Was going to do something in SWBC but weather was not looking good for the weekend. I was also coming off a bad hip injury. Anyways, I’ve always wanted to go farther north, so made a short trip with my younger bro.
Camped at Heart Lake. Attempted Solitude Peak, but snow was super post-holey and steep and my hip couldn’t take it and it was getting late. It’s otherwise a very straightforward steep and short ascent above Heart Lake with minimal bushwacking.
There are two established trails in Murray Range: Murray Peak and Murray Range Trail. We took MRT to where it became covered in snow, in a large gully. Then cut climbers left for some easy fun kinda slabby scrambling, up to maybe class 3. Pretty short and steep; about 2km distance and 950m gain. The peak we did is unnamed (although I named it Azouzetta Peak on Peakbagger after the lake at the bottom, as it’s the tallest and most prominent peak directly above the lake). The Murray range would lend itself well for an easy decently long alpine traverse, which I wanted to do but my hip was not feeling it.
If you’re heading up Hwy 97, it’s a fun little outing. Plus there’s a cool cafe at the bottom.
