The Greenwood/Locke on Temple Gets Winter Ascent
The first winter ascent was over 15 years ago, but due to conditions it doesn't see much action from November to spring
The Greenwood/Locke up the north face of Mount Temple in Alberta is one of Canada’s most classic alpine climbs. Rockies climbers Quentin Roberts and Maarten Van Haeren recently made a winter ascent of the route, which is usually done in summer conditions.
The first winter ascent was by Raphael Slawinski and Ben Firth in 2004. There were a dozen efforts to climb the face in winter before 2004, but it was the experience from training on difficult mixed/drytooling routes that made the difference for Firth and Slawinski.
In 2015, Alik Berg and Skiy DeTray made the second winter ascent on record, however it’s possible the route has been climbed in winter by others. After the ascent, Berg said, “It’s not that difficult with modern tools, I’m surprised it’s not a winter trade route.”
On March 25, 2010, Steve House and Bruce Miller were trying to climb the route in winter. House fell 25 metres and hit a ledge. He sustained moderate injuries: broken ribs, collapsed lung, stable fractures of several vertebrae and his tailbone. He was taken by helicopter off of the mountain shortly after the fall as Miller was able to call out for assistance.
Roberts is off to the Himalayas this summer, and Van Haeren is going to attempt a new route on Mount Logan with Alik Berg, Peter Hoang and Ethan Berman. Follow them below for updates on their expeditions.
The Greenwood/Locke in Summer
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