Mt. Ptolemy SE5 - East Kootenay (BC) / Castle Wildland Provincial Park (AB)

2021-07-25 & 2022-09-25 - the Flathead Range along the NW section of Castle Wildland Provincial Park forms a stark and steep wall from North Kootenay Pass to Mt. Coulthard. There are several substantial high points along the wall and many have names. However, there are a lot without names including no less than 8 outliers of Mt. Darrah. There is no more egregious error or oversight than the lack of a name for the 2nd highest point in the park, the huge peak that lies to the SE of Mt. Ptolemy and directly north of Mt. McGladrey. This peak is designated on maps as Ptolemy SE5 or PSE5, in relation to its SE direction from Mt. Ptolemy (the highest peak in the park).
I have taken in many views of PSE5 and have long thought about scrambling to the summit. Unfortunately, there is no online information about anyone who has scrambled the peak. However, a few years ago Melissa and I were walking along the forest service road near Centre Mt. and were picked up by local climbing guru Daniel Vanderpyle and his partner who were on their way to scramble Mt. Corrigan. We soon got to talking and I asked Daniel about various unnamed peaks in the area including Centre SE1, Centre N1 and Ptolemy SE5. He assured me that Ptolemy SE5 could be approached from the NW ridge and that it wasn't anything more than a class 3 scramble. Melissa and I had a good view of this approach when we had ventured onto the Promised Land a month or so before. At that time we began to think that the NW ridge was a possibility. We also saw a picturesque lake/tarn that looked like it would be worth getting back to.
With this recommendation in mind we decided to make a backcountry adventure out of it. A few weeks later we made our way to the Andy Good Creek trailhead which is at a parking lot just past a set of railroad tracks on the Corbin Road.
We made our way to a backcountry campsite at the end of the Andy Good Creek trail. This big basin is an excellent spot and is popular with bike riders, OHV riders, and hikers. If someone were ambitious enough I could see that you could get up to the Promised Land from this direction as well.
The next morning we set out for the little lake. We were surprised to find that there was a trail that went to it and we made it there quickly. After a brief stop Melissa went back to the campsite while I trundled up solo to PSE5. This first required a bushwhack and a significant loss of elevation that I had to gain on the other side. By the time I made it to the NW ridge I was already tired and the day was heating up to near 30C.
The going along the ridge was just OK. There were lots of steep slabs and I had to be careful with my footing so as not to slip. A slip here wouldn't have been deadly but it would've definitely been a rough stop.
At one point I got onto the ridge crest and could see that there was a ramp-like path on the left (N) side of the crest. However, from that point it looked like it was very steep and loose rock.
Ultimately, I lost confidence in the route and by this time it was 30+ C. I decided to bail on the summit push and to descend. Rather than go back the same way I thought I would go down the steep slabs and scree to see if they would be possible as an ascent route on a return trip.
This turned out to be just OK too. Not great but ok, and I slowly made my way down into a drainage. I then followed this drainage to where it met up with Andy Good Creek and the parallel trail.
It was a over a year later that I returned to scramble up again. In the meantime I had done some more research and read a brief description of the NW ridge route in David Jones' "Rockies South" which also designated it as class 3.
This time I set out early on a cool morning. I made it to the drainage-creek intersection on my bike in good time. I hiked into the drainage for only a short while before I went into the light bush and made my way up the steep slope.
After over an hour I made it to the ridge crest. This time I missed most of the exposure on the slabs by crossing onto the left (N) side of the crest. I found a nice flat edge that I scrambled along and then to the ramp-like path which was even better.
Once I got past the ramp the route steepened considerably. But the rock was surprisingly firm. I scrambled it easily and was quickly to the summit block. Once near the summit I came to a notch (visible from Corbin Rd) and knew that the bump on the other side of the notch was going to be the crux. A steep gully went right up the bump, but I opted to go left (on the return I came down the gully).
Once past the crux the summit was a short scramble on level ground. The views were, of course, simply outstanding.
I returned the same way and took the same slabs and scree on the descent that I took last year (rather than the grassy slope).
Music:
Silayne and Pluviophila performing "Bloom" by The Paper Kites
Gregory Alan Isakov - "St. Valentine'
Jay Robinson - "Out Loud"