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, […]

Tunnel Mountain and Stoney Squaw Mountain

February 10 & 11, 2018. Two easy snowshoe trips to the tops of a pair of low mountains in Banff. I had a conference in Banff over the past weekend, so part of my preparation was making some plans to snowshoe. There was a winter storm which rolled through the province just before the start […]

Wedge Mountain Trail

January 26, 2018. A solo, easy snowshoe trip to the shoulder of a low mountain in the Crowsnest Pass, with a challenging extension up towards the summit. Wedge Mountain, the so-called “poor man’s Crowsnest Mountain”, was my objective on my latest outing in the Crowsnest Pass. It has a wide, easy trail that begins by […]

Grass Pass to “Sheep Summit”

January 5, 2018. A solo, moderately challenging snowshoe trip to an unnamed high point in the Highwood region of Kananaskis Country. Southern Alberta is about one week out from its most recent major snow dump. I spent most of December 30, 2017 shovelling snow off various driveways. Actually, I can’t ever remember spending so much […]

Mount Albert Loop

December 27, 2017. A snowshoe trip to the highest peak in Beauvais Lake Provincial Park. Region: Beauvais Lake Provincial Park, Traditional Territory of the Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 8.3 km Total Elevation Gain: 318 m Total time: 3h 43m Elevation of objective: 1690 m The remnants of Southern Alberta’s first snowfall of the winter season […]

Piney Point Loop

November 17, 2017. A snowshoe trip tagging a low summit in Beauvais Lake Provincial Park, Alberta. Region: Beauvais Lake Provincial Park, Traditional Territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Ktunaxa First Nations. Distance: 5.8 km loop Total Ascent: 237 m Elevation of Objective: Piney Point 1560 m, “Piney Peak” 1596 m Total Time: 1h 40m February 17, 2021 update: I […]