000’+. This is steep enough that you must be
confident of your self arrest skills.

Essential Gear
Helmet, Ice Ax, Gaiters, Bear Spray

Trip Report
We had 9 days straight of rain and snow and with a break in the clouds, I wanted to
see what the accumulation looked like further into the park. To my pleasant
surprise, the Lake Louise area was much drier than Canmore. No one was at the
trailhead or on the trail. I enjoyed one sage grouse on the way out, otherwise, it was
a very quiet day for wildlife. The fresh avalanche slope I ascended looked like WW3
of course and that is always interesting. The true summit was 40’ lower than the
high point on the ridge. The waterfall between Fairview and Sheol was flowing hard.
This is by far the absolute best view of Temple's hardcore Alpine V routes. I suggest
this scramble for you avid Alpine climbers wanting to check out Temple.