Rawson Lake

February 8, 2020. A popular all-season hike to a gorgeous lake in Kananaskis Country. Distance: 7 km round-trip to and from the nearest part of the lake Total Ascent: 292 m Elevation of Objective: 1997 m Total time: 2h I have visited Rawson Lake a few times over the years. It’s the first “real” hike that my wife and […]

Troll Falls & Marmot Creek Upper Falls

February 7, 2020. A trip to K-country’s most famous accessible waterfall, followed by an exploration of a new trail to the less frequently visited Upper Falls. Distance: 5.4 km round-trip Total Ascent: 100 m Elevation of Objective: 1,538 m Hiking time: 1h 30m Virtually every hiking book, map, or blog detailing the Kananaskis area features Troll Falls. It’s […]

Byron Hill

January 27, 2020. A snowshoe trip to a low summit in the Crowsnest Pass. Distance: 8.2 km round trip Total Ascent: 643 m Elevation of objective: 1836 m Total Time: 4h 4m For my first summit of 2020, I decided to knock another objective off the list from Nugara’s A Beginner’s Guide to Snowshoeing in the Canadian Rockies. The […]

Mount Baldy to Mount Albert Loop

December 10, 2019. A scenic snowshoe loop, touching two low summits in Beauvais Lake Provincial Park. Distance: 8.45 km loop Elevation of Objective: Mount Baldy 1,585 m, Mount Albert 1,691 m Total Ascent: 425 m Total Time: 3h 16m I had been meaning to do this trip for a while, but the weather for the last couple […]

Lower Bertha Falls

March 16, 2019. A pleasant snowshoe trip on one of Waterton’s most popular trails. Distance: 2.7km to the lower falls / 5.4km out-and-back Total ascent: 209m Elevation of objective: 1448m Hiking time: 2h 30m round-trip (this included frequent stops to take test photos with a new camera) Through the winter of 2019 much of the fire-damaged terrain in Waterton […]

Tunnel Mountain Circuit

February 8, 2019. A short winter hike around the base of Banff’s Tunnel Mountain. Distance: 5.0 km loop Total Ascent: 153 m Elevation of objective: N/A Hiking time: 1h 25m Last February I had the chance to follow the trail up to the summit of Tunnel Mountain. This year I decided to put together a route that […]

Mount Backus

January 13, 2019. A tedious climb to a low summit in the Castle Wilderness. Distance: 6.25 km round-trip Total ascent: 478 m Elevation of objective: 1800 m Hiking time: 3h 13m Steep, uphill bushwhacking. Barbed wire. Copious deadfall. Traveling through trees. Bare ground alternating with thigh-deep snow. These are the features that await on Mount […]

Saskatoon Mountain

January 5, 2019. A straightforward winter hike to a low summit in the Crowsnest Pass. Distance: 8.29 km round-trip Total Ascent: 495 m Elevation of objective: 1820 m Round-trip time: 3h 17m As is typical at the start of the winter season, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to get […]

Carbondale Hill

March 17, 2018. A rewarding snowshoe trip up to a fire lookout in the Castle Wilderness. (see November 2019 update below for a shoulder-season report, and the May 2020 update for a summer hike with kids report) Distance: 9 km round-trip (winter distance due to road closure) Total Ascent: 496 m Elevation of Objective: 1798 m Total […]

Island Ridge

March 11, 2018. A snowshoe trip up a low mountain in the Crowsnest Pass with moderate elevation gain, in challenging snow conditions. This is a trip I’ve been sizing up since the beginning of the winter. It’s described by Dave McMurray on his amazing Peaks and Streams blog, which drew the attention of Andrew Nugara, […]