MOUNT GASS
Contributed by Hans Roemer
FACTS
Country: Canada
Location: BC/Alberta
Round trip: 10 km
Start elevation: 2050 m
Final Elevation: 2870 m
Maps: NTS 1:50,000 map 82J/2
GETTING THERE
From Crowsnest Highway (# 3) turn north on Hwy 43 to reach Elkford, BC. From the bridge across the Elk River follow the road towards Fording for 14 km where you leave the pavement. Set your odometer to 0 where you cross the railroad tracks on your right and proceed straight up an old logging/mining road following the valley of Todhunter Creek.
The access road is open to the public between June 16 and August 31 and has numerous cross-ditches. To negotiate the latter requires a high-clearance vehicle with a short rear overhang. At km 7.3 you reach a flat area with plenty of room for pulling off the narrow track and turning. This is not the end of the road, but it is your ‘trail head’ at just above 2,000 m elevation.
Your objective is the south-facing bowl of Mt. Gass, to the north of where you parked. Initially, you can use some old bulldozer tracks a short distance through the edge of a young pine plantation, until entering the relatively narrow belt of untouched subalpine forest near its lowest point and following a small drainage up to the base of the bowl’s meadows at about 2,100 m elevation.
From here on, you have about 500 vertical meters of varied alpine meadows, scree slopes and other calcareous habitats to explore on relatively easy terrain. An exceptional diversity of subalpine and alpine species is encountered here. To reach either the peak or gain access to the high shoulder on your left takes some scrambling and is not recommended to the inexperienced. (The summit of Mt. Gass can also be reached from the Alberta side and from a western branch of the described road. The author has not explored these alternatives.)
Grizzly bears are common in this area and special caution is required, especially in places where visibility is restricted and where lush vegetation abounds. Watch for fresh diggings where bears went for ground squirrels or glacier lily bulbs.
MOUNT GASS GALLERY.
The photos were taken on July 2 and 4, 2015
Click the arrows to start the slideshow or click on an image to expand.
Alpine & Subalpine Plants
PARTIAL SPECIES LIST ON & AROUND MOUNT ARROWSMITH
Abies lasiocarpa
Achillea millefolium
Agoseris aurantiaca
Allium schoenoprasum
Androsace septentrionalis
Anemone drummondii
Anemone multifida
Anemone parviflora
Antennaria alpina
Antennaria anaphaloides
Antennaria racemosa
Antennaria umbrinella
Aquilegia flavescens
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Arnica angustifolia
Arnica cordifolia
Arnica ovata
Arnica rydbergii
Artemisia michauxiana
Aster alpinus ssp.vierhapperi
Astragalus alpinus
Astragalus australis
Astragalus bourgovii
Astragalus vexilliflexus var. vexilliflexus
Bistorta vivipara
Boechera lemmonii
Boechera lyallii
Bromus carinatus
Bromus pumpellianus
Campanula rotundifolia
Carex atrosquama
Carex concinnoides
Carex haydeniana
Carex incurviformis var. incurviformis
Carex nardina
Carex nigricans
Carex rossii
Carex rupestris
Carex scirpoidea
Castilleja occidentalis
Cerastium arvense
Cerastium beeringianum
Cirsium hookerianum
Claytonia megarhiza
Cystopteris fragilis
Dasiphora fruticosa
Delphinium sutherlandii
Descurainia incisa
Dodecatheon conjugens
Draba borealis
Draba incerta
Draba nivalis
Draba oligosperma
Dryas hookeriana
Drymocallis pseudorupestris
Elymus violaceus
Epilobium anagallidifolium
Epilobium angustifolium
Epilobium lactiflorum
Eremogone capillaris
Erigeron aureus
Erigeron compositus
Erigeron glacialis
Erigeron humilis
Erigeron ochroleucus
Erigeron speciosus
Eriogonum umbellatum var. majus
Erysimum inconspicuum
Erythronium grandiflorum
Eurybia merita
Festuca brachyphylla
Festuca campestris
Festuca idahoensis
Fragaria virginiana
Galium boreale
Gentiana prostrata
Geranium viscosissimum
Geum macrophyllum
Hackelia micrantha
Hedysarum sulphurescens
Heracleum maximum
Juniperus communis
Kobresia myosuroides
Leymus innovatus
Lithophragma glabrum
Lomatium triternatum
Lonicera utahensis
Luzula spicata
Melica spectabilis
Micranthes lyallii
Micranthes occidentalis
Minuartia austromontana
Minuartia biflora
Minuartia obtusiloba
Minuartia rubella
Myosotis alpestris ssp.asiatica
Oxyria digyna
Oxytropis campestris var. cusickii
Oxytropis deflexa
Oxytropis podocarpa
Packera contermina
Packera pauciflora
Pedicularis bracteosa
Penstemon albertinus
Penstemon confertus
Penstemon ellipticus
Phacelia sericea
Phleum alpinum
Picea engelmannii
Pinus albicaulis
Pinus contorta
Poa abbreviata ssp. pattersonii
Poa alpina
Poa cusickii
Poa glauca
Poa glauca ssp. rupicola
Polemonium pulcherrimum
Potentilla drummondii
Potentilla glaucophylla var. glaucophylla
Potentilla glaucophylla var. perdissecta
Potentilla ovina
Potentilla subgorodkovii
Pseudoroegneria spicata
Pulsatilla patens
Ranunculus eschscholtzii
Rhodiola integrifolia
Ribes lacustre
Salix arctica
Salix barrattiana
Salix brachycarpa
Salix glauca
Salix nivalis
Saussurea nuda
Saxifraga adscendens
Saxifraga bronchialis ssp. austromontana
Saxifraga cernua
Saxifraga cespitosa
Saxifraga oppositifolia
Sedum lanceolatum
Selaginella scopulorum
Senecio fremontii
Senecio lugens
Senecio triangularis
Sibbaldia procumbens
Silene acaulis
Silene parryi
Silene uralensis
Smelowskia americana
Solidago multiradiata
Stellaria monantha
Symphyotrichum foliaceum
Taraxacum ceratophorum
Thalictrum occidentale
Townsendia parryi
Trisetum spicatum
Trollius albiflorus
Vaccinium cf. myrtillus
Vaccinium scoparium
Valeriana sitchensis
Veronica wormskjoldii
Zygadenus elegans