On a September day, we camped at Lake Louise before doing an ascent of Mount Temple.    We got to Moraine Lake very early and we started up the Sentinel Pass Trail in the dark.    We were in the meadows at first light, then continued up to Sentinel Pass.     After a short break, we wound up the steep scree slopes up a ridge.    The route is not really a hiking trail.    It is a rocky route that becomes very steep.    At two points along the route, there are some cliffs to get over.    They can be done as a climb with gear or as a scramble.   We carried climbing gear but we managed to scramble/free climb a series of rock bands to the final ascent ridge.

For most hikers, the route is somewhat intimidating, but anyone with a background in scrambling can do this route in good conditions.

The hike is relentlessly steep.     The final ridge was coated in ice so we put on our spikes and had our ice axes ready, but didn’t really need them.

The summit of Mt. Temple is 11 627 feet, a frozen pinnacle with a hanging glacier on the north side and sheer drop-offs on two sides.    We had a short rest and lunch before heading back down.

From the summit were long views in every direction, to the Valley of the Ten Peaks, across the Great Divide, and down to Paradise Valley.

The hike down required care, especially with tired legs, and it seemed to take a long time.    Once we were down to Sentinel Pass, it was a 5 km hike down to Moraine Lake.   The entire route was 16 km with 1703m (5587 ft.) elevation gain and the estimated time in guides ranges from 7 to 12 hours.    We think we hiked for about 9 hours.

This is a route for experienced hikers/scramblers/climbers, best suited to the summer.    Parks Canada has a guide for interested groups – Mount Temple Scrambler’s Guide.