Little Lawson

Elevation: 2390 m
Elevation Gain: 820 m
Major W. E. Lawson was an employee of the Geological Survey of Canada who was killed in WWI. Walter Wilcox and H. G. Bryant named Mount Lawson in his honor in 1922. Little Lawson is a scenic high point on Mount Lawson's long south-trending ridge, located about 5 km from and 400 m lower than the peak's true summit.
My Ascents:
December 28 2018
Trailhead: Penstock Loop Roadside Parking
GPS Track: Little Lawson

Having consumed too many shortbread cookies and chocolates over the Christmas holidays, I decided that the time had come to burn off the season’s excesses by waddling up a mountain. Waddling is, of course, more pleasant with company so I reached out to Matt Clay to see if he’d care to waddle with me (and by waddle with me, I mean break trail for me). Matt C. is, of course, always amenable to mountain outings and, after discussing several absolutely terrible options, we settled on a rather pleasant one: Little Lawson. Matt C. had already snowshoed up Little Lawson but decided that it was scenic enough to merit a repeat trip. Thanks to his prior knowledge, I was able to slack off on trip prep trusting that Matt C. knew what he was doing. I should have grown suspicious when he recommended leaving Calgary at an ungodly hour despite the objective’s relatively small size and close proximity…

Matt C. is usually pretty diligent when it comes to trip preparation but, apparently, has no clue what time the sun rises. As a result, we reached the trailhead under a still-dark sky. Thanks to a bitterly cold wind, we took our sweet time gearing up in the comfort of my heated vehicle. After much procrastination, we set out at first light. Why sleep in when you can freeze in the dark?!

After crossing the Smith-Dorrien Highway, we followed the well-packed Penstock Loop trail north along an old access road towards our objective. After some time, we happened upon an interesting aqueduct. This trough is apparently used by TransAlta to channel water to locales that are “more useful” from a generating perspective (although it's hard to call 5 MW that useful!).

Matt C. makes his way towards Little Lawson as the sky begins its golden morning glow. The route up is mindbogglingly simple. Gain the ridge at its southernmost point and follow it up! Neither the high point of Little Lawson nor the more distant true summit of Mount Lawson are visible from here.

The aqueduct’s “headwaters” (about 1.3 km from the trailhead) mark the point at which we crossed tiny Kent Creek (just out of sight to the right here) and gained Lawson’s south ascent ridge.

Matt C. blazes up the ridge’s steep lower slopes in an attempt to generate some heat. Despite his insistence that Little Lawson was located in a “wind shadow,” the morning’s freezing wind continued to numb our extremities and exposed skin. Perhaps if we’d slept in, it would have been warmer…

Much of the ascent is viewless thanks to typical K-Country forest (a theme on the Lawson massif, it seems!) but the occasional opening along the way provides hints of the spectacular views to come.

After moving steadily for 2 hours, Matt C. tackles the day’s first open slope. In poor conditions, this slope is steep enough to slide so caution is advised. Fortunately, it was windswept and nearly bare for us (despite Little Lawson being in a “wind shadow”). If the slope was much snowier, we might have had to stop and settle for the fine view here. Click to see larger.

Continuing up the ridge, we reached another steep section. While the trees here mitigate the avalanche risk, caution was still required in snowy conditions. As you can see, a slip to the climber’s right (east) would not be pleasant.

After the second steep section on the upper mountain, we reached the spectacularly scenic (but brutally cold) summit ridge. Note Matt C.'s balaclava and goggles; so much for that "wind shadow"!

A broken trail on the summit ridge! It’s always a delight to find that someone else has broken trail ahead of you; more delightful still when that trail-breaker has hooves!

A brief glimpse of our hooved trail-breaker. Thanks goat! Photo courtesy Matt Clay.

Matt C. cautiously peers over a cornice in an attempt to see the goat (who wanted little to do with us and practically jumped off a cliff when we appeared).

Tackling the final, mildly exposed ridge to Little Lawson’s summit amidst K-Country’s winter splendor. While I would classify this step as easy scrambling, it definitely felt a bit spicier with snow and a cornice to contend with! Photo courtesy Matt Clay.

Beyond Little Lawson’s spacious summit, the ridge continues towards the loftier of 2 Lawsons: Mount Lawson. To the ridge’s left, is an impressive glacier-carved cirque while the Kananaskis Valley dwells below its east face to the right.

Mount Kent’s equally-long north-south ridge makes up the far-wall of the scenic cirque which extends many kilometers to the northwest.

Kent Ridge’s north summit is the highest point on the Kent massif but, inexplicably, not the official summit (which lies about 5 km to the south and is over 300 m lower)!

The jagged peaks of the Opal Range make for an even more spectacular view across the Kananaskis Valley to the east of Mount Lawson. Click to see larger.

Little Lawson’s loftier parent: the actual Mount Lawson (left). Peak bagging purists may point out that Little Lawson isn’t an actual summit but rather a high point along Mount Lawson’s long south ridge. To them, I would point out that Mount Lawson isn’t really a summit either but rather a high point along Mount Inflexible’s long south ridge. Be that as it may, I’m counting both Lawsons as summits on my personal tally! To the right of Lawson, Mounts Bogart (center) and Kidd (right) are unequivocally “summits.” Mount Kidd’s South Peak (center right) is iffy. :-P

A closer look at formidable Mount Kidd to the north.

A wide angle view capturing almost all of the Opal Range which towers spectacularly above the Kananaskis Valley to the east. Click to see larger.

Highway 40 cuts a path along the foot of the Opal Range’s more northerly peaks. From left to right: double-summited Mount Denny, Mount Potts, Mount Evan Thomas and Mount Packenham. Ever-popular (but more diminutive) Opal Ridge and Grizzly Peak can also be seen in the foreground.

Looking directly east at the heart of the Opal Range. From left to right: Mount Evan Thomas, Mount Packenham, Mount Hood, Mount Brock, Mount Blane and “the Blade.” King Creek Ridge can also be seen in the foreground immediately below the Opal peaks’ dramatically tilted rock strata.

Opal’s southern reaches: Mount Wintour stands in front of Mount Burney (left), Mount Jerram (center left), Mount Schlee (center) and Elpoca Mountain (right).

The late-December sun casts a golden glow on Lower Kananaskis Lake. Beyond the lake, a single cloud blankets Elk Pass to the south. The view from the summit of Little Lawson is truly awesome in every direction but this panorama to the south really stands out. Click to see larger.

Two VERY COLD Matts pose for their customary summit photo before retreating from the frigid summit and its biting westerly wind. Matt C. and I typically enjoy at least an hour atop peaks but we must have set a personal record for shortest summit stay on Little Lawson: a mere 10 minutes!

Matt C. cautiously negotiates the narrowest section of the ridge as we begin our descent.

I do likewise. From this point on, our cameras were pretty much stowed away as we made haste to escape the freezing cold. Even with balaclavas and goggles, the wind was cold enough to give us “brain freeze” on what little skin remained exposed. Compounding matters, my toque rode up a little and, when I attempted to pull it back down, I discovered that it had frozen in place! Photo courtesy Matt Clay.

After a descent that was almost as brief as our summit stay, we found ourselves back at the aqueduct where, finally, the wind abated for the final 20 minutes of our day. It seems that we finally found that “wind shadow” Matt C. had predicted in the woods at the very bottom of the valley. Nice work Matt C... And to think I doubted you!

Little Lawson might have been bitterly cold but the scenery certainly didn’t disappoint. Who knows? We might even have burned off some of those Christmas sweets! At the very least, all that extra holiday weight provided a bit of (much-needed) insulation!