Mount Cline | 11000ers of the Canadian Rockies

Mount Cline
3361m, 11027ft
August 11 2024

Mount Cline is one of two 11000ers located east of the Icefields Parkway and located near the Saskatchewan Crossing, the other being Mount Murchison. It serves as a good intro to the 11000ers of the Canadian Rockies and although it's more difficult than the easiest peaks on the list like Mount Temple and Mount Harrison, aside from the notches near the top it's just a hike. That being said the notches go at up to 5.4 with parties often roping up for both of them, rappeling across the second notch on the way up, and belaying it on the way down so it has serious terrain and is a good stepping stone for those looking to work their way up to the tougher rock 11000ers.

Following a trip up Mount Murchison the day prior with Darren and William, Cyrus and I had made plans to go for Mount Cline and the plan was to go fast and light! It was the first time Cyrus and I had teamed up for an objective but when he mentioned he was keen on running any flat or downhill terrain I knew we'd get along well. We decided to bring a short 35m rope for the second notch in the event we wanted to rappel so we weren't truly as light as possible but aside from that we didn't pack a surplus of layers or food so that would help us to get up and down Cline in good time.

Climber free-soloing the first notch on Mount Cline with towering limestone cliffs and expansive alpine backdrop in the Canadian Rockies

We started a bit after 4am to get a head start on the day and the approach to the lake where some groups camp ended up going pretty quickly. Where the route branches west from the river early on we took a ledge slightly higher than the main ledge that's typically used but it ended up reconnecting with the route fine and after that the terrain opened up and soon after we were greeted with the excellent views from the lake camp site.

Following the lake we began gaining elevation quickly and where there's a small glacier remaining west of Mount Owen most of the snow had melted out so we could bypass tedious section on scree to the right which helped us make good time getting to Cline's ridge. After a bit of good scrambling we had arrived at the first of the notches and the fun part began, Cyrus and I both felt comfortable with the terrain so we free soloed the first notch and made our way to the second.

I knew that most parties rappelled the second notch but I had also heard of some people downclimbing it and some of the crazy ones jumping it, I think it's safe to say that you'd have to be a bit nuts to go for the jump option. This isn't the Mount Edith jump, pictures and videos don't necessarily do it justice but the gap is big and the other side is a few meters lower so it would be easy to have a rough landing even if you did clear the gap. We thought about downclimbing it but the last move is a big move with deadly exposure so since we had the rope anyway we decided to rappel. After that we left the rope at the notch and it was a simple hike to the summit!

links: STRAVA | GAIA
elapsed time: 11.5hrs
DIFFICULTY: climb - 5th class

Already past the ledge, getting up there!

Onto the rocky terrain now, finally getting some sun!

From here the route trends up and right following the direction of the cliffs

Murchison and the Murchison Towers came into view, as well
as Chephren and White Pyramid at far right

Mount Forbes, not the reognizable white tooth from this angle

Our objective came into view as we skirted around Mount Owen, the Whitegoat
Peaks at left

The snow / ice section we had to deal with

The first notch with the impressive summit of Mount Cline towering behind

Cyrus working his way around the spire feature

A wide angle photo of the second notch, so who's jumping that?!

Making our way to the summit, we passed this third notch looking feature on the way

A bit smoky but Columbia, The Stuts, and Cromwell visible on the horizon

The views at the summit were great but not quite as impressive as the views of Cline on way up due to the tame nature of the top section of the mountain. After a short break Cyrus and I headed back down and it didn't take long for us to get back to the notches. Given that the second notch is a climb rather than a downclimbing on the way back we felt a lot more comfortable and ended up soloing it and did the same with the first notch. We then decided to ascend a 4th-5th class line on Mount Owen to get a bit more hands on terrain in for the day and the way down from the summit of Owen was a nice ridge followed by great boot skiing that lead us back to our ascent line. Following that we were quickly back at the lake and the exit went quite quickly, once we were back on trail we started running again and we kept good pace until we reached the trailhead.

Views south, Hector, Murchison, and Forbes visible

Impressive views towards the Whitegoat Peaks

And a quick descent back to the notches!

Cyrus starting the big move across the
second notch

Cyrus making his way across the first notch

Mount Cline with Resolute Mountain and Lioness Peak to the right

The trail that leads to the proper ledge

Our line in orange, the ideal line in red

Thanks to Cyrus for joining me on this one, it was a fun outing but Mount Cline ended up having less hands on sections than I expected so this is more of a trail runner / hiker's 11000er with a couple techy sections and a bit of ropework thrown in. I was definitely ready for a few days off from mountain climbing after the back to back Murchison and Cline trips but a week later when a couple solid days had shown up in the forecast it was time to get after it again with the next 11000er push.