Wed, Jul 21 2004 - Shaheeya Peak, Olson Mountain (View Original Event Details) Coordinator(s): Stephen Smith Participants: Stephen Smith

During dinner, a most unusual circumstance occurred: climbing route information of the two peaks, complete with color photos, was hand-delivered to us by the Captain of the International during the late-evening cruise! Unbelievably, Park Warden Edwin Knox of Waterton had climbed both peaks the day before. Later, while searching the internet for the meaning of “Shaheeya,” he discovered our GMS website indicating our climbing plans. He generously saw to it that we were delivered the appropriate route information - a real bonus since none of the five of us had set foot on the peaks previously, and there were no descriptions in the Climber’s Guide.

A storm system moved in that evening that doused the area, but we were encouraged after awakening early on July 21st to clear skies. The hike from Goathaunt to Lake Janet was uneventful, but at this point the off-trail work began. We found the same avalanched area that Warden Knox had described to begin the ascent, but the bushwacking initially appeared tremendous. After extended hesitation, I stepped off the trail into thick brush soaked from the previous night’s rain and instantly found myself wallowing horizontally in “four centuries of downfall” per Steve Berg. Ralph later reflected that “we appeared to be experiencing a temporary loss of momentum,” so he found an alternate route through the brush. The rest of us reluctantly followed and muddled our way through until we gained higher ground, where the going became progressively easier. The avalanched drainage we followed extends directly from the saddle between Olson Mountain and Shaheeya Peak.

After gaining the saddle, we opted to climb Olson first, but one could choose either peak from this point. It was a simple walk-up from the saddle to the Olson summit, and we were rewarded with impressive views of the northern Livingston and Lewis Ranges. The entire west face of Mt. Cleveland was in front of us as well as the Citadel Peaks and Porcupine Ridge. The pleasant ridgewalk to Shaheeya revealed even more remote summits such as Thunderbird Mountain and several mountains in Waterton. While some of the group may have been tempted to continue on to nearby Chapman or Campbell, we realized that in order to catch the last boat we should descend. Incidentally, in his Place Names book, Jack Holterman indicates Shaheeya is “the Assiniboine and Stoney word for the Crees, their sometime allies,” while Olson was named after a camp cook named Charlie Olson.