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Ascent of The President on 2002-07-21

Climber: Jan Triska

Others in Party:

Greg Strauch

Date:

Sunday, July 21, 2002

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

Car

Peak:

The President

Location:

Canada-British Columbia

Elevation:

3122 m / 10246 ft

Ascent Trip Report

Part of a three-day extravaganza of peak bagging which included the Vice President, Mt. Sheol (near Lake Louise) and Gap Mountain in Kananaskis.
My climbing partner Greg and I went up from the Emerald Lake side and camped below the west-facing slopes of the peak. We had an alpine start at 5:30 am or so and scrambled up the scree gulley and then up some Grade 3 rock towards the start of the glacier. The glacier ends precipitously; some elementary ice climbing was necessary to get on it. The grade levels off very quickly, though. A few obvious, smaller crevassed were visible but none that would obstruct progress. Most of the walk up to the President/Vice President col is on the glacier, snow covered. Our relatively warm conditions meant a gradual softening during the day (we had a small glissade on the descent). From the col, it's a rocky scramble to the President summit; there was a big cornice on the summit ridge. As far as alpine climbs go in this part of the CDN Rockies, it's a good primer; a long day on a big mountain, more complex and longer than the standard route on Athabasca but easier than most of the big Rockies objectives. I felt the crux was lower down, with some scary scrambling below the glacier, but the glacier itself being quite gradual and mostly crevasse-free. We were roped for safety while on the ice, carried all the obligatory slings and other gear, but a more advanced climber might not need it (again, dependent on seasonal conditions).

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

1800 m / 5906 ft

Elevation Loss:

1800 m / 5906 ft

Grade/Class:

Class 2

Quality:

7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions: