#sunrise on the matterhorn

[stigmatam4rtyr]

Sunrise on the Matterhorn (19th century, oil on canvas) | Albert Bierstadt

[artschoolglasses]

Sunrise on the Matterhorn, Albert Bierstadt, 1875

[quo-usque-tandem]

Sunrise on the Matterhorn by Albert Bierstadt

[illustratus]

Sunrise on the Matterhorn by Albert Bierstadt

[leatherandmossprints]

‘Sunrise on the Matterhorn’ by Albert Bierstadt, c. after 1875.

[folklouire]

honey, when I'm above the trees, I see this for what it is.. x sunrise on the matterhorn, albert bierstadt (after 1875)

[q8q]

Matterhorn with Sunrise

Zermatt, Valais Canton, Switzerland

[scatterghosts]

Song for Lonely Giants by The Mountain Goats // Sunrise on the Matterhorn by Albert Bierstadt

[cedarboughs]

...for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man — John Muir

Through all the years—decades!—that I’ve been passing through Lake Louise, Summiting Mt. Temple is something that’s always seemed a sort of unattainable dream, something for a higher class of mountain-lover to have achieved, to inspire us mere mortals. It’s the profile of the mountain, as seen from the Bow Valley, I think. It’s not only that it’s the highest summit in the area, it’s that it’s such a mountainous mountain. It shares that unique distinction also belonging to Assiniboine, Sir Donald, Robson, Everest and the Matterhorn, that great triangular prominence that makes it appear the prototypical, platonic ideal mountain. The glacier on the north aspect, plainly visible from the highway, just adds to that. It’s the topping splash of white on every child’s doodle of A Mountain.

But all those thoughts came before I ended up living, at least for a few short months, at the base of this Ultimate Mountain (at least of Upper Banff Park.) Before my friends made plans to do the south ridge scramble on what happened to be my day off. The weather was looking clear, and against all odds, there was space on the morning bus. The summer stars had aligned. I would summit Temple or turn back, and maybe never get such a chance again.

I bought two sandwiches and some dark chocolate, lay out layers, set an alarm, and went to bed as soon as I could get everything sorted.

When I say I got the early bus, I mean the early bus. The party I was joining (S and J, nameless and with no close-ups included to keep this blog anonymous,) had seats for the 5:00 AM to Moraine Lake. That was full by the time I was out of the deep, dark valley where I work and could send an email to affirm a seat. I managed to get on the 4:00 AM, figuring I could meet them on the trail before the scramble. Leave the house at 3:30. Wake at 2:30. By my calculation I could get five and a half hours of sleep at best. The perfect state for exposure climbing.

My driver was a cheerful man who tried to give a bit of a spiel about the valley's history and attractions. I suspect he did this more successfully at more civilized hours of the morning.

Most of the bus hung around the parking lot, probably hoping to wait around for sunrise on the Rockpile. There were four of us bound for higher elevations. Two sped off far ahead, and I departed in close step with a guy named Dan. If you've ever been on the internet at all, then you've seen The Photo, so you know what view I had.

Except that, you know, it was 4:30 AM, so.

So, yeah, no crystal blue. But in my shot you can see another piece of providence. That waning gibbous supermoon lit up the trail like not quite day, but better than any sphere I could ever have dared to hope for that long before dawn. Dan had a headlamp glaring down along the trail in front of him, but I was happy to keep mine in my pack and walk by the spectacular moonlight. We more or less stuck together for safety, checking in as we leapfrogged through the night woods on the switchbacks up to Larch Valley, but I took some space on purpose just so that my eyes wouldn't be washed out by his light. Plus, my preferred vocal bear deterrent (not usually needed in such a busy spot, but again: 4:30 AM) is full ballads and shoddy Lord Huron covers, so you want space from humans for that. Look, saying "Hey Bear!" every five minutes, as Dan was doing, just isn't as much fun.

Orion was clearly visible reclining backwards over the silhouette of the Deltaform as we entered the more open ground of Larch Valley. Dan set up here to film the sunrise and I carried on alone.

While back towards the highway, dawn began to rise, fading first all stars but Venus, and then the Morning Star too. 5:45 AM.

Light came on in earnest as I ascended the scree switchbacks to Sentinel Pass. A little sadly, Temple itself blocked out the sunrise, but from the pass I could see first alpenglow colour Mt. Lefroy across Paradise Valley. There I lay back in the shelter of the piled-rock windwall, ate an apple, and closed my eyes to pretend that the rest might count as an extra few minutes of sleep. 7:00 AM.

S and G arrived not too long later, finding me lying with my head on my pack. We had a quick second breakfast, helmeted up, and left the well-trod trail for the rough scrambling route up the scree, guided by S's book with its descriptions of landmarks. Most of the ascent is actually fairly banal, switching back and braiding across steep scree among more solid bits of slab, though of course the views are incredible.

The exciting bits are the three rock bands which require some scrambling. Chief among these is the second band, the crux of the whole route. Here about ten metres of proper vertical climbing are required up two small chimneys split by a small bench and marked with swatches of paint. In this picture, taken from the middle bench, G tackles the first chimney while S plans her route. 8:30 AM. The two others were on their way down, apparently after starting from the lake at 1:30 and hiking beneath auroras.

Paradise Valley spread ever farther below to the southwest. Horseshoe Lake's curves and islands grew more map-like as we climbed equal to, then above, the pinnacle of Mt. Hungabee. The shadow of Temple itself across the valley just proved what a mountain this mountain really is. Look at that triangle. 8:45 AM.

Coming onto the summit ridge, the wind suddenly howled from the west. Though there was still a few hundred metres of vertical remaining to the summit at this point, our altitude was already above all but the highest surrounding peaks, and we truly felt on top of the world. 9:45 AM.

At the summit. The glacier is visible behind, dropping away towards the Bow Valley. Just after 10:00 AM. Lake Louise village, highway interchange, and ski hill base is visible in the valley trees just behind S’s blue helmet. A wall of ominous wildfire smoke hangs on the Cascadian side of the Great Divide. We called family and friends to show off the spot, had a snack, and departed. As we did, a man showed up with a ukulele. As his embarrassed request, as much as we wanted to hear a song from the top of the world, we left him to strum some chords in solitude.

It had taken me five and a half hours to summit, and it took nearly as long to descend. We’d climbed 1600 vertical metres over seven and a half kilometres, to an ultimate altitude of 3544 metres. Temple is the third-highest point in Banff Park and one of only twelve 11,000-foot peaks in the entirety of the Canadian Rockies. For you adherents of Pythagorus, that’s a hypotenuse of just over 7700 metres, and an angle of Lots, because I’ve forgotten how to Socahtoa now that I’ve left Math 30-1. S’s Garmin had her at 30,000 steps for a low estimate. I saw Dan again on the way down, just above the crux, and wished him luck. I hope he made it, though I can’t see how he wouldn’t with as much as he had done. Our legs were six bits of jelly by the time we lay down in the tourist-thronged Moraine parking lot to wait for the bus. We’d worshipped at the Great Temple, and it was a worship that would stay with us forever.

[stumbleimg]

Matterhorn, Switzerland just before sunrise [OC][5765x3468]

[bokluktm]

Sunrise on the Matterhorn

Albert Bierstadt American after 1875

[kephieulang]

Sunrise at Matterhorn mountain, Swiss

[nj-stone]

Julie Demboski's ASTROLOGY - Mars Conjoined Pluto: Erasing Anger https://juliedemboski.com/2024/02/13/mars-conjoined-pluto-erasing-anger/ via @jdem759

[damnedkik]

Matterhorn sunrise Witness the breathtaking beauty of the Matterhorn at sunrise - a perfect blend of serenity and magnificence.

[kallo-sims]

Matterhorn sunrise Good morning from the stunning Matterhorn. Start your day with a cup of inspiration and let this sunrise fill your soul with peace and happiness.

[xoltinuum]

Matterhorn sunrise

Good morning from the stunning Matterhorn. Start your day with a cup of inspiration and let this sunrise fill your soul with peace and happiness.