Redoubt Mountain Route Map (see link in desciption - or click here - for interactive version).

We were absolutely sweating buckets as we hiked up the grassy ski run (🟢 Marmot), with the mid-afternoon sun beating down! I was immediately wondering why I decided it would be a good idea to do a full loop of Redoubt plus this stinkin' ridge in the same day 😂. Eventually, the ski run started to curve up to the right, so we bushwhacked a short distance, soon reaching some open, bouldery terrain at the base of the valley.

My dad starts up through the bush, camouflaged on the left side of the frame. In an ideal scenario, his ski would have travelled in a perfectly straight line down this slope. While that's extremely unlikely, given all the trees and rocks that could've changed its course, we decided that ascending in a straight line from where he lost it (marked on our GPS), would likely be our best starting point.

I've never seen this man so determined to climb a mountain in his life 😂! While I slowly slogged my way up this steep, oven of a slope (flashbacks of Grotto 1.0...), my dad went into beast mode, and zoomed ahead to find his ski.

Passing through some cool rock formations on our way up the face. Although they look funky, they lose their appeal when you realize your ski could be lost in any one of the multiple cracks and crevasses they present...

The higher we climbed, the more hopeless our mission seemed...The ski could've been absolutely anywhere on this slope! For all we knew, we might have already passed it, now just wasting time as we continued to climb the mountain.

Oh, and did I mention how bloody steep this slope is!!

Navigating our way through the upper cliffs. We would often pause, scanning our surroundings, and even pulled out our binoculars a couple times when we noticed something shiny across the slope...Unfortunately it was never the ski :(.

Just this one last patch of trees, and then we'll be on the final open slope where my dad lost his ski in the first place. While we never intended to climb this high, we agreed that we might as well re-summit Wolverine Ridge since we were already up here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. The plan would then be to come back down this slope, but this time in a more switch-backing pattern, hoping to cover more ground and see something we missed on the way up...

...or not!! As we passed the last line of trees, and started up towards the summit, we looked back down the slope and there it was! Highlighted by the sun and sticking out of a patch of trees at a 45 degree angle, there stood my dad's ski!!

So close, yet so far! My dad points to the final grove of trees he descended to, in search of his ski back in January...Maybe 10 meters from where he found it now 😣.

A victorious final ascent to the summit of Wolverine Ridge!

This slope feels a lot safer without any snow on it...

The exact point where my dad's ski hit the eject button, and cruised down this slope. I can't imagine how horrible it would feel to helplessly watch your ski disappear down that...

Summit selfie! Feels like I've taken this picture before...

There's a view we didn't get in winter! Mount Hector's incredible south face towers in the distance.

The Richardson, Pika, Ptarmigan loop has leap-frogged to the top of my to-do list after today! As we descended from Redoubt earlier, we seriously considered starting up Ptarmigan and seeing how far along the traverse we could make it before bivvying high on the mountain in our emergency blankets...Unfortunately with no service, we couldn't let anyone know of our plan, and there was also a bit of a shortage on food and water ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Wasn't too long ago that we were up there! Redoubt Mountain rises across Wolverine Valley.

Unity Peak is the next small, but impressive, highpoint down the ridge.

Purple Mound's naming makes a little bit more sense when it's not covered in snow 😂.

Lipalian Mountain completes the trio.

Six of the famous ten: Little, Bowlen, Tonsa, Perren, Allen, and Tuzo, followed by the always jaw-dropping Mount Temple, and finally, Hungabee and Lefroy!

Mount Victoria is another mountain that never fails to impress, rising majestically over Lake Louise.

A closer look at Mount Temple, looming waaaay above Little Temple.

Whitehorn, Hector, and Richardson to the north.

Unity, Purple Mound, and Lipalian to the south!

Comprehensive view down Wolverine Valley - our ascent and descent route back in January.

Dramatic lighting on Unity Peak.

Happy skier, reunited with his ski :).

...even if it took quite a hit! The tree that so nicely held onto the ski for us, caused quite a bit of damage in return! No idea if it can be repaired, but it's probably less damage than if the ski kept going, dropping off multiple cliffs and colliding with rocks along the way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Photo credit: Dad

Now that we had regained possession of my dad's ski, there was no need to retrace our steps down that brutally steep, hard packed, oven of a slope that we came up. We therefore decided to test our luck, following the ridge down to the north. At this rate, we'll soon explore every possible route there is up this silly ridge 😂!

Staying on the ridge, as it curves to the right.

Last look at Richardson, Pika and Ptarmigan, before entering the forest.

We soon reached the treeline, and easily continued down through the generously spaced larches.

Spotlight in the forest. Our descent route proved to be a success, and we simply followed the forested ridge, almost to its end, before short-cutting down the slope on skier's left, to intercept the Wolverine Valley Trail. (Note: Following the ridge all the way to its conclusion should intersect the trail as well.)

Looking back to where we exited the bush (right), to join up with the minor trail that leads up Wolverine Valley (left). I have to say, from the three different routes we've now taken up/down this mountain, this one was definitely the most pleasant! While it wouldn't work very well on skis, I would strongly recommend this route for summer ascents :)!

We easily followed the narrow trail for the final short distance down the valley, soon intersecting the well-travelled Skoki backcountry trail, and following it back to the access road. We got a couple funny looks from backpackers as we hiked down the remaining 4.5 km. I guess it's not normal to have a single ski strapped to your pack in the middle of summer 😂.

I'm climbing that mountain this year, even if it means biking up the Moraine Lake Road because they won't let us park there!!

Completed a loop of Redoubt Mountain, summited Wolverine Ridge for the second time, and completed a mission that seemed impossible: rescuing my dad's lost ski! Now that's one productive day in the mountains :)!