Nub Peak
Elevation: 2755 m
Elevation Gain: 550 m
Nub Peak was named for its nub-like appearance in 1924. The peak is a popular non-technical ascent from Magog Lake and its summit offers a perfect view of nearby Mount Assiniboine.
My Ascents:
August 18 2011
Trailhead: Magog Lake Backcountry Campground
After completing the long 29 km march into Magog Lake at the foot of mighty Mount Assiniboine, Brianne and I were both keen to take advantage of our proximity to a number of scrambles in the area. OK – one of us was keen to! Despite the fact that she would have preferred to stay in the warm(er) tent, Brianne was, nevertheless, a good sport and, after I woke up early to boil water for her breakfast (second day of instant oatmeal and dry fruit in a row), she agreed to grant me a scramble! With reasonably clear weather, we decided to take on majestic sounding Nub Peak. Suffice to say, this peak’s name does not do it justice!
Passing by Sunburst Lake en route to the highly touted Nub Peak.
Sunburst Peak behind Cerulean Lake. Within 15 minutes of leaving camp at Magog Lake, we had already passed another 2 beautiful glacier lakes! As for Sunburst Peak, it's proximity to Mount Assiniboine caught my eye...
Not Nub Peak! Woops. Apparently reading signs is not a strong suit of mine. After a small detour to Elizabeth Lake, we were back en route for Nub Peak. For those wishing to learn from our mistakes, if you want to ascend Nub Peak, follow the WELL-MARKED trail to “The Nublet” not the WELL-MARKED trail to Elizabeth Lake. I only have issues route-finding when signed hiking trails are involved!
Breezy taking in the spectacular view from the Niblet, a small bump en route to Nub Peak.
Very easy scrambling along the ridge to Nub Peak. This is as technical as this ascent gets. Note the running shoes.
Magog, Sunburst, Cerulean and Elizabeth Lakes dotting the base of the Assiniboine massif.
On top! I think she's...happy?
Nestor Peak to the north from the summit of Nub Peak.
The day was somewhat overcast as evidenced by the low clouds over Mount Ball in the distance to the north.
Og Lake below, our first stop on this lovely tour and fondly remembered as the first stop on our death-march into Assiniboine!
Sharing a summit with two sexy ladies, Brianne and Assiniboine.
Seeing if we can make her as tall as Assiniboine!
FAIL.
Spectacular views even if Assiniboine was hiding out in the clouds a little. The Towers, Terrapin Mountain, Mount Magog, Mount Assiniboine and Sunburst Peak in front of Magog, Sunburst and Cerulean Lakes.
Cloudy summit.
The impressive glaciated north face of The Marshall to the west over Elizabeth Lake (where my earlier routefinding mishap almost took us).
While I couldn't stop taking photos of one of my favorite summit panoramas to date, Brianne got cold and started down. Click to see larger.
I did, eventually, catch up with her and made her pose in front of the four lakes. We could see another 3 in different directions for a total of 7 lakes visible from the summit of Nub Peak!
Lake-filled panorama. Click to see larger.
Despite numerous bear sightings by others around camp, the closest we came to a wildlife encounter on this ascent was this marmot.
An early start and a relatively small ascent meant that we were back in camp in time to enjoy lunch in the beautiful cook shelter at Magog Lake. As you can see, the shelter even comes equipped with a dishwasher! The only problem: what to do with the rest of our afternoon now?