Read's Tower

I had wanted to check out Mount Sparrowhawk for the coming ski season, and decided to add Read's Tower to the day as well since it was in the neighbourhood.

To our surprise, the gate at the parking lot was locked, barring entry. The outhouses were locked up as well. It seemed a bit early to be closing these off.

We met a group of three who were also intending to summit Mount Sparrowhawk, and when we told them our plan to first ascend Read's Tower, they decided to join us.

We started off on the Sparrowhawk Tarns trail, then cut left when we encountered a forest of brightly coloured flagging tape. As we trudged up through treeline, it was apparent that the recent snowfall had not melted away, and that perhaps this was the start of the winter snowpack.

Our first good view of Read's Tower

Read's Tower even had a considerable amount of ice mixed in with the snow, and while it wasn't enough to make the going treacherous, it put some doubt in our minds regarding Mount Sparrowhawk.

Spray Lakes from the top of Read's Tower

I'd guess that the temperature on the summit of Read's Tower, including wind chill, was around -10C. My fingers were numb and we didn't linger long. Back down to the base of the tower, we circled clockwise around and went up the col between Read's Tower and Mount Sparrowhawk. From this vantage point, we could see the trail going up to the summit of Mount Sparrowhawk, but it did not look inviting as we were unable to see the summit from the clouds.

The col behind Read's Tower

We decided then that Mount Sparrowhawk was not a reasonable destination on this day, so we proceeded to head down the other side of the col to rejoin the Sparrowhawk Tarns trail.

I have not been able to figure out what plant / flower this is

As my original purpose of this day was to scope out the slopes for skiing, I made note of the limitless potential in the area. Skiing straight west off of Mount Sparrowhawk, the gully, the col, the other side of the col ... it was all goodness.

A rare view of the summit of Mount Sparrowhawk

As we were heading down, we finally caught a quick glimpse of the summit. Perhaps we shall try again next year. More importantly, we'll be back in the winter to ski some of these lines.