Mount Sparrowhawk and Read's Tower
Completed with some early season snow near the summit of Sparrowhawk. Possible in any season, although be extremely careful with avalanche conditions and know how to assess slopes as well as perform avalanche rescue with the proper equipment. Not too much to note, both peaks are essentially long scree slogs with great views. There are good and beaten trails (scree higher up) leading to both summits.
Mount Sparrowhawk is one of the more elusive peaks in the Spray Lakes area, often tending to hide high up in the clouds. It certainly isn't a striking peak either, when looking at it from the Spray Valley, since the visible side of the mountain is essentially a large scree slope, although it does sport some impressive north facing cliffs, but they are seldom seen. Its only two rather notable features are a large tower on its lower slopes called Read's Tower and a steep summit block, both easily accessed via scree slopes. Mount Sparrowhawk was not named after the Sparrowhawk bird, but instead after the British destroyer, HMS Sparrowhawk, which in turn was likely named after the bird. The perfect scree slopes of the peak were once designated for the alpine skiing events in the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics, but eventually the venue moved to the Nakiska Ski Resort and surroundings. Surprisingly enough, the first ascent of Sparrowhawk was completed in 1947, despite it being a rather large and easy objective.
The parking area is the ditch on the east side of the Spray Lake Road (Highway 742) directly across from the Sparrowhawk day use area (parking may be available here too). It is situated about a 30 minute drive from the start of the gravel and the total driving time from the Calgary city limits is about 1:30 hours. The Spray Lakes Road is gravel, but does not require a high clearance vehicle at any point in the year, although the bumps can get quite big, so personally I wouldn’t take anything smaller than an SUV up there.
This route describes both the Mount Sparrowhawk route and Read's Tower route. From the trailhead, walk up the short hill and at the first intersection, take a right up a small trail that is blocked by wood logs. Hike up this trail until the next intersection (benches), where you will continue straight and up the hill on to a more obvious trail. Continue for about 0.5 km, gaining 100 m elevation, until the final turn which will be left and up the slope. Hike up much steep dirt, slab, and sometimes scree on a very obvious trail, making sure to keep to the top of the ridge. You will then continue higher, gradually rolling over, and making sure to stay on the ridge and on the correct trail. Around the tree line, you will come across an obvious intersection about 200 m before the scree on Read's Tower. If you are continuing to Mount Sparrowhawk, take a left and traverse on the good trail into the valley (north of Read's Tower). For Read's Tower, continue up the trail on the ridge until you reach the scree slope. From here, the most solid terrain can be found closer to the cliff, but watch out for the exposure. Slog up until the summit. Descend the same way, aiming slightly to the skier's left of your ascent route for the optimal scree run. Now, continuing on for Mount Sparrowhawk. Once you enter the valley, hike up the good trail until the grade significantly steepens. Aim to stay in the center trail of the gully, but the trail to the climber's right works as well (although it may be more loose), gain elevation on some mixed and somewhat steep terrain until the col. From the col, head directly up on good scree trails, aiming towards the summit block. If you've picked the right route, your trail should begin heading to the climber's right of the summit block eventually and continue gaining elevation until the col (with the hut). There are plenty of cairns and it should be obvious where the trail is (choose the most traveled). From the hut, hike/scramble up steep scree slopes, once again likely with obvious scree trails and reach the summit before you know it. Descend the same way. To add on Read's Tower after Mount Sparrowhawk, see the description above. The Gaia GPS route for this is fairly accurate and shows our route taken. This description may be slightly different from the GPS route, but all is relatively straightforward.
As per usual over the past little while, this trip was sort of a last minute thought. On the Friday, I had noticed very good weather and wanted to go out to the mountains for a short objective, but since my dad had a bike race on the Saturday, that wouldn't have been the best plan. Instead, on Saturday afternoon, I once again noticed some great weather for the Sunday. As I put it, I wanted to go to the mountains for a "little walk", although we really know what that entails.
Off the top of my head I picked Mount Sparrowhawk, since there was likely going to be a bit of snow remaining at the high elevations and I was kind of feeling like tackling one of the big boys of the Spray Lakes area. Of course, that became our objective, and after looking at a very recent report on Alltrails, I noted that there would in fact be some snow to make things fun for us.
We drove up the Spray Lakes road, thankfully a bit less dusty than usual due to rainfall the day before, but the bumps were massive and honestly quite scary. There were some big pot holes that would really hurt it you went over them at 60. But anyways, we made it to the parking ditch safely and set off at 9:00 am.
Here's the parking area and trailhead for both Mount Sparrowhawk and Read's Tower. FYI the grind starts right away and is pretty much unrelenting.
We took off like a shot right off the bat and even my dad was going good. I was eyeing a potential 2 hour summit time if we kept the pace up.
Turning right at this little intersection saves a bit of time from going up the pointless switchbacks of the High Rockies Trail.
We went up straight ahead at the benches to avoid hiking along the High Rockies Trail to wherever it goes. Who even uses that trail anyways?
And finally, we took a left to begin the serious elevation gain.
Here's where things start to get real.
We were absolutely gassing it up this and just unrelentingly climbing up all the elevation. This might've been the best we've both felt in a while, so we put that to good use to get up the elevation rather efficiently if I do say.
On the uphill, I decided to stay on a trail to the right, whereas my dad went off to the left. Thinking that they would rejoin shortly, we separated, eventually to realize that they in fact did not rejoin shortly. But, after a bit of back and forth yelling and a lot of elevation gain, they did in fact rejoin. The one that I took stayed directly on the ridge and included lots of slab, dirt, and scree. It was rather efficient to get up, but on the way down, the other trail could be a bit easier (although I'm not sure since I didn't end up seeing it). For simplicity, the ridge does a good job and has a good trail. Grandma probably won't be making it this far though.
After 30 minutes, we got our first great view. This obviously means it's picture time. Honestly, the Spray Reservoir view is quite magical, I quite missed Kananaskis from our couple trips up Yoho and the Icefields Parkway, but we're back now!
Continuing up the trail. Now I know it's not super obvious in the picture, but upon seeing the snowy summit block, I got very excited. It looked so mysterious and ominous, but also very cool. We were sure excited, or at least I was.
There are very nice views south as soon as get around the tree line, phenomenal even.
A little further up, things opened up even more so that we could see the entire "gully" and slopes of Mount Sparrowhawk. And yes, I know the sun messed up the picture too. Sadly my phone camera couldn't handle it violently shining into the lens. I also couldn't really handle it shining right into my eyes.
The ominous summit block of Mount Sparrowhawk shrouded in mist.
Before we knew it, it was turn off time for Mount Sparrowhawk. It had been roughly an hour to this point. Not quite half the elevation for Mount Sparrowhawk just yet, but I was still convinced about the sub 2 hour, or close at least.
Now for the scree climb up to the col. My dad was a fair ways ahead of me, since I wanted to take some videos, so I had a lot of time to make up, plus he wasn't slowing down either. Also these meadows are quite lovely.
We were hoping to see a bit of yellow in the larches, but apparently none of them decided that it was time to start turning yet. I'm sure this valley would be quite nice when they do end up turning though, and quite a bit less busy than places like Larch Valley.
And here we go. I had to make up the distance to my dad, who was obviously trying to catch that guy up ahead. This meant that if my dad caught him, I would have to catch him too!
And look at that. I caught him! We would soon catch the guy to the right too, who was going exceptionally fast. Unfortunately for him, he picked the loose route and we picked some rather solid stuff.
Close to the top of the col now. Note that the terrain is quite steep and a little slippery, but overall quite easy.
We finally surpassed our quick friend to our right. I was wondering how long it would take...
At the col now and looking over to Red Ridge and beyond. We were gassed out at this point and had to take a little breather.
Read's Tower looms above us at the col. I was thinking about tacking it on after Sparrowhawk if we had time. It looks tough from this side, but honestly doesn't really look like it fits the 100 m prominence requirements for a being a separate peak, although it looks "separate enough" that I'd count it. But I mean who's really paying attention to that anyways. Count the ones that you want and that look like peaks and you should be on the right track.
Before we knew it, we were off and climbing up the scree slopes. Here's the classic shot of Read's Tower, it does look pretty big from this angle and honestly I think it is. Definitely sizeable enough to be an extra peak so hopefully I'd get a crack at it later on.
Here's the endless grind to Sparrowhawk. We were lucky that the scree was somewhat frozen so it was fairly solid.
Some snow changed up the scenery a bit from the gray scree. The summit block is getting closer.
We were heading up to the small flat section just to the right of the summit block. Sort of on trail, sort of off trail. There were numerous cairns to guide us though.
Hooray! We found some tracks. This almost made it too easy.
A very frosty and snowy cairn on that flat section that I was talking about.
The frosty and snowy summit block of Mount Sparrowhawk caught all my attention since the view behind us was clouded in. That was fine though.
If you're a bit worried about how you're going to get to Mount Sparrowhawk, don't be, there's an easy slope tucked around back that you can kind of see at the right of the image above
Huh. I wonder who's living up here... Shall we go see?
We obviously went to go check out the little hut or whatever it is.
I guess whoever was in there did not want to say hello (probably no one). The door wasn't exactly locked, but it wouldn't open.
After some brief shenanigans, we were off to the races and on the final slopes to the summit, once again following the tracks (likely the trail if there was no snow). These slopes were technically the toughest, but still easy scrambling, maybe even hiking.
Here's an idea of the misty and cloudy weather that we were dealing with. It also got quite a bit colder up here compared to the warm up current at the col.
Almost there! We were a tad over our 2 hour pace, but the final slopes really aren't that long.
Anddd we made it (ascent time: 2:15). This building was super cool with the hoar frost. Not too sure on exactly what it is though, perhaps a weather station?
Looking down the summit block. Cloudy skies were impeding our views for now.
After going to check out the hoar frost, I rejoined my dad and two new friends who were likely the ones that broke trail for us (unless someone did the day before). We chatted and I obviously told them about this website. In turn, I got a cool Youtube channel from the guy for some Go Pro content that is currently a lot in the Kootenay's, so go check it out if that interests you. There might be some good info on some more remote/obscure objectives in there, but I'll leave it up to you to watch through and find it. The Youtube channel is called Fotturer.
Before long, our friends started descending into the fog. It was quite cold, I do admit, but I'm pretty sure we were waiting because in the back of our minds we knew it would clear up.
We then got completely socked in, but were still hopeful.
I didn't even bother to find the summit register in this mess...
While we waited, I ate my goat cheese sandwich and we talked to Carter, who we passed on the way up. He told us a bit about some photography stuff and a goat that he had seen on Cascade Mountain a while back, so it was good fun to pass a bit of time, albeit in the cold.
The views did open up just enough to get a couple good shots. Here's the seldom seen side of the Lougheeds. All of them are on my list of scrambles.
Mount Allan and Olympic Summit look very green on this day.
Here's a look down at the final slopes to the summit. Also the cliffs and ridge leading to Bogart are quite substantial. I'm sure this would be a great view from the Memorial Lakes and Ribbon Peak at left and out of the frame.
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The view cleared up just enough to get a half decent pano. This shows the best 90% of the view, with the rest still being obscured.
Here's the rest of the view from a different part of the summit. Glad we waited!
After almost an hour at the cold summit (time passes quick doesn't it), I headed down to catch up with my dad who had left a few minutes before.
Finally, Mount Bogart decides to show itself. Those cliffs are impressive indeed. Bogart Tower is the little thing at bottom left, with Ribbon Peak rising behind it and Mount Kidd rising behind that.
Here's a better view of the hut than before. The view of the lake to the right and the cliffs to the left make this quite a special little hut.
From there, I motored down the snow, which was just soft enough for some off trail plunge stepping and soon caught up with my Dad.
Notice how the snow line moved up from before?
Here's Read's Tower with Spray behind. These slopes warmed up nicely and were a great scree run on the way down.
When I caught up with my dad, I only stopped briefly to ask if he wanted to tack on Read's Tower. He declined, so I guess I'd have to hit it alone and fast, so I set off and blazed down the slope.
Starting the descent from the col now. I'm glad the views cleared up because the lake was such a vibrant and nice color in the valley.
Woah. See what I mean? Nestor is at left of center with Old Goat a little to the right, these are the icons of the Spray Valley. Oh and the views just get better and better as I get on to Read's Tower.
Looking back at the climb up to the col. I came down more on the right of the image (climber's right) and there was decent scree running.
Time to turn left towards Read's Tower! I was excited to be able to get another summit in on this day. Usually people snowshoe or hike up this objective, which I might end up doing as well, but why not bag it early? The views did open up anyways, so I'd be able to get a good perspective of everything.
I traversed this and did a short scramble to get on to the scree slope. No time wasted here.
And the fun begins.
I found it a bit easier to stick slight left, so I didn't have to go up the loose and beaten scree trail.
I took a second to look back and saw this beautiful sight.
Now back to the scree.
The Tower (center) and Mount Galatea (slightly left) are some giants of the area. Red Ridge also looks very interesting from this side, definitely a big difference from its benign slopes on the opposite side.
More scree. Just don't wander too far left and fall in that crack.
Surprise!
I was very happy to see this.
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This summit probably shows a better view than what we got from Sparrowhawk. At far right, you can even see the fins on Big Sister, which is very cool.
And if you haven't read Big Sister, I highly recommend that you do, it is quite a good scramble.
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The other side of the pano. From the two combined, you can kind of see how big the slopes of Sparrowhawk actually are. Fairly impressive if you ask me, but not the most visually pleasing.
Nestor (left) and Old Goat (right) really are the rockstar views from the area. I'd like to do Nestor one day, but maybe not Old Goat. It's also too bad I couldn't see Assiniboine further left.
After about 10 minutes, it was time to head down and hopefully catch up with my dad.
Heading down now.
And back down in record time. The scree run was great in places, ultra slippery in others, and plain talus in others, quite the mixed bag for the descent.
Looking back at Read's Tower and Mount Sparrowhawk from further down. Yeah, the larches are still going to need a little while.
Further down on the well travelled and scenic trail. For some reason I didn't recognize a lot of this on the descent.
Now on to that part where my dad and I were separated on the way up. I stayed on the ridge, whereas he was down on the right.
I actually found the trail quite steep on the way down, but it was still fast. I even started hearing my dad calling out for bears so I rushed down.
Before I could rejoin my dad though, I got caught up talking to a couple that were coming down from the Sparrowhawk Tarns. They said it was quite lovely. Hopefully I'll get to see it if I do Bogart from this side of the valley. They also told me about a cool sounding backpacking loop that went through Rummel Lake, over the pass, through a blowdown and to Lillian Lake, then over Guinn's Pass to Ribbon Lake, and then finally over to I believe they said Red Ridge, with a bike back on the road at the end. It sounded like quite the adventure.
I told them that I had to catch up with my dad, so I left and soon caught up with him about 5 minutes before the bottom.
Now back to the parking area after a fantastic day.
Overall, I'd say I was very satisfed with this trip and very much enjoyed it. I guess we are pretty much at peak hiking fitness too, which helped a lot. I think Sparrowhawk is a great objective for a little bit of snow (not a lot), like we did it in, since everything pretty much just looks cooler with snow.
As for Read's Tower, I'm guessing I'll be doing that again, likely as a snowshoe ascent with other people, but if not then it's good to have it in the books. For anyone looking to extend Sparrowhawk, Read's Tower is definitely a way to burn you out at the end of the day.
Even though it seemed like we went quite fast on this hike, I still noticed that I had time to take plenty of pictures, as well as enjoy myself quite a bit. In my opinion, all the people saying that you have to be present and enjoy 100% of your time in the mountains are absolutely correct. But, if you love taking pictures or setting a blistering pace, then by all means go and do that. Being in the moment doesn't mean that you can't take any photos or hit some goals, it just means that you need to be present in what you are doing. For many people, what they like doing is also very different from the "ideal" or "average". Some may find joy in trying to take the perfect photo, some may enjoy cruising at insane speeds up and down mountains, and some may like simply enjoying the views in peace. Many people enjoy a mix of all three (plus other factors), but it doesn't mean that any way of doing it is more right than the other. Our choices of how we spend our time in the mountains are simply unique, just like how we all are from eachother.
Anyways, there's my bit of trail wisdom (blabbering), hopefully this convinced you to go and hit Sparrowhawk. It should be fun if you do, but only if you love scree. If you don't, I suggest staying away from trying to summit peaks in the Rockies entirely.