Parrish, Mount (+ Promised Land, Gargantua)

On September 1st 2023 I ventured up Ptolemy Creek on bike for the first 5 kilometers and then on foot to the Andy Good Basin to tag a couple of peaks in the area. I remembered the bike ride being a little more work than I bargained for with at least 6 creek crossings and steep, rough sections. I also remembered that once I was off the bike my day improved on a good approach road / trail and zero bushwhacking.

After visiting Frank Slide and other Crowsnest Pass tourist attractions with my sister and her family the weekend previous, I found myself bombing down hwy 22 less than a week later. Ever since I saw Mount Parrish from Andy Good it’s been on my mind. I even made a comment in the Andy Good trip report that I thought about an attempt that day two years ago but wisely decided against that idea.

Mount Parrish, Promised Land Peak and Gargantua Peak Route Map.

When Devan Peterson posted a trip report from Mount Parrish in September 2024 and gave some excellent beta on a scramble route, it rocketed back up my shrinking mountain list. I copied a few photos from Devan’s post showing the various route options on the complex face to a note on my phone. This proved very valuable. I made the somewhat strange (for me) decision NOT to ride the approach on this particular day. I regretted it almost immediately once I was done with the familiar (and very chilly) creek crossings, but it was too late now!

I wanted to do some longer road rides over the coming week and my poor butt needed a break from the saddle for a few days, plus I didn’t remember the ride being that much fun. After both walking and riding the first 5kms, I do recommend a bike if you find yourself in the area with a 2-wheel steed. There’s some rough patches but they’re not nearly as bad as many others I’ve ridden in the past and the ride back down will save you a bunch of time and make you smile. Regardless, the road was a pleasure in the early morning sun and the birds were especially welcoming in this little corner of paradise.

Gargantua Peak is visible in the far distance already from the approach hike with the col that I’ll descend from the plateau to its right.

A good approach track is very bikeable in sections.

Ptolemy Creek is both scenic and darn COLD.

Other sections of the approach track are less rideable.

It was a gamble that I was out at all this weekend. Southern Alberta has been having a very wet summer so far, and there was rain in the forecast once again. Tackling difficult slabby terrain with the wx that I had was definitely pushing my luck but summer is so short in the Rockies I felt like I had to at least try.

Steep and loose, but still rideable if you are determined enough.

Worst case I’d experience a nice hike across the Andy Good / Promised Land / Ptolemy Plateau in the rain (!!). I wish on hindsight that I’d researched The Promised Land and two large caves in the area (Gargantua, Cleft) a little more before my trip, but I know I’ll be back with others to do a more comprehensive hike in the area anyway and today was primarily about peakbagging.

My approach to the Andy Good Basin (peak visible too) at left and my Promised Land exit at right.

After making my way past the Andy Good / Promised Land junction, I continued down and then UP a familiar track under Chinook Peak. The trail hadn’t gotten any flatter over the past couple of years! Thankfully the vegetation wasn’t as soaked as the last time I hiked here and within 90 minutes of the truck I was already experiencing the magic of this small corner of the Flathead Range.

The first views open up on the south slopes of Chinook Peak (L) with Andy Good in the far distance and Promised Land and Gargantua Peaks rising impressively at right.

The sun was welcome as it cast its rays over innumerable wildflowers as I continued up the steep, unrelenting track to the upper Andy Good Basin.

A very steep dirt track leads into the Andy Good Basin.

Andy Good and morning sunshine with the Promised Land col to the right.

After passing a familiar waterfall and navigating a large switchback on the approach road it was finally time to go off trail towards my objective – still out of sight at this point.

Andy Good (C-L), Promised Land (C) and Gargantua (R) from the approach road.

The road does a large switchback as it approaches treeline.

As I hiked over carpets of wildflowers and got my first glimpses of the intimidating SW face of Mount Parrish, I could feel some nerves in my gut. Over the past years I’ve been hiking and scrambling peaks with hardly any beta , so I had no idea if I could still handle a truly, universally agreed on, “difficult” scramble.

Sublime morning views back over the Andy Good Basin to Promised Land (L) and Gargantua (R) peaks.

Of course I knew that some of the terrain I’d been on the past few years was far from “easy”, but it’s hard to know just how you’re stacking up when hardly anyone else has been where you’ve been .

Off trail, heading for Mount Parrish through wildflower meadows.

I was happy to find the landmarks that Devan’s helpful photos showed, especially noting to myself that I should be well to climber’s right on the face. I should also be climber’s right of an upper scree field just under the summit.

GULP. The SW face of Mount Parrish with a sheep highway leading right to it. Hard to believe I’ll be buried in clouds at the summit in 90 minutes or so.

My very approximate routes up (yellow) and down (green) the SW face, obviously very foreshortened.

Finding a sheep highway that forced me well onto climber’s right of the bottom of the face felt fortuitous and was a good omen.

Views back along the sheep highway to Promised Land and Gargantua peaks.

Everything was lining up perfectly. Within 2.5 hours of the truck I was at the base of a very complex and intimidating face looming above me like a silent beast.

A scree cone leads to the lower SW face above. From here everything looks very complex.

I took the crack visible at left here in lighter colored slabs.

Only now did I realize something obvious about the name. Because of the spelling, “Parrish”, I didn’t clue in to how the name sounded, “perish”. Crap! That wasn’t a great thought to be having before starting the challenging route! I’m generally not very superstitious so I shrugged it off and started up a steep crack right from the scree.

Top of the lower crack, this was pretty darn steep already.

SW face terrain. You don’t want to end up at the obvious outcrop at center top – keep trending climber’s right when the terrain allows.

Staying on reasonable terrain – still trending climber’s right of the outcrop high above.

I’ve marked both my ascent and descent routes (very approximate) on a photo taken from the sheep highway on approach, but other than that any written description of the route would be more confusing than helpful so I’ll keep it short.

Loving the Arc’teryx Vertex on this slab!

It was steep, it was tough and it’s definitely a whole lotta “no slip” country up on that face. I used a combination of steep cracks and bare face traverses to quickly get up under the upper scree field.

I had to keep trending climber’s right more than expected, but the terrain was certainly less problematic in that direction. On the lower face I was thinking that I might have issues climbing down what I’d just ascended.

Clouds are moving in quickly behind me with wicked views of Andy Good Peak at left.

Again, I trended right from here. It’s very easy to get sucked onto very steep slabs climber’s left.

I took some comfort in my own experience and the fact that both Devan and Andrew (Sproate) mentioned finding slightly easier terrain on descent.

Finally at the upper scree patch, on climber’s right exactly where I want to be.

A short scramble from the upper scree field and I popped out on the summit ridge and the cairn.

The clearest views from the summit with Andy Good at C-L and Promised Land, Ptolemy, Gargantua and Chinook in clouds.

On my way up the face (which only took about 50 minutes) I noticed clouds building quickly and by the time I stood at the summit cairn I was inside them. Not a great feeling when I knew what was waiting for me below. A few drops of rain had me very quickly signing the unsurprisingly sparse register before starting gingerly back down.

I stuck to my ascent route for the first half of the SW face but then something in my gut prompted me to deviate skier’s left (east) of my lower ascent line. At first it seemed almost silly steep, but I like downclimbing tighter cracks as there’s more friction moves and they feel less exposed even if they aren’t. I could face outward and crabwalk / stem down this crack that lay under an obvious overhang just above. I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping it wouldn’t cliff out below, but everything worked out.

The dark colored overhang visible at right as I look back up the face before traversing into a steep crack on skier’s left, just under the overhang.

Steep, but with holds at right and tight enough to feel a bit safer.

A wide angle shot from in the descent crack towards Andy Good Peak. Obviously much steeper underfoot than it appears here.

View back up the descent crack which navigates past a slight overhang visible at the top of the image here. I don’t think I’d ascend this line.

I breathed a huge sigh of contentment as I exited the face and looked back up, happy to be safely off and also satisfied that I felt comfortable on the complex terrain. I guess I still “have it” – at least somewhat. The clouds were lifting and there was no more rain as I exited the Andy Good Basin on a good sheep trail right to the Andy Good / Promised Land col.

Approaching the Andy Good / Promised Land col with Promised Land Peak rising at right.

Nearing the col that will grant me access to the plateau under Promised Land Peak.

Just as I suspected, views from the plateau were stunning and included peaks like Andy Good, Coulthard, McGladrey and Ptolemy. Interestingly, this plateau seems to be dubbed either “Ptolemy”, “Andy Good” or “Promised Land” Plateau. I’ll just call it “the plateau”. 🙂

Views along my access to the plateau (R) from the col (L) with Andy Good Peak towering above and Mount Coulthard at center.

I knew that Devan had ascended an unofficial high point at the east end of the ridge running north above the whole area and I followed his track up.

Incredible landscape on the plateau with Mount Coulthard at left and Ptolemy at right. McGladrey at center distance.

Views back over the plateau from the lower south scree slopes of Promised Land Peak.

No more than moderate scrambling led up a mix of scree and slab to some of my best views of the day. Mount Parrish looked very serious from this angle, with Chinook, Andy Good and many other peaks also visible.

Summit views from Promised Land Peak include (L to R), Gargantua, Chinook, Crowsnest, Parrish, Andy Good and Coulthard. The approach to the Andy Good Basin at valley bottom below at left.

The views over the plateau and down into the Andy Good Basin (north) and Andy Good Creek (south) were absolutely stunning.

Summit views south over the plateau include (L to R), Coulthard, McGladrey and Ptolemy along with unofficial peaks such as “Sunglass”, “34”, “Ptolemy SE5”, “McGladrey W1” and “Scrubby”.

Promised Land Peak might be unofficial but my GPS recorded it as my highest summit of the day and the views certainly make it a very worthwhile objective.

An alpine lake sparkles below “Peak 34” across the plateau.

Devan had attempted a route up Mount Ptolemy from the plateau, so he by-passed Gargantua Peak at the west end of the ridge but I wandered over to it, wanting more views. And it certainly delivered views!

Views over the Andy Good Basin from part way along the traverse to Gargantua Peak (L) with Andy Good and Promised Land Peak at right.

Despite a somewhat gloomy atmosphere, my camera stayed warm as I walked the ridge, taking in wonderful landscapes on every side. The only slightly unfortunate side effect of staying so high above the plateau is that I couldn’t explore that landscape. I knew I’d be back some day to do just that.

Gargantua Peak from the traverse with Ptolemy rising above to the left and Chinook Peak in sunlight at right.

After descending and then ascending back to Gargantua Peak and taking in more wonderful views it was time to turn my attention to The Promised Land exit far below.

Views from Gargantua Peak include (L to R), Ptolemy, Chinook, Parrish, Andy Good, Promised Land and Coulthard (R).

Views down my exit valley over The Promised Land meadows from my descent of Gargantua Peak. Ptolemy rises impressively at left.

The SW face of Mount Parrish is one scary looking MF from Gargantua Peak!

After a brief visit with some mountain goats I continued down the ridge to an obvious track leading down from the Ptolemy col to alpine meadows below.

If I’d done more research I’d likely have at least checked out the Cleft cave on descent but this would have required a detour and regaining height so I’m not too fussed about missing it. I’ll be back.

Exiting from the high col to The Promised Land below.

Views back up to the col from another sheep highway I used to descend.

The Promised Land meadows are an amazing little landscape replete with wildflowers, streams and caves and holes everywhere. I found a few smaller caves and a gigantic sink hole as I wandered my way down an increasingly distinct trail to treeline.

A circle of rocks marks a narrow cave entrance.

The Promised Land is a lovely alpine valley that begs hours of exploration.

A cave at left with views to the west face of Gargantua Peak above. The Cleft cave is located up there somewhere.

I passed a large campsite in a stand of trees (no obvious water source) before plunging down on a very steep exit trail.

A campsite at treeline just under the meadows. I didn’t see any water source up here but there must be somewhere.

Sublime alpine meadows as I exit The Promised Land. Gargantua at left, Ptolemy at right.

The exit was even steeper than the approach track to the Andy Good Basin. I couldn’t believe how steep it was. I met two hikers coming up and they looked like they were earning their supper today. After descending the impressively maintained trail I found myself at the extreme SE end of a cutline leading back along Ptolemy Creek and my approach route.

Looking back up the very steep trail to The Promised Land.

I joined back up with my morning track along the cutline and immediately wished I’d biked the approach. 🙂

As I made the 5km exit and many crossings of the creek, I passed a large group of young folks with backpacks on.

This little area feels very isolated when you are by yourself but it obviously sees a lot of human traffic. I was happy to be all by myself most of the day in this special place.My thoughts swirled as I started the long drive home. I was very satisfied with how I dealt with and felt on the difficult SW face of Mount Parrish. I was even more satisfied that I didn’t “perish” on “Parrish”. 😉

I proved to myself that even though I’m old AF now, I still enjoy complex and difficult scrambles as much as I ever have. I highly recommend this whole route, including The Promised Land traverse and exit for experienced scramblers who want to test their skills against a short, but fierce bit of Flathead Range rock. Just don’t underestimate the serious consequences of failing this test.