North Face - Elzinga-Miller

Overview

Easiest route up the north face of Mt Temple. A good adventure with some unique situations. A cold night is a good time to start up the Dolphin, and the rest of the route is quite manageable in the dark, which will minimise the rockfall hazard.

Getting There

Hike to Lake Annette (~1.5 hrs) from the Paradise Valley trailhead. Go around the lake to talus slopes at the base of the north face.

Route Description

Go up the Dolphin couloir to its upper leftmost end. With difficulty, arrange a belay for the next short 5.7 rock pitch. Good protection here. Above this, move easily up and left to the protection of an overhanging cliff. The original Elzinga-Miller route follows low-angle slabs and corners, heading towards a prominent chimney, before joining the North Ridge (Lowe-Lowe) route below the seracs. An easier option, with much less exposure to seracs is to traverse left from here on an obvious shale band ledge. You will pass a narrow spot on the ledge that may require a rope.Soon afterwards you will emerge from the protection of the cliff. Look for the easiest way to break through the broken 30m cliff band above (low 5th). Race up towards the hanging seracs. When possible, run down and left and out onto a safe snow slope. Total full-on serac exposure time here is about 15 minutes if running. From here it's up to the summit ridge and a scenic walk to the summit Watch for hidden crevasses along the ridge. Toast the summit. Descend the SW ridge to Sentinel Pass. Continue down to Moraine Lake to hitchhike back to Paradise Valley, or go down to Paradise Valley from the pass - this is a couple of hours longer.

Essential Gear

helmet
boots
crampons
ice axe
rope
small alpine rack

Logistics

If you get back late, the Explorer's Lounge in the Lake Louise Inn has a decent kitchen that closes at 11 pm. Last call is usually midnight.

Images

View North Face - Elzinga-Miller Image Gallery - 6 Images