St. Eloi Mountain

September 11, 2020. Straightforward scrambling to a summit on the Continental Divide. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Ktunaxa First Nations Distance: ~13.5 km round-trip (my 3 tracking programs varied wildly on this: 12.6 km, 13.3 km and 14.9 km) Total Ascent: 1414 m Elevation of Objective: 2500 m Total […]

Mount Tecumseh Attempt

August 27, 2020. Late summer scrambling on the Alberta/BC border. Region: Crowsnest Pass. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot and Ktunaxa First Nations Elevation of Objective: 2549 m Total Ascent: 1500 m due to my wandering off course. Accounts of uncomplicated ascents put it at 1100-1200 m Distance: 16.1 km due to my wandering off course. […]

Spread Eagle Mountain (Mount Roche)

August 23, 2020. A scramble to the summit of Spread Eagle Mountain and its impressive western outlier in the Castle Wilderness. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Tsuu T’ina, and Ktunaxa First Nations Distance: 17.8 km round trip (I estimate that omitting the outlier summit would shave about 2-3 km off that distance) […]

Victoria Peak

August 4, 2020. A scramble to the summit of a distinctive mountain in the Castle Wilderness. UPDATE September 3, 2021: This post has been updated to reflect changes to access. Old access instructions have been deleted but time and distance information below still reflects the old route. The new route can’t be bike easily. Region: Castle […]

Mount Bourgeau

July 17, 2020. A full-day hike in Banff to the summit of the most accessible Canadian Rockies peak above 2900 m. Region: Banff National Park. Traditional Territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina, and Blackfoot First Nations. Distance: 25-30 km round-trip (1 of my apps and my Garmin measured the trip at 30 km, another app measured […]

Stanley Glacier Trail

July 16, 2020. A scenic hike in Kootenay National Park, featuring glaciers, cliffs, boulders and waterfalls. Region: Kootenay National Park. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina, and Blackfoot First Nations. Distance: 11 km round-trip Total Ascent: 395 m Total Time: 3h 55m Safety and Disclaimer After an absence of several years, my family returned to Kootenay National […]

Takakkaw Falls

July 15, 2020. A visit to a magnificent waterfall in Yoho National Park. Region: Yoho National Park. Traditional territory of the Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, Blackfoot and Kelly Lake Metis First Nations. Distance: 1.4 km return Total Ascent: negligible Safety and Disclaimer This is an easy walking trail to one of the most amazing places in the […]

Lake Minnewanka

July 15, 2020. A short, fun, walk/hike in Banff. Perfect for kids. Region: Banff National Park. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Ktunaxa, Stoney Nakoda, and Tsuu T’ina First Nations. Distance: 2.8 km round-trip to Stewart Canyon bridge Total ascent: 49 m Safety and Disclaimer Lake Minnewanka is right outside the Banff townsite. As a result, it is a […]

Drywood Mountain

July 10, 2020. A full-day excursion involving biking, scrambling and ridge walking in the Castle Wilderness. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 25 km round-trip Total ascent: 1417 m Elevation of objective: 2473 m (official summit), 2485 m (ridge high-point) Total Time: 7h 33m Safety and Disclaimer Climbing Pincher Ridge last […]

Pincher Ridge

July 3, 2020. An easy scramble (with some unpleasant bushwhacking) to the summit of Pincher Ridge in the Castle Wilderness, followed by a quick visit to Drywood Falls. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 14.7 km round-trip Total ascent: 1082 m Elevation of objective: 2426 m Total Time: 4h 49m Safety […]