Wolverine Ridge

January 14, 2017, slate range, banff national park

Summit
2412 m
Gain
800 m
Distance
15 km
Round trip
4 hr
Technical
OT2 YDS (Skiing)
Activity
ski
Quick 'n dirty
Class 2 - you fall, you sprain something
Difficulty
No difficulties except resisting spending your whole afternoon in the Temple Lodge drinking beer on return! Limited avalanche terrain.
Route
GPS trackMap

After a hiatus from the mountains due to motivation issues and cold weather, I decided to return for an easy outing up Wolverine Ridge with a group of friends on Saturday, January 14th. I first got the idea for Wolverine while ascending Lipalian Mountain and the Purple Mound with the same group back in April of 2014. I knew it would be a ridiculously short day, but what the heck! Sometimes all you need is a short break to get the mojo back.

Wolverine Ridge Route Map
Wolverine Ridge Route Map

Wolverine Ridge Route Map

We left a pretty busy Fish Creek parking lot at the early hour of 09:00 and chatted our way up the dull ski-out road along Corral Creek to the Temple Lodge. From just above the Temple lodge we followed the route leading into the lower Wolverine Valley.

A much colder day than Calgary was experiencing - felt like -26 in the parking lot while it was 4 degrees at my house.
A much colder day than Calgary was experiencing - felt like -26 in the parking lot while it was 4 degrees at my house.
We start to warm up as the sun hits the Wolverine Valley - Unity Peak ahead.
We start to warm up as the sun hits the Wolverine Valley - Unity Peak ahead.

The only real route decision of the day was whether to tackle the ridge directly or take a longer circuitous route up against Unity Peak before contouring back to the ridge. We chose the latter option for more exercise as there was no track going that way. The snowpack was pretty crappy but we made it slightly higher than Wolverine Ridge on a shoulder coming off Lipalian before losing a few meters to the ridge.

Looking ahead at our ascent options. We can go left around tree line under Unity Peak or right - straight up Wolverine Ridge.
Looking ahead at our ascent options. We can go left around tree line under Unity Peak or right - straight up Wolverine Ridge.
Dave follows the group in this glance back along Wolverine Ridge (L).
Dave follows the group in this glance back along Wolverine Ridge (L).
Ascending the ridge.
Ascending the ridge.
Looking over Wolverine Ridge (C) with Lipalian, Lake Louise, Richardson and Redoubt (L to R).
Looking over Wolverine Ridge (C) with Lipalian, Lake Louise, Richardson and Redoubt (L to R).
Wietse skis to the summit of Wolverine Ridge - some great skiing on the NE aspect to the right.
Wietse skis to the summit of Wolverine Ridge - some great skiing on the NE aspect to the right.

We had a delightful lunch in the warm sunshine at a shallow col before tagging the summit of Wolverine Ridge. We weren’t sure if we trusted the wind loaded NE aspect of the ridge, so we enjoyed a rather tame run back down before making our way back to Temple Lodge where we enjoyed a bevy. 

Dropping back down Wolverine Ridge from the summit.
Dropping back down Wolverine Ridge from the summit.

Dropping back down Wolverine Ridge from the summit.

The 6.5 minute run back down the ski-out was enjoyable. I would recommend combining Wolverine Ridge with Lipalian and Purple Mound, or ski some laps off the NE aspect in stable avalanche conditions to make a longer day. People have died on these slopes so use caution and ALPTRUTH.