Mount Haig and Gravenstafel Ridge

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August 5, 2023. A return to Mount Haig to deal with the “unfinished business” of Gravenstafel Ridge.

  • Region: Castle Mountain Resort. Traditional territory of the Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, and Blackfoot First Nations
  • Distance: 13.9 km loop
  • Total Ascent: 1550 m
  • Elevation of Objective: 2610 m (Mount Haig), 2393 m (Gravenstafel Ridge)
  • Total Time: 6h 26m
  • Safety and Disclaimer

Almost exactly 4 years ago I climbed Mount Haig. That day I decided to return to my car by descending down to Haig Lake and following the trails out. For whatever reason I didn’t feel like ascending adjacent Gravenstafel Ridge as part of my return, which is what the majority of scramblers (it seems) choose to do. It involves roughly 300 m of additional ascent from the Haig-Gravenstafel col but the terrain is pretty easy, and the grade is more gentle than the ascent of Mount Haig. Last week when I was on Syncline Mountain I looked south and pondered why I didn’t climb Gravenstafel Ridge when I had the opportunity. This weekend I decided to go bag the peak.

My approach and ascent of Mount Haig followed the route recorded in my prior post. I didn’t take many new pictures since the views were much more clear that day in 2019. 2023’s historic wildfire season continued to produce smokey, hazy skies. I was pleased to see that at some point between last summer (when I traversed Mount Haig on the way to Tombstone Mountain) and this summer someone has put up flagging to guide people on the correct trail through the underbrush after leaving the Paradise Lake trail and heading up to the ascent ridge of Mount Haig.

I descended from Mount Haig following the ridge north then northeast to the col. Remembering the exposed feeling I had to my left while descending on my prior visit I tried to stay right on the descent as much as possible and found that I was on more friendly terrain. From the col, an easy ascent directly up Gravenstafel’s southwest ridge took me to the summit. A few rock bands along the way can be scrambled up directly or weaknesses can be found to the left. Two false summits are encountered before reaching the true summit. It only took about 45 minutes. Views back towards Mount Haig and Haig Lake were actually better from the false summits than the true summit.

After a short rest at the summit, I descended down the northeast face of Gravenstafel Ridge. I first made my way to the top of a chairlift, then followed a maintenance road until I was looking down a ski run that went about half way down the mountain. From there I followed another meandering road until I found another run that went the rest of the way down.

The photo gallery below picks up the trip from the col. Check my previous Mount Haig post to see the scenery and landmarks up to this point.

Route overview. North is up. I went clockwise.
At the Haig-Gravenstafel col, looking up Gravenstafel’s southwest ridge.
The first of several easily ascended rock bands along the ridge.
Looking back towards the col from a short distance up the ridge. Mount Haig’s summit is out of frame to the left. Straight ahead is the terrain descended when coming this way from Haig’s summit.
Approaching some scrambling terrain partway to the first false summit.
Interesting-looking rock formations within a rock band.
Approaching the first false summit.
From the first false summit you can immediately see the second one a short distance away.
Looking back at Mount Haig and Haig Lake. On a sunny day the lake is a brilliant blue colour.
Just below the 2nd false summit the rocks almost look like pillars or hoodoos.
From the 2nd false summit you can finally see the true summit.
The final bit of climbing to the true summit.
The summit cairn on Gravenstafel Ridge. The skies were partly cloudy, but because of the smoke in the air the atmosphere was generally gloomy.
Summit panorama looking northwest. St. Eloi Mountain is at the centre. Syncline Mountain is to the right.
Looking northeast. Southfork Mountain and Barnaby Ridge are across the valley.
Looking southeast, down the West Castle valley. Barnaby Ridge once again across the valley on the left. Nearby on the right is Haig Ridge. Beyond Haig Ridge is Rainy Ridge.
Looking southwest. Mount Haig is just to the left of centre. Boot Hill and Tombstone Mountain are in the background at centre and slightly to the right.
Time to descend. First I made my way towards the top of the chairlift then got myself onto one of the maintenance roads.
I followed the maintenance road then dropped down towards the top of another chairlift.
From there, I went right and got onto a ski run heading straight downhill.
This run got me down the upper section of the mountain. Up here the dirt was fairly soft and easy to rapidly descend. Lower on the mountain it was hard packed in more places and slower going.
The ski run got me to the top of another chairlift. I had to follow some roads/runs to the left and then loop back to the right to find another straight downhill run.
On a final straight downhill run to the base of the mountain.

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