WOLF PEAK 2210m 7251′
Although Wolf Peak is low in altitude, it has good rock and is an exposed, enjoyable and easy climb. It is 3 kilometres north of Stagleap Park, 5.3 km north of Highway 3 (at Kootenay Pass), on the watershed.
It is a confusing summit to find and climb, but is marked correctly on the older topo maps.
For Powerline Route:
Difficulty: C2 strenuous
Key elevations: Parking 5kms east of Kootenay Pass: 1450m, summit 2210m / 7251′
Elevation gain: 760m
Distance: 3kms
Time: 4 hours
Map: 82F/3 Salmo
Drive: Refer to the 3 routes below to determine the drive.
Routes: There are 3 routes up Wolf Peak.
1. Powerline Route. Drive east on Hwy #3 for 5kms from the summit and park on the north side of the road. Follow the power line road west for about 1.5 km and then bushwhack in a northwesterly direction up to Pristine Pass. Access Wolf’s east shoulder.
Alternately, continue on the powerline road to Lost Creek Pass. Then turn north and walk the long south ridge of Wolf Peak. All the three bumps on the ridge are higher than Wolf Peak itself.
2. Via Cornice Ridge. Approximately twice as long, start at the Stagleap Park parking area. Climb Cornice Ridge to its summit. Descend northward via a sub ridge into the Lost Creek valley, under the power lines, over the gas line, and continuing on a long ridge walk. The summit to the west had a great large cairn but had no register. We headed back along the ridge the way we came and then continued further along to its eastern craggy summit. Once again no register. This bump has a well-balanced, slim, very tall cairn topped by a large piece of quartz. We retraced our steps to Cornice Ridge and to the truck. Trip time was a fairly steady nine and a half hours.
Wolf Peak proper is not the highest point. It is 20m lower and 500m to the east. Round trip, 13 km.
3. Lost Creek Road approach. Lost Creek Road has been in good shape as the pipeline was added along the existing power line. Start a few km east of the turnoff down Nelway across from the established highway Rest Area. Drive up Lost Creek Road 18 km to the road’s end, the headwater basin of Lost Creek. At the pass, both the gas pipeline and the power line begin their descent eastwards to Creston. High clearance is recommended and a 4×4 low range worked best for the last km to the pass.
Hike up the ridge north of the pass for a few hundred meters until the Wolf came into view (to the northeast). The long side-hilling route to it was a mixture of animal trail and fairly significant bushwhack. The last avalanche chute brings you into a nice meadow tp tackle the peak via its relatively easy western shoulder. Lo and behold, the KMC summit register!
Return. Ignore all the bushwhacking and side-hilling of the morning and climb back onto the ridge to the west, with great views. It was a very good choice. Descending the wet rocks and grass is ok as the slope is not too steep. This approach took less than 5 hrs.
WOLF PEAK & RIDGE WEST (towards Waldie Mtn) 2130 m., Lat.49,6. Long 117,3. October 11 & 12, 2014 by Steve Miros
Great autumn weather provided the backdrop for exploring these environs. We were however unable to find detailed information regarding the Wolf even though there have been several KMC trips to it over the many years. What we did find was contradictory information from the Backroads book (whose scale vaguely identified the peak southeast of Waldie Lake) and Google satellite imagery (clearly marking the peak southwest of Waldie Lake). The contradiction appeared to amount to about 4 km of distance on the east/west ridge which parallels Lost Creek on its north.
Access was an issue. By way of the crow, or from a map, the easiest access seemed to be provided by Hwy #3 a few miles east of the summit therein following the power line road. It was then a matter of bushwhacking northwards up to Pristine Pass then continuing the same trajectory up Wolf’s east shoulder. This route seemed to be somewhat dependent on the drivability of the power line maintenance road.
The other route, approximately twice as long, starts at the Stagleap Park parking area. This involves working one’s way along Cornice Ridge to the 3rd sub-bump just before the Camels Hump. From there, it requires descending northward via a sub-ridge into the Lost Creek valley, under the power lines, over the gas line, and continuing this sub-ridge to the perpendicular ridges lofty heights above. Once on the ridge (which parallels Lost Creek on its north) it seems straightforward to follow it westwards to where Wolf was marked on Google Sat. Continuing further along this ridge would eventually have you on Mt. Waldie. We decided on the latter route due to road unknowns and the attractiveness of what appeared to be a long ridge walk. On Cornice Ridge we took several minutes appreciating a moose watering itself in the small tarn below. The ridge paralleling Lost Creek on its north turned out to be great with very nice views of the surrounding area. South towards Ripple, north to the Three Sisters, east to John Bull and Darkwoods and west onto Mt Waldie. When we finally reached the cairned summit to the west, no register existed. Great large cairn though. We had a nice long lunch in warm sunshine enjoying these vistas as well as watching the hunters far below on Lost Creek Road. We headed back along the ridge the way we came and then continued further along to its eastern craggy summit. Once again no register. This bump has a well-balanced, slim, very tall cairn topped by a large piece of quartz. We retraced our steps to Cornice Ridge and to the truck. Trip time was a fairly steady nine and a half hours.
Once at home and after an excellent dinner the cognitive dissonance created by our inability to confirm Wolf Peak set in. This prompted us to pull out the old reliable topos, Teds Lats/Longs for Wolf Peak and a few photos we took that day. It seemed Google Satellite was definitely wrong and the Backroads mapbook was pretty close. We realized that the peak was that piddly thing standing off alone, but still part of the eastern end of the ridge we had walked all day.
A better-than-expected forecast for Saturday, a curiosity about the possibility of a significantly shorter and enjoyable Lost Creek Road approach and Vicky’s early morning email to us about not locating a register. Any chance of you not being able to find it prompted us to react. Lost Creek Road is now in good shape because they put the pipeline along the existing power line a few years back. This road starts a few km east of the turnoff down Nelway across from the established highway Rest Area. We drove up the Lost Creek Road 18 km to road end which is the headwater basin of Lost Creek. Several hunters in trucks and quads were encountered along the way. At the pass, both the gas pipeline and the power line begin their descent eastwards to Creston. A high clearance is recommended and a 4×4 low range worked best for the last km to the pass.
Starting at 10 am we hiked up the ridge north of the pass for a few hundred meters until the Wolf came into view (to the northeast). The long side-hilling route to it was a mixture of animal trail and fairly significant bushwhack. The last avalanche chute brought us into a nice meadow from where we tackled the peak via its relatively easy western shoulder. Low and behold, the KMC summit register!
After a nice fairly long lunch amidst the grandeur and with rain clouds developing to the north, we began our trek back. We decided to ignore all the bushwhacking and side-hilling of the morning and climb back onto the ridge to the west, which entertained us with great views the day before. It was a very good choice even though we were exposed to a brief hail storm. Descending the wet rocks and grass went very well as the slope was not too steep. This approach took less than 5 hrs.
The summit register later confirmed that the KMC used both approaches. Now we have a third. Summing up, don’t trust Google Earth too much, use the old topos, ask others, check if there is a register in the club log and write better or at least more accurate trip report directions. And most of all hike to Wolf Peak!
Eliane & Steven Miros
