We picked Eiffel Peak as an acclimatization climb and a warm up for the week ahead. It rises over the left side of beautiful Larch Valley on the way up to Sentinel Pass.
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This is grizzly bear country and a mother and cub had been seen passing through weeks earlier so bear restrictions were in effect. This meant travelling in groups no smaller than 6*. We waited at the trail head for a while and linked up with another group of 5 and were set. |
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*The reasoning -- there have been no documented cases of a bear attacking people in groups of 6 or more. |
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The climb is a rubbly scramble to a broad summit with views of Paradise Valley to the North and Larch Valley and Valley of the Ten Peaks to the South and Southeast. |
![Larch Valley and Moraine Lake](thumbs/dsc_0019.jpg) ![Mt. Fay](thumbs/dsc_0026.jpg)
The summit is capped by one of the more ambitious cairns I've seen; we took our time there with the register, and the views.
![](thumbs/dsc_0013.jpg) ![](thumbs/dsc_0020.jpg)
The mid-day Sun loosed snow on Mt. Lefroy and sent it rumbling down slopes to sheer drops. Fortunately we observed this from a relatively safe distance -- 2 miles. The Sun also provided a good view of the giant Mt. Temple opposite us over the pass. We planned to return to attempt it before week's end.
![Avalanches off Mt. Lefroy](thumbs/dsc_0016.jpg) ![Mt. Temple](thumbs/dsc_0018.jpg)
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