Coliseum Mountain

✕

A mere 20 days after my first taste of scrambling up Red Peak Red Peak
Hagelslag.ca
[Archive] [No Archive Link] , I was back in the alpine - this time on an annual family vacation in David Thompson Country. It didn’t take much effort to convince one of my brothers - who would later join me on Mt. Stelfox Under Construction
Hagelslag.ca
[Archive] [No Archive Link] and Two O'Clock Peak Two O'Clock Peak
Hagelslag.ca
[Archive] [No Archive Link] - to join me on an ascent to Coliseum when a “lazy” day appeared in our schedule, given it’d been on our radar as a hike to do “eventually” for a decade or more.

I hadn’t bothered to bring my car, and so we had no vehicle to work with - but that wasn’t much of a problem, as we both had our bikes and were staying at Frontier Lodge nearby. We set out at 1053hrs and made quick work of the 9km between us and the base of the western summit, arriving by 1125hrs.

We locked our bikes and headed up. My brother took the lead; while I’d spent most of my summer indoors, he had been active - and it showed! I needed frequent breaks to catch my breath as we worked our way up the steep, grassy slopes. We noted that our ascent route looked like an under-construction MTB trail, and wondered if we’d missed the proper trail (spoiler: we did. It’s pretty apparent on a satellite map too.)

Dirt gives way to scree as we reach Coliseum's upper slopes. Dirt gives way to scree as we reach Coliseum's upper slopes. ✕

The incline here was a bit concerning as a beginner who hadn't learned to bring poles yet! These days I'll surf down a slope like this without a second thought... The incline here was a bit concerning as a beginner who hadn't learned to bring poles yet! These days I'll surf down a slope like this without a second thought... ✕

Dirt eventually gave way to easy scree and rubble slopes, which we followed to a ~3m cliff band. Rather than ascend a chimney that is often used by scramblers taking the direct ascent route, we followed the band eastwards until it diminished to a 1m step, which - unhappy as I was with my unstable footing and lack of trekking poles - was simple enough to clamber up.

We continued eastward, following the cliffs of the summit block until our route met the ascent trail. Said trail was steep and eroded but easily passable compared to the scree that us beginners had just struggled up, and quickly lead to the massive summit plateau. It was now 1250hrs, so we paused for lunch before continuing.

I had a feeling I'd eventually figure out how to stitch panoramas, and took enough photos for one while up here. I rediscovered those when preparing this trip report, and lo and behold - I can in fact stitch panoramas now.

I had a feeling I'd eventually figure out how to stitch panoramas, and took enough photos for one while up here. I rediscovered those when preparing this trip report, and lo and behold - I can in fact stitch panoramas now. ✕

The hot pink register presumably left by Ephraim Roberts was packed full of tattered notebooks with not a single page to spare. I’m not particularly surprised given how much traffic the summit sees; we must have run into two dozen ascent parties during our time up here. Register aside, we quickly traversed the ridge and had to contend with some easy scrambling up a scree ramp and another ~1m step to gain the eastern summit at 1320hrs.

The western summit cairn is pretty huge. The western summit cairn is pretty huge. ✕

Approaching Coliseum's eastern summit, approximately 20m lower than the western one. Approaching Coliseum's eastern summit, approximately 20m lower than the western one. ✕

The second - and lower - summit had no register, although it did have another sizeable cairn. We spent some time taking in the view before descending.

Views to the distant Rockies from the eastern summit.

Views to the distant Rockies from the eastern summit. ✕

Descent was uneventful and we arrived back at our bikes at 1430hrs, closing off the day with a 30 minute ride back to our cabin.