01
Window Mountain to Allison Peak | 2010-07-25

|
Above stats are for estimate to Window Mountain and return the same way. For complete stats for this trip, please see page 9.
I parked at Window Mountain Lake parking lot. Be sure not to drive a low clearance car. Normal cars can handle this rough road but low clearance can’t. If your car can’t handle or if road is muddy or too much snow, then I suggest to park at side of the main road (add only 2.5 km flat walk). Also this lake is popular among locals and the parking lot is small, so come early if it’s a beautiful summer day.
From parking lot, I followed the road for 1.1 km, then I took left and another left 200 m after the first turn. This will lead to quad trail. I was hoping this quad trail would take me to closer to the Window Mountain and that exactly what happened. After going over a hill, you will see Window Mountain and scree. You need to calculate how long you want to stay on the quad trail because longer you stay on the trail, more elevation you will lose. Earlier you leave the trail, longer you have to walk on sidehill.
Way to the “window” is pretty much straight forward. Go up (page 3). From the window to actual summit was where the difficult scrambling started. First I had to lose about 20 m elevation then I went right (east). Walk along the wall. The end of wall is the end of summit ridge. You can get on top of the ridge there. The ridge is exposed and requires some scrambling. It appeared much worse when I saw the route first when I get on the summit ridge, but it wasn’t as bad (page 5).
To Allison Peak from Window Mountain, again the ridge to Allison ridge looked really bad, but it wasn’t as bad as it appeared (page 9). The crux was the ridge between waypoint “Allison-Window Junction” to Allison Peak. The ridge became narrow and exposed. Even though the length of this narrow section was only 40 m or so, if you are not used to exposed ridge, this will scare you for sure (page 11). I didn’t really find rocks being so loose though. After this, there is no other challenges and it’s pretty mush hike to the peak.
Because I have already done Mount Ward, instead to traverse to Ward, I stayed on Great Divide for a while until near waypoint “Cain 2” (page 15). There was one moderate (close to difficult) step with exposure near a peak GR307143 (still page 15), but that was the only scrambling part in entire ridge beside Allison Ridge. At waypoint “Cain 4” indicating the end of the ridge, I came down to the Window Mountain Lake. There was a trail, so make sure to look for it while coming down slope. It becoming tradition of mine here that no matter how many times I have come here I still manage to get lost at the lake…