Nice 4.5 km hike featuring approximately 685 m elevation gain. This time the entire trail to the very top was well packed. Steady moderate ascent, a bit steeper before the summit. The trail head is right on the left side of 742, if you are coming from Canmore. Once you reach the fork with 2 bridges, cross the one to the left. Can be sections with more snow here and there, especially after the big rock viewpoint. Take a look […]
It was -18C when we stepped on the trail and +1C when we returned back. Other than that, very nice and rewarding winter hike. Usually popular and very well packed till the end. Don’t miss the right turn at the fork, if you take left in the direction of Mt. Engadine, you won’t get to the ridge. Not a lot of easy winter hikes, this is one of them. This is the flyover: Rummel Ridge Winter Hike Our track is […]
The North Peak of Pigeon Mountain offers a strategic vantage point, presenting an extensive panorama of the Canadian Rockies and numerous well-known peaks visible from this location. From the North Summit, you can see a broad array of peaks including: The views of nearby Mount McGillivray and Skogan Pass are particularly remarkable, offering a unique perspective on these areas. The South Peak (with the weather station) is optional but offers some additional views. These expansive views make Pigeon Mountain a […]
Wenkchemna Pass, situated in the heart of the Canadian Rockies, offers hikers a challenging ascent leading to unparalleled vistas. From the pass’s pinnacle, one stands atop the Continental Divide. On the Alberta side, the iconic Ten Peaks rise majestically: Mounts Babel, Fay, Little, Bowlen, Tonsa, Perren, Allen, Tuzo, Deltaform Mountain, and Neptuak Mountain. Over on the British Columbia side, the towering summits of Mount Goodsir, Chancellor Peak, Mount Vaux, Mount Des Poilus, and Yoho Peak add to the grandeur. The […]
Yamnuska is a classic introduction to scrambling. Chimneys, chains, – all looks and sounds scary and it is indeed a little bit shaky. But the biggest surprise this Sunday was a foot deep snow which essentially turned everything above the tree line into a nice winter hike. I left crampons in the car but apparently my Helly Hansen boots have nice grip which works very well on fresh packed snow. With some extra care on icy rocks I made it […]
A nice short half-day hike with one easy staircase-style scramble section about 500 meters from the trailhead. The rest of the trail goes around the peak to the col connecting Grizzly and Evan-Thomas, and then straight to the summit. Once I got there, I was out of weather luck, and the view of nearby mountains Evan Thomas and Packenham was a bit cloudy, but still exceptional: It make sense to walk from the summit all the way to the Opal […]
This route to Old Baldy is mentioned by Andrew Nugara as a “shorter” approach (we did the “longer” one as a loop this spring, but were out of time and did not make it to the summit back then, only to the ridge, – still very nice, like on the photo above). Alternative route is indeed shorter than the official hike from Evan-Thomas Day Use Area, but it does not mean faster at all, – the route up to the […]
After my off-trail Collembola solo I was exhausted, but sunny days with no wildfire smoke were literally a treasure this Summer, so next day I decided to ignore all knee pain and to take advantage of the weather and do something long enough for a nice day but easy and adrenalin-free. Pigeon Mountain totally fits this description: very moderate but steady incline, no scrambling, no loosing shit, no exposure, but very rewarding all the way to the summit once you […]
I tried to summit Mount Collembola two times before. My attempt via North route from Dead Man’s Flats failed because I could not find a safe way to climb up the summit block (23 m of elevation left but hiking solo this time, I was not comfortable with exposure and turned back with tail between legs). My second attempt via Marmot Basin and Fisera Ridge also failed because I could not find a safe way to climb down from the […]
This is definitely an undervalued route. It’s steep from the very beginning, and that is good because you don’t have to warm yourself up for several kilometers through a boring forest just to get to the fun stuff. There are a few scrambling sites, and by scrambling I mean hanging the hiking poles on one arm and using teeth and both hands to pull up. Some sections have loose rocks, and one might say even “exposure”, but nothing too scary […]