Kent South Peak Route Map (see link in desciption - or click here - for interactive version).

Beautiful alpenglow on Mount Black Prince...

...and Mount Warspite!

We parked on the north side of the highway, and started up a well travelled trail on the left side of Blackshale Creek. (Note: the trail does not go directly in the creek, but instead traverses left and then heads up through the forest.)

The trail makes a few short switchbacks before arriving at this neat suspension bridge! Unfortunately it's closed in winter :(.

While the packed trail (High Rockies Trail) turns left, we wanted to go up, and simply continued north, paralleling the creek.

Pretty colours in the sky :).

Mount Pocaterra gives me Mount Rundle vibes, to the east.

Typical terrain above the creek.

Eventually we spotted a few ribbons which led us slightly west, away from the edge.

Trudging through the bushy forest. The ribbons soon ceased to exist, so we just continued up, in as straight a line as possible.

Trail-breaking through the crusty top layer wasn't the most pleasant, and this, combined with fighting through those annoying, low-lying, bush branches (the ones in this picture...), eventually resulted in us strapping on snowshoes. I mean, we're carrying them along, might as well use them!

Travel was immensely more efficient after the transition, and we were soon breaking out of the trees.

Our first real view, and it's a beauty! Gypsum Ridge, Mount Indefatigable, and Mount Invincible rise to the south.

A closer look at Mount Invincible.

The impressive Mount Warspite joins the frame as we continue to gain elevation up the ridge.

Mount Black Prince appears through a gap in the thinning trees.

Zooming-in to Mount Warspite.

Mount Indefatigable's snowy East, North, and South (distant center) Peaks are all visible against a bright blue sky.

Aw man, I thought we were done with trees!

Luckily it was just one short, forested stretch, and we were soon leaving the bushwhacking behind once and for all!

Looking ahead, up the ridge...

...and down to some avalanche debris far below!

Wow, we have long legs ;P!

Some nice goats paved the trail for us :).

Dramatic lighting across the highway.

The ridge does get quite steep in places, but luckily there wasn't enough snow for a slide. (Note the grass sticking out.) Even so, cornices overhang the steep walls down to the creek below, and should be treated with respect!

Still super cloudy to the west. The obvious cone of sparse trees in the center is known as Black Prince Glades, which we had an absolute blast skiing last week.

The lengthy Lower Kananaskis Lake comes into view, stretching out past another short snowshoe objective, Gypsum Ridge.

Nearing the summit!

Shadows

Looking back down to my dad, as he approaches the final steep slope leading to the summit. The summit is just a few meters further (from where I took this picture), and since this slope was largely windblown, with just a light dusting of snow on top of some shale, I knew there wasn't a risk of an avalanche. I therefore took the final few steps to the summit, to snap some pictures, losing sight of my dad...

Looking north, up to the next section of Kent's long south ridge.

Zooming-in to Mount Lawson's summit, just visible across the valley.

Little Lawson, which we snowshoed earlier this winter, is basically a mirrored version of where we stand now.

Absolutely stunning view of Mount Warspite, rising directly across the highway!

Mount Black Prince's snow plastered east face is just as impressive!

The view back across the highway was definitely the highlight of the trip! Invincible, Warspite, Hermione, and Black Prince tower above Warspite Ridge in the foreground.

A close up view of the rarely visited Mount Invincible.

A significant, but supposedly unnamed peak, rises over the connecting ridge between Invincible and Warspite.

Although overshadowed by the summits beyond, Warspite Ridge is quite impressive itself, rising over the basin holding "Hidden Warspite Lake", which we had quite the adventure visiting last night...

Comprehensive view to the north, including Kent, Lawson, and Little Lawson!

It was incredible that we were able to experience the views we did, standing right in the "eye of the storm". All the views to the west...

...and to the east (beyond Lower Kananaskis Lake) were completely walled off!...With there still not being any sign of my dad, I started to worry, and started back down to look for him...Just a few steps down from the summit, I was able to see over the roll, and spotted him nearing the top. He looked extremely shaken up...It turns out that he had slipped on that final slope, wasn't able to stop himself, and was lucky he didn't slide right off the cliffs to the creek below! I feel really bad for leaving him behind, but I don't think there would have been anything I could have done. Looking back, we probably should've ditched the snowshoes for that slope, because you make one wrong step on that dinner plate shale, and there's not much you can do with big pieces of plastic strapped to your feet! Luckily he seemed to be okay physically, but definitely not mentally! I was barely able to take a picture with him on the summit before he disappeared down the longer (but safer) southeast ridge route.

Summit selfie.

Bits of the Opal Range briefly appear behind Little Lawson.

Mount Packenham can even be recognized!

Although the views were spectacular, the temperature sure wasn't, and after already spending too much time being pelted by ice crystals, I took a quick pano before following my dad down.

Starting down the northeast ridge. Although I personally wanted to follow our ascent route back down, I understood that this was out of the question, and eventually convinced myself that completing this loop was actually a good thing! This alternate descent would add more variety to the trip, and given that it wasn't even 10am, a little extra distance wouldn't hurt us.

Looking back to the summit as we continue down the gentle, treed ridge. It was obvious that this is the most popular route, as even with the fresh layer of snow, we were still able to follow a significant "indent" the whole way down.

Continuing down the trail. If looking for the safest route, this is it, as there are basically no difficulties to be found...Unless you're the first ones, in which case the trail-breaking will be absolutely brutal!

Warm sunlight scatters across the forest floor as we near the highway.

We soon emerged at the High Rockies Trail, right above the highway...but where's our car? Unfortunately, the two routes don't start in the same place, so we still had a 1.7km hike back to Blackshale Creek, where we began our day.

Yet another stunning view of Mount Warspite!

Hey look! We made it to the other side of the suspension bridge without even crossing it ;)!

Luckily (since the bridge is closed in winter), there is a detour route on the east side of the creek, which led us back down to our car. Although this trip may have turned a bit sour, the views were spectacular on this little peak, and are more than worth the effort! Just make sure to use the right tool for the job (unlike us) and use caution on the open, upper slopes of the south ridge. Or stear clear of hazards altogether by using the southeast ridge as your ascent route. Whatever choice you make, you're bound to be impressed by the incredible winter scenery (especially that view of Warspite!) as long as the weather cooperates!