Mt. Schäffer – Southwest ridge

F  3rd class.

2,691m

When it comes to getting a group of 8 adults and 6 kids up Mt. Schäffer the crux move comes 3 months ahead of summit day when you have to book the hugely popular campsite at Lake O’Hara. This is not a trivial matter given that the method Parks Canada uses for this purpose is a good old fashioned phone line that opens to all comers at 8am. Fortunately we had the numbers, and with almost all of the adults in our groups pressing redial for a couple hours on the appointed day we got the sites we needed. As for Schäffer itself, the Southwest ridge was the perfect outing for our group. A pleasant hike to McArthur Lake followed by a steep climb up talus to the base of the SW ridge, where we tied the kids up and headed for the top. 

On the approach we took the High-Level Circuit trail to the high point above McArthur Lake (marked by a huge cairn pile) and then left the trail and worked up right and around to the West shoulder. On the descent we took a more direct line back to this same point on the main trail, which I recommend for both ascent and descent. This is easier to nail on the way down as you simply follow the direction off southwest ridge and keep going; on the way up, put your back to the cairn pile and head up into the talus bowl; look for a small break in the cliff band ahead, through which you can gain the SW ridge.

Participants: Pip, Lisa, Eloïse, Oliver, Aaron, Lisa, Simon, Linnaea, Jocelyn, Andrew, Sparrow, Luca, Guy, and Victoire.

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