Shawn Bags Mount Lipsett

Published by Shawn on

The lower summit of Mount Lipset comes into view as you approach on the highway. The true summit is peeking out on the left hand side.
The trail leads out from the parking lot and navigation is a breeze.
Warning sign about a grizzly bear attack in 2014. If you are wondering, I believe the victim was hunting at the time and didn’t survive the attack. I hope that particular bear is hibernating and carry on.
The nice trail becomes snow and ice fairly quickly in the shade of the forest. But I’m not going to let a little snow or possible bear slow me down… at least not today.
The trail eventually starts to climb out of the forest and the views open up.
Out of the trees you can see an old road covered in snow that switchbacks across the mountain. The road is from an old mine that once operated here.
Heading up the final ridge toward the summit. The legend is that in 1870 two gentlemen named blackjack and Lemon passed through this area and found a large vein of gold. Lemon murdered Blackjack so that the gold would be all his.
The last stretch to the summit. The stony natives claim to have placed a curse on the gold that is in this area in order to protect their hunting grounds from mining. If your wondering how I know about the gold curse, it was written on a sign near the highway. I decide to not look for any gold during my trip… just in case.
Traditional Summit Selfie!
Standing on the summit….. not looking for gold.
Mist mountain makes an appearance on the right. To the left is the lower summit. The guidebook says the views are better from the lower summit. I do a quick assessment of the snow and decide to head over. Although I decided there wasn’t enough snow to avalanche, I decide to take a route to the left to avoid being swept over the cliffs on the right…. Just in case.
Looking back at the true summit while on my way over to the lower summit.
Final ridge walk to the lower summit.
The lower summit is very close. The pole in the picture is a Alberta land survey marker.
View from the lower summit isn’t bad at all. That highway below is the Highwood pass. At over 7200 feet in elevation, it is the highest highway in Canada. It also happens to be a great bike ride: https://www.tripbagger.com/2018/06/10/shawn-bags-the-highest-paved-road-in-canada-highway-40/
The guidebook suggests that you can park a second car near the bottom of the lower summit and can then drop down from the lower summit to your car. Since I’m doing this trip solo, the idea of driving two cars to the trailhead seems a bit daunting. I still dropped down from the lower summit as a 5km walk down the highway can’t be all bad, if a little boring.
Categories: Kananaskis Peak BaggingPeak Bagging

1 Comment

Shawn Bags the Highest Paved Road in Canada – Highway 40 – Trip Bagger · July 5, 2020 at 7:35 pm

[…] see an ascent of Lipsett here (which includes a birds eye view of the highway I am riding today): http://www.tripbagger.com/2018/10/19/shawn-bags-mount-lipsett/ If the fast and fun ride out isn’t enough for you, the scenery should keep you entertained as you […]

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