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Mount Greenock (2065 m)

Summary

  • Area: Jasper
  • Trip Date: 2021 Aug 05
  • Trip Duration: 5 1/2 hrs
  • Elevation Gain: 1140 m
  • Total Distance: 7.4 km
  • Difficulty: Easy Scrambling
  • Accompanied By: One friend
  • Beta: Giant’s Gate – Mount Greenock
  • Notes: Celestine Lake Road changes direction of travel every 90 min and closes for Winter. This route will have been impacted by the Chetamon Wildfire in 2022.

Trip Report

Mount Greenock is a subpeak at the front of Roche de Smet. Anyone that has stopped along the highway for a photo of Jasper Lake no doubt has a picture of Mount Greenock (and probably doesn’t realize it). I spotted it on a map and wondered why it wasn’t included in any local books. A bit of searching turned up Giant’s Gate – Mount Greenock and revealed that this is an easy scramble with fantastic views. Intrigued, a friend and I set out to explore the route.

Unlike most Jasper scrambles, this peak has almost no scree. It’s fun scrambling on beautiful rock with less than 100 m of bushwhacking. The Chetamon Wildfire swept across this peak in 2022, but other than the short section of bushwhacking, I don’t expect this route will have been directly impacted; though the scenery is likely diminished. While the Giant’s Gate route made a loop of this peak, its return leg had significant bushwhacking, so we simply returned the way we came. The bushwhack portion of Giant’s Gate loop is likely more directly impacted by the fire.

As of 2021 Celestine Lake Road was in good condition and there was no longer a creek to drive through. My small vehicle with limited ground clearance made it through without trouble. Mount Greenock has three “ribs” which the road skirts around the base of. The U-turn around the third rib is tight and airy; I preferred to park at a pullout before this and start the ascent there (by following the pipeline/powerline over the rib). The most direct start to the route would be to continue driving past the third rib and park at the bottom of the hill, as for Windy Point Crag. If parking here, the route starts behind the climbing crag.

Views open up immediately over Jasper Lake. Smoke from a wildfire was so thick that it turned the sky pink this day.
Ascent up the third rib is almost entirely on beautiful rock like this. It made for fun scrambling. We continued up the third rib until we found ourselves facing a tall cliff-face. We then angled left and made our way to the second rib. The easiest path was up a treed slope, just below a smooth rock face.
Breaking out of the trees, we emerged onto the second rib. The last section before the peak is loose scree, but thankfully was shorter than it looked.
Nearing the summit, looking down the second rib. My friend recalled that a fire had burnt a portion of that rib a few years prior. We discussed and agreed that we didn’t see the appeal of returning by that route. We decided to instead return on the fun rocky third rib by which we’d ascended.
I was surprised to find a cairn with summit register at the top of this seemingly unknown peak. The occasional party had evidently been finding their way up. A smoky Gargoyle Mountain can be seen in the background.
Views to the north of the peak are of Roche de Smet.

We returned the way we came, making it back to the vehicle in 5 1/2 hrs. As we neared the vehicle we noticed that we could almost make it out before the traffic direction changed on Celestine Lake Road, so we jogged down the last few hundred meters and drove away without even changing our shoes. We made it out with mere minutes to spare. We were much faster than the Giant’s Gate trip report. This is likely because he had to park further out, adding 6km to his trip. Be sure to check out Giant’s Gate – Mount Greenock though for smoke-free skies and much better photos.

I like to pack my camp stove for activities along Celestine Lake Road, so I can cook and eat dinner while waiting for the road direction to change. Another option here could be to pack sport climbing gear and get in a few laps at Windy Point Crag. It’s a newer crag with generous bolt placement and even a couple of routes that can be walked to the top of for setting up a top-rope. The nearest outhouse is at the Moberly Homestead, at the town side of Celestine Lake Road.

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