"An ascent of Portal Peak and Mount Thompson from Bow Hut, and then an overnight stay at Peyto Hut. Portal Peak was enjoyable once you made it through the chossy slog to get to the summit block. We found a mostly moderate scrambling route, with one difficult step. Lots of traversing side to side and route finding on this one, great views! After Portal Peak, we went up Mount Thompson hiking on acceptably stable blocky rocks. Not much to say about Thompson other than great views. 13.5 km 1300m gain in 9.5 hours which includes lots of breaks for photos, snacks, etc. These stats do not include the entrance into Bow Hut nor the exit from Peyto Hut to the car." — hollywilliams • Jul 29, 2025

"Went into Bow Hut, then Portal Peak and Mt Thompson on the way to Peyto Hut. Annoyed with the weather so far this summer, we did what we could with the short weather window. Thankfully it worked out great with perfect weather. Read all kinds of things about Portal Peak, from sketchy free-soloing on loose rock to a moderate scramble. Happy to report it's not 5th class, but I can't call it a moderate scramble, it's still difficult, but only just if you go the right way. If you go the wrong way, you're probably gonna be risking your life several times. There's some route finding and the rock is absolutely terrible but it's never extreme. Still a decent amount of hands on, steep terrain, loose rocks galore, and route finding, I don't think there's any comparable moderate scrambles that I can think of. We did it from the glacier, I believe the access is quite stiff, making it for sure a difficult scramble from Iceberg Lake. It was enjoyable for the route and views, but it was one of the chossiest peaks I've done in a while. A true Rockies mess! I drew a line for the route for the easiest path, it's really the only reasonable way because the poor rock quality doesn't make it a good idea ..." — jakefinnan • Jul 28, 2025

"Difficult scramble. Route finding is the crux. Many gullies on the way up must be choose carefully, without loosing the track. Traverse on exposed ledges, the route is combination of Vaux, Murchison and Chephren Mounts. Some sections above of the scramble. Some just moderate. And very loose terrain. Exceptional views of Wapta Icefields. " — hiker64 • Aug 23, 2024