This is the second one of the three monsters promoted as scramble routes by Parks Canada for tourists. The 1st one (the easiest) is Cascade, the most difficult of them is Temple in Lake Louise. As much as we liked Cascade, and I did it twice so far – first with my wife, and then with my son-in-law, this one I would not do again. Fun it is, but long climb with loose rocks, steep, windy, – overall in my […]
On the picture above there is The Rimwall mountain, as it’s seen from the Wind Ridge, which we hiked a few weeks ago. Looks pretty intimidating from Dead Man’s Flats side, but from the South-West slopes it’s a surprisingly very pleasant hike, moderately challenging and highly rewarding. Allocate half day for it, but to really enjoy it you do need good weather. Don’t get scared away with foggy Spray Lakes in the morning, it happens more often that you might […]
Start early: it’s a long hike. Park at the Upper Kananaskis Lake lot closest to the Rawson Lake. First 9 kilometers along the shore of Upper Kananaskis Lake and then after left turn on the fork to Aster Lake through the forest next to Hidden Lake are plain and easy. After the tree line an established and scenic path ascends through a couple of boulder fields. And this is where all the fun begins. The ridge goes on, and on, […]
This year Parks Canada closed Moraine Lake Road for private vehicles and the only way to get to the lake and its amazing trail system is their shuttle (as a local, I am not considering other overpriced options like taxi or commercial shuttles, leaving them exclusively for tourists). The first shuttle departs from Lake Louise Ski Resort at 6:30 AM (so in the fall you even can catch the iconic sunrise on Moraine Lake), the last return bus from Moraine […]
The original idea of this hike was to summit Mount Collembola using South-West approach which connects Allan and Collembola via Fisera Ridge. My previous attempt to summit Collembola via North Route was unsuccessful – I turned around at the base of summit block because I could not figure out a way to avoid exposure on this last scrambling push. Unfortunately my second solo attempt was also a miserable failure, but the reason was exactly the opposite: when I reached the […]
Because of BC wildfires smoke here and there I was not sure about a hike this weekend till the very last moment, and only when saw that Three Sisters are more or less visible from Bear & Bison Inn life cam, decided not to drive far but finally to try North Mount Collembola Route from Dead Man’s Flats. The original intention was to do the Collembola – Allan loop to avoid bushwhacking on the way back, but everything above 3000m […]
Wind Ridge Trail in Exshaw surprised us pretty much with everything: well maintained, not too long, challenging enough, with a little bit of scrambling fun, shady forest, almost no people, and most importantly, incredible views of our favorite Kananaskis peaks from totally unexpected angle, impressive and intimidating. We started early (we always do) and air was more or less clear in the morning, but then wind from the West started to bring lots of smoke from BC fires, and unfortunately […]
Mount Sparrowhawk is a 3,121-metre (10,240 ft) mountain summit located in Kananaskis Country in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. Mount Sparrowhawk’s nearest higher peak is Mount Bogart, 3.6 km (2.2 mi) to the southeast. Mount Sparrowhawk was named in 1917 for HMS Sparrowhawk, a British destroyer that sank during the Battle of Jutland in World War I. This mountain’s name was officially adopted in 1922 by the Geographical Names Board of Canada. The first ascent of the peak was […]
Castle Mountain is located within Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, approximately halfway between Banff and Lake Louise. It is the easternmost mountain of the Main Ranges in the Bow Valley and sits astride the Castle Mountain Fault which has thrust older sedimentary and metamorphic rocks forming the upper part of the mountain over the younger rocks forming its base. The mountain’s castellated, or castle-like, appearance is a result of erosive processes acting at different rates on the peak’s […]
Mount Jimmy Simpson is a 2,966-metre (9,731-foot) summit located 3 km (1.9 miles) northwest of Bow Lake in Banff National Park, in the Canadian Rockies of Alberta, Canada. It is a member of the Waputik Mountains, and is situated east of the Wapta Icefield and west of the Bow River valley. Mount Jimmy Simpson can be seen from the Icefields Parkway at Bow Lake. Mount Jimmy Simpson is named for Jimmy Simpson (1877–1972) who was a respected outfitter in the […]