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 […]

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 […]

Mount Ward

June 21, 2020. A straight-forward scramble with impressive views in the Crowsnest Pass. Region: Crowsnest Pass. Traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, Tsuu T’ina, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 4.8 km round-trip from the east shore of Window Mountain Lake Total Elevation Gain: 651 m from Window Mountain Lake Elevation of Objective: 2567 m Total Time: 2h 45m round-trip from […]

Yarrow Ridge

June 1, 2020. A straight-forward scramble with rewarding views in the Castle Wilderness. Region: Castle Wilderness. Traditional territory of the Blackfoot, Ktunaxa, and Tsuu T’ina First Nations Distance: 8 km Total Ascent: 632 m Elevation of Objective: 2052 m Total Time: 3h 23m Safety and Disclaimer I had intended to visit Waterton today, the first day of its reopening following […]

Mount Haig

August 3, 2019 with August 2023 update. A straightforward scramble up a peak on the continental divide. Earlier in the summer I had set out to climb this peak, but the weather didn’t cooperate. I salvaged my days by exploring the trails to Haig Lake and Paradise Lake, both of which are now being marked […]

“Rogan Peak” (Dungarvan SE2)

July 29, 2019. A straightforward scramble to an unofficial summit in Waterton Lakes National Park. Region: Waterton Lakes National Park. Traditional Territory of the Tsuu T’ina, Ktunaxa, and Blackfoot First Nations Distance: 21.1 km round-trip Total Ascent: 1200 m Elevation of Objective: 2437 m Hiking Time: 6h 40m Safety and Disclaimer Rogan Peak is a relatively easy scramble described in […]

Heart Mountain and Grant MacEwan Peak

June 15, 2019. An enjoyable and popular scramble to a pair of low peaks near Canmore. Distance: 8.2 km out-and-back* Total Ascent: 1038 m* Elevation of Objective: 2135 m (Heart Mountain) and 2149 m (Grant MacEwan Peak) Hiking Time: 6h 30m* *I did this trip as part of a scrambling course, so we went back and forth on […]

Table Mountain – Scrambler’s Route

June 4, 2019. A straight-forward scramble to the summit of one of the gems of Castle Provincial Park. Distance: 11 km Total Ascent: 877 m Elevation of Objective: 2225 m Hiking Time: 4h 3m round-trip Two years ago I climbed the usual on-trail route to the summit of Table Mountain. That trail is varied and steep, and has […]

Anklebiter Ridge to Bluemat Hill Loop

June 1, 2019. An enjoyable scramble to a pair of low peaks in the Canmore area. Distance: 8.6 km according to TopoMaps, 6.4 km according to MotionX – I can’t explain the large discrepancy, but 6.4 km is closer to the distance reported by other blogs Total Ascent: 1,023 m Elevation of Objective: 2,123 m Hiking Time: 5h […]