Haldan Borglum | Peak by Peak

Mount French
August 14 2022

The Haig Glacier lies deep in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park and is surrounded by difficult peaks including Mount Sir Douglas, Mount Robertson, Mount French, Mount Maude, and a number of others that circumnavigate it. Skiing is also a common occurence on the Haig with the FHR Traverse being a popular winter objective for backcountry skiers and in the summer months WinSport organized ski camps have cross country skiers taking advantage of the high altitude and snow for training. Having been to these ski camps a couple times before I knew the Haig quite well and it was immediately one of my favorites places. What wasn't so familiar to me were the peaks surrounding it and when Jake Draper mentioned having never been there and wanting to check it out I was fully on board and we started scheming up plans for a day trip months in advance.

Jake and I had been planning a visit to the Haig Glacier with an ascent of Mount French for the entire summer and with conditions finally lining up and feeling ready for a long day we were excited to get after it! The run in through the Forks and Turbine Canyon backcountry campgrounds went fast with our quick pace and the scenery in this area helps to make the time go by! We reached the Haig Glacier skier huts in no time and with everyone up on the glacier skiing already made our way for Mount Jellicoe before heading for Mount French. Jellicoe served as a good warmup for French and also definitely added some fatigue to the legs, after descending and crossing the glacier to head up French we were feeling it in the loose scree section of the ascent but the real difficulties weren't until we reached the ridge!

If anything getting up Mount French is more psychological than anything, the initial ridge is nothing out of the ordinary for a scramble with some exposure and hands on sections but the final summit block ridge nicknamed The Guillotine is about as gnarly as they come. Although you could probably walk across on top if you were bold enough, the drop on either side makes this entire balancing act a no fall zone and the inclined nature doesn't make getting down it any easier on the way back. This was probably the most gripped Jake and I had ever been and there weren't many summit celebrations as we were too concerned about making it back across but after carefully getting back down the stoke was through the roof and we enjoyed an fast run out in the evening temperatures. Mount French is definitely not to be taken lightly and although it might not really have 5th class moves it's quite serious! It was quite the buildup to this outing but Jake and I planned and fueled well and got it done in great conditions, about as good as it gets for a Haig day trip!

links: STRAVA | GAIA
elapsed time: 13hrs
DIFFICULTY: climber's scramble ↔ mountaineering - glacier travel

Other related trip reports: Mount Robertson | Wetterspitze | Cima del Tempo | Chancellor Peak | The Armchair Traverse || Mount Vaux

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