Jimmy Junior

Dist: 7.5km    Elev: 885m    Summit: 8927'    Time: 4h    Difficulty: 4/5

Another summit in the bag for Byron and I, this time enjoyed on a perfect bluebird day along the Icefield Parkway. Of all the possible objectives entertained on our westward drive, we certainly opted for the path of greatest resistance - thankfully we were also generously rewarded for our efforts (bushwhacking, powder-swimming, winter scrambling) with spectacular views and peaceful solitude start to finish. Despite a few gear casualties (ripped glove, broken microspike chains, snapped camera tripod...) and occasional moment of forced mental toughness conditioning, this trip will easily be one of my hiking highlights this year. Probably not a great option for more casual hikers, and certainly not to be attempted in winter without favorable conditions and some level of avalanche awareness, but Jimmy Junior is about as good as it gets from a reward-to-effort perspective and was truly fantastic this time of year. My love of winter hiking has been reignited and I hope to sneak in a couple more this season!

From the parking lot. Our goal is the snow covered peak in the center.

Crowfoot Mountain in the morning light.

Bow Lake and Bow Peak.

First views after completing the initial bushwhack.

Byron wondering why he keeps agreeing to these trips.

First cliffband scramble.

Lower ridge view.

Beginning our ascent of the summit slopes.

Iceberg Lake. I was expecting it to be frozen.

Dolomite Peak. Another possible winter objective?

Getting higher.

Summit panorama of Bow Lake and surrounding peaks.

Summit pose in front of the true Jimmy Simpson summit.

Another great day with this beauty!