The Fortress - Sept 15 2013

The Fortress
Trip Date: September 15, 2013
Classification: Scramble
Difficulty Level: Easy
Elevation Gain/Summit Elevation: 1100m (3,608ft)/3000m (9,843 ft)
Distance: 17.2km round trip
Location: 50.82°N, 115.23°W

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The Fortress is a mountain located in the central Kananaskis Range in Kananaskis Country.  It is one of three mountains that can be accessed and summited via Chester Lakes Trail, the other two mountains being Gusty Peak and Chester Peak, which is the most popular scramble in the area.  The Fortress can be approached from either Headwall Lakes or Chester Lakes and can combine the two into a loop.  This trail report describes the route from the Chester Lakes trailhead which is the most popular.  The Chester Lakes trail can be extremely busy especially during larch season.  It is also prudent to be aware of bears as this area is frequented in the late summer by a resident female grizzly.  Keep track of trail conditions and group size minimums.

The trail to the Fortress-Chester Col is fairly straight forward with little if anything in the way of difficulties.  The trail starts at the Chester Lake parking lot located about 40km down the Smith Dorrian/Spray Lakes road from the Canmore Nordic Centre.

Since the June 2013 flood, the first couple of hundreds of metres of the trails has been washed out.  The new trail is flagged and now meanders through the trees alongside the washout.  Once past the first few hundred metres, the new trail meets back up with the old logging road and the trail becomes free of debris and gullys.  At the 2km mark there are bike racks where you could bike to if you want, though with the washout, it may be very difficult now. 

The day we chose to go was warm and sunny with barely a cloud in the sky.  The temperature peaked in the high 20s, even though it started in the low single digits. After the group hiked to Chester Lake, we passed around the lake one the left side, sticking to the shoreline.  Ensure you do not take any trails that veer to the left, they go elsewhere.  At the far side of the lake, we worked our way up a small trail leading above the lake and through a small thicket of trees.  You may feel you are off trail however you are likely where you need you be and route finding is easy, and The Fortress stands like a sentinel at the back of the valley, all we had to do was work our way through the trees toward the mountain across the undulating terrain towards the col.

As you walk down the valley, the towering cliffs of Mt. Chester will dominate the right hand side of the valley.  This will block the afternoon sun on return.  As you continue hiking to the Fortress you will quickly leave the trees behind and the landscape becomes a grass/shrub dominated land.  The Fortress-Chester Col will be on your right as you reach the base of Fortress Mountain and a small alpine like.  Hike up this col, it is recommended that you keep to the left of rock spine unless you want to add some extra down scrambling on a rock face with moderate exposure (see image to left).  Watch for rockfall in this area if you go to the right. Staying left of the rock spine will prove eventless and straight forward.

After ascending the col, the path to the summit block is apparent.  Traverse the scree and follow the trail up towards to the summit block.  The trail will wrap around to the left of the summit block and a short, safe and easy scramble will allow you to ascend to the summit plateau.

The summit provides great views of the three jewels of Kananaskis: Mt. Joffre, Mt. Sir Douglas and Mt. Assiniboine as well as a great panorama of literally hundreds of other mountains.

Mt. Chester from the Col

Summit Shot

Gusty Peak, Mt. Galatea and The Tower

Looking at Mt. Chester (centre) from summit

Full summit panorama 

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain
Banff Alberta
September 29, 2012




Sulphur Mountain Observatory

Sulphur Mountain.  Its a staple in Banff, just to the west of the townsite it in itself is part of the tourist trap that is the Town of Banff.  Swarming with tourists, the Cave & Basin, The Banff Hotsprings and of course, the Sulphur Mountain Gondola combine to create a triumvirate of tourist attractions.

On a trip to Alberta in 2006, I visited the Observatory and the Cosmic Ray station on the top of Sulphur Mountain.  But of course then I was a tourist and I ascended Sulphur Mountain with my wife using the Gondola.  It is that reason that I have stayed away from Sulphur Mountain since.  I knew there was a hiking path to the lookout (its crosses under the gondola several times) but besides that it never peaked my interest.  Its kind of sad I did as Sulphur Mountain does provide a nice traverse and some fun scrambling opportunities.

Looking for an easy summit to attain, I had narrowed down the trip to Grotto Mountain, Mt. Sparrowhark and Sulphur Mountain.  In the morning I met up with Rajiv, Brian and Kenneth and it was decided (by picking an envelope) that Sulpur Mountain would be the objective.

Sunrise on Mt. Yamnuska

The drive to Banff from Calgary took about 1.5 hours and provided an awesome burning sunrise on the front ranges.  A brief stop on the side of the road to take a photo of Mt. Yamnuska was our only stop.  At the Banff Gondola parking lot we met up with Erin to complete the party.  The hike began fairly easy, the signs to the trailhead were plentiful and easily followed.  Within 5  minutes we were at the trailhead and began the hike up the trail. 

The trail is wide, well marked, well kept, very popular and 100% within trees.  It is also unrelenting in so much as the trail ascends about 700m over a distance of about 2.6km and is made up of 24 never ending switchbacks.  Our early start has us sharing the trail with two other parties who quickly spread out based on hiking speeds.  There isn't really anything to say about the trail, you pass under the gondola about 4 or 5 times so you can wave at those who chose to pay for the quick 8 minute ride - that's about the highlight.  There are no real difficulties and anyone who is fit can make the hike.  I think we counted 3 or 4 dogs on descent that were walking easily up.


Southwest Ridge Trail (Peak 2 in background)

The 700m switchback hike took our group about an hour-twenty with two stops along the way to delayer clothing and regroup session.  Our goal was to get through the switchbacks and to the lookout as fast as we could so we could have more time to traverse to the real summit of Sulphur Mountain, which is not Sanson Peak but actually the furthest peak from Sanson Peak.  To attain this peak, you take the South-West Trail from the observatory and begin a 3.5km traverse that takes you over 3 more sub peaks. This trail is plainly obvious and extremely easy to follow as it cuts along the wide-treed ridge.  I doubt that even a few inches of snow could hide this trail.

We decided to have a quick bite and re-layer once we broke the treeline (which is exactly where the trail ends beside the Gondola Station (which houses a snack bar, restaurant, gift shop and café. Be warned, a domestic beer is $6.75 as of the writing of this and I believe making the decision to buy one was the crux of the trip). After the quick stop we started on the trail away from the Observatory and towards the far peaks, at this point we left the crowds and did not see another person outside our party until we returned, which unfortunately was sooner than we wanted as rain was coming over the Sundance Range to the west.

 

Typical Scrambling on ridge

The trail winds through the trees  hugging the western side of the ride providing good views towards Lake Louise and the Sundance Range.  After being on the Summit Ridge trail for about 15 minutes get to the first "peak" you have to cross.  This is nothing more than a "knobby" rock outcrop but provide some fun light and safe scrambling.  There is opportunity to do some harder scrambling on the east side but we chose not to since we didn't bring helmets and had a novice scrambler.  The trail actually goes around the rock to the right and then switches back onto itself and provides you a safe narrow gully to scramble up.  This "peak" provides you a good view towards the two higher further peaks.  From here they look daunting and difficult however this is very deceiving, there is nothing more difficult than an easy scramble, though I would advise on helmets (as I always do).  One thing you notice, is there is no real need to take lots of photos, both Mt. Rundle (to the east) and the Sundance Range (to the west) are much higher and longer than Sulphur, so the view doesn't really change along the ridge, it just gets better and higher out of the trees.

Unfortunately due to rain, no helmets and a first time scrambler, we opted to head back after this first peak.  The descent was uneventful.  We made a quick sidetrip to Sanson Peak via the boadwalk, this is the first peak of Sulphur Mountain and the 3rd highest.  After that our descent down the switchbacks was leisurely and took about 45 minutes though we easily passed 20 hiking groups that were heading up.

I know now that I will be back to Sulphur Mountain to visit all 4 peaks in one trip and traverse the entire mountain, when I do, I will post an update to this trip.

The summit of Peak 2 with rain clouds coming in

View towards Lake Louise from Summit #2 before the rain



 

Ha Ling - Jan 21 2012

Ha Ling
Canmore Alberta
December 21, 2012 

This is likely my last post about Ha Ling as you can only write so much about a trip that is esentially a difficult hike and I have covered both winter and summer ascents.

The nice thing about Ha Ling is that when many other peaks are out of season, socked in by weather or in just plain dangerous conditions, this peak is almost always summitable.  In other words, this is considered an all-year summit. Located directly behind Canmore to the west, this summit is a good half-day trip and one of the best places to test people's endurance and hiking skills. We decided to do Ha Ling after we checked out the weather forecast that morning and saw that we were in for snow and high winds.

Trips up Ha Ling (which is mainly a hiking trail) are hardly eventful usually the hardest part is finding your way though the throngs of people in the summer.  Winter however has a tendency to throw wrenches into what are otherwise uneventful ascents.

 

This trip would have just that.  The day started off mainly cloudy and as usual the trail through the trees was covered by about an inch or two of snow, something that is quite normal.  As the trail increased upwards the canopy opened up and the snow became deeper, but never more than knee deep.  As the trail exited the treeline the wind that we were being protected from came whipping up.  This wind had scoured the scree and left only a thin layer in the exposed areas. Off trail and near the trees the snow was at places windthrown to waist deep.
 

This trip was a typical windy winter ascent of Ha Ling with winds in excess of 60km/h, near white-out conditions, and windchill dropping the temperature to approximately -35C. This allowed me to try my new First Ascent Hooded Guide Down Jacket in the actual mountains. The only difficulty experienced on this trip was when walking into the wind, travel was slowed and our faces were often focused downwards to avoid the ice grains and cold ripping into our face. Thankfully we brought our goggles with us so we could protect our eyes.

After truding up theg frozen scree (best kind) and fighting the weather we arrived at the summit overlooking the mountain town of Canmore.  On the summit the view was minimal until a very brief break in the clouds opened some blue skies. This was very short lived however as the low clouds blew in from the Goat Range behind and quickly socked us back in again.  As the windbreak shelter on the summit (goes to show the reputation this mountain can have if hikers and climbers have built one) was covered in windthrown snow so our summit visit was brief. 

Overall, the entire roundtrip with a group of five was about five hours including a brief 10-15 minute summit break.

 

Walking up scree towads summit

Summit Shot

 



Looking east over Canmore from the summit of Ha Ling

Paget Peak - Frozen Winter Wonderland

Paget Peak
Field, British Columbia
November 21, 2010

Paget Peak is located a few kilometres east of Field BC (about 200km north west of Calgary) and just south of the Continental Divide.  It occupies the position at the southern end of the Mount Daly Range and is located directly west of Mt. Bosworth. Paget Peak also houses one of the first fire lookouts in Canada's national parks system, and that lookout is still there, and it is the trail to this lookout that takes you 3/5 of the way to the summit.

Looking for an easy scramble, a group of 10 of us decided to head out to Paget Peak knowing it was an easy scramble.  The drive to West Louise Lodge took just under 2 hours and we arrived at the trailhead just before 8AM.  The sky was clear and the wind minimal but the thermometer in the car was already reading -27C.  Several people decided to gear up outside the cars and quickly found the drinking tubes do not stand a chance in such cold temperatures as within a few minutes their drinking tubes were frozen solid.  This brought them back in the cars briefly to thaw out their tubes.

Paget Lookout

The trip begins along the trail to Sherbrooke Lake however, after about 1.5km the trail turns right and heads towards Paget Lookout.  With the deep snow, it took us about 25 to 30 minutes to come to the trail junction.  Snowshoes really made this quicker and the wide trail was visible even under the deep snow.  The trail after the junction gently switchbacked up the side of the mountain, however, the trees almost never provided a break and views were extremely limited.  We were hoping that as the day went on, the temperature would increase, but in fact the temperature continued to drop as a northern front moved in, add to that the gain of elevation and the chill was really starting to set in.  After about an hour-twenty, with cold extremities, we reached Paget Lookout.

Paget Lookout is about 3/5 of the way up Paget Peak and located by a cliff which provides awesome views to the south towards Wapta Lake, Mt. Stephen, Mt. Victoria, Lake. O'Hara and the Kicking Horse Valley. This unfortunately was the end of the trail for two of our members.  With our portable thermometer reading -37C, they decided their gear was unfit for this temperature and together descended with radio in hand to the West Louise Lodge for warm drink, food and rest.  The rest of the group took inventory of gear and attitudes and decided to continue to the summit (some likely should have tuned back, but summit fever is a wonderful thing).

 

 

Scrambling the rocks

Beyond the Lookout the trail ends and a rocky scree/talus slope with some rock bands lies between you and the summit.  This slope is quite deceiving as the summit is foreshortened, what looks like 100m vertical is in fact about 350m more as you are looking at the false summit.  In the deep snow, the trip up was slow.  Snowshoes were no longer much help (so they were stashed at the Lookout) and with the trail invisible under the snow (if there is one), the group broke into two teams and started switchbacking up the slope.  One team headed directly to the small rock bands, the other team decided to head left and skirted around them.  The climb up the slope was uneventful except for a few places where steps ended up with legs stuck between boulders and large rocks as snow was about mid-thigh depth.As we finally crested the ridge after the trudge up the steep slope and a short unnecessary scramble over the rocks, the snow depth decreased to about ankle depth, a telling tail of the high winds that scour the ridge.


Makeshift Summit Shot

Our summit visit as extremely short as our thermometer read -47C!!.  The view from the summit was however amazing.  In this frozen state and I don't think that I have been outside and had it so quiet before.  To me, this was the most calm I have had on a mountain. However, due to the cold, no one was interested in digging for the summit register, so we had a quick makeshift summit shot and then before we knew it, over half the group was already descending. The views of Mt. Bosworth, Mt. Victoria, Mt. Stpehen, Mt. Niles, Mt. Ogden and Cathedral Mountain with the white veil of snow was well worth the climb, unfortunately the temperatures had virtually sucked the batteries in our camera empty, so no panorama was taken.  In better weather, a hike along the ridge to a few higher easily accessible points would likely be a nice extension.

Descending

We followed our trail through the snow to descend back to the lookout.  It took about 35 minutes to descend to the Lookout working through the mine field of rocks.  We stopped in the lookout to refuel and have some drinks, unfortunately most drinks were frozen (except the warm hot chocolates).  The two thermos' of hot chocolate made their rounds as even the large mouth Nalgene bottles inside backpacks and wrapped in insulation were slushy.  After about 10 minutes in the Lookout (which is essentially a 4 walled structure with windows on three sides and benches) didn't provide much refuge from the base cold weather, as such it was still uncomfortable to sit in.  We descended the trail back to the West Louise Lodge .  On the way down the sun started to set behind Mt. Stephen , offering a nice soft glow.  At the trailhead we met up with the other two members who were comfy inside the West Louise Lodge.  We all ordered warm food and warm drinks before heading back to Calgary.

Passing out Hot Chocolate in the lookout

This trip proved to have some lasting effects on the team.  Of the eight members that summited this day, six ended up getting between first and second degree frostbite, mainly on the nose, ears and toes thanks to the extreme temperatures encountered.  Thankfully no permanent damage was done and the group eventually healed, however, such are the risks of winter mountain adventures.




Some other pictures of the trip.

Paget Peak Summit Cairn

Sitting on the summit

Cold Self-Summit Shot

Descending from summit

Sunset over Mt. Stephen

Snow Peak - September 4, 2011

Snow Peak

Kananaskis, Alberta
September 4, 2011

Burstall Pass has a tendency to captivate, empower  and leave visitors in awe.  It's a place that is great for reflection and perspective. As such it has quickly become one of my power zones, whether it be on banks of the Burstall Ponds, the precipices of Commonweath Peak, the slopes of Snow Peak or anywhere between.  But Snow Peak has a very strategic location amongst it all that provides in my mind some of the most stunning and authentic views in the Kananaskis region.  And it is this reason  that I find myself constantly drawn back to this area in all seasons. 

This was my first visit to Snow Peak after a scary winter ascent in the spring of 2011 where we triggered a class 2 avalanche shortly after leaving the summit. However, on this nearly perfect late summer day, avalanches were one of the furthest things from our mind. I was leading a group of friends and co-workers numbering 12 and had enlisted the help of a dear friend Jenn to help co-lead.  Our main goal was to hike to The Pass and have an alpine picnic, those that wished to continue to Snow Peak would break from the group and continue while those that wished to remain below on The Pass would stay.

Robertson Glacier

The first half of the hike to Burstall Pass is often congested and anti-climatic.  The trail pretty much parallels Burstall Creek and the Burstall Ponds (melt water from the Robertson Glacier as well as melt/run off from the surrounding peaks).  The first 4km of the trail is within trees and views are extremely limited, however, if you know where to take slight detours off the trail down to the Ponds, there are some very strategic scenic vista's.  If you are short on time, don't worry about the side trips, continue down the trail and after about 4km the path opens up to a wide gravel flat alluvial plain.  This is the first time you will get a good view of the surrounding peaks, mainly Mt. Birdwood, Pig's Tail and Commonwealth Peak to the North and Mt. Robertson and Whistling Rock Peak to the south. If weather is good, you will also get a good view of the Robertson Glacier. 

Almost full group photo

The gravel out wash plain provides a slight obstacle course of braided streams that change slightly every year.  Most of these can be jumped over but many people prefer bringing an extra pair of shoes or sandals for this area as normally the water is no more than knee deep.  I must admit that glacial melt water is very refreshing on the feet on the way back from The Pass.  While negotiating the gravel flats, just keep an eye out for the signs of the hiking trail.  Directly after the gravel flats you enter the trees again and begin the first real elevation gain.  It is at this point that I would recommend taking a rest and taking in the scenery.  Looking down the valley will also provide you views of Mt. Chester, The Fortress and Gusty Peak across the highway now far behind you.  This is the last time you will see this view until you are pretty much at the top of The Pass.



The next section of the trail takes you up about 160m in elevation over a distance of 1km before spitting you out into an elevated valley.  At this point Snow Peak dominates the view directly in front of you while you walk along the base of the impressive Mt. Birdwood.  A lot of people like to stop in this area for a rest and refreshment.  Our group did and a couple of us climbed some of the small slabs on the south side.  From here the trail, still quite obvious, bends and runs parallel Snow Peak before it starts the final 300m climb through trees to The Pass.  As this climb progresses the trees become more sparse and the views behind you start to open, its tempting to take photos here, but press on, you are closer than you think.  On the upper slopes, Mt. Sir Douglas comes into view, this rocky steep sloped monolith now dominates the southern landscape.  

 

View from Burstall Pass

By the time you reach Burstall Pass you'll probably be a little fatigued, but the view will be worth it.  Its high, clear of trees, quite popular and there is low risk of bears.  Mountains that you will see from The Pass are plenty such as: Mt. Birdwood, Mt. Assiniboine, Lunette Peak, Mt. Sir Douglas, Mt. Laval, Snow Peak, Commonwealth Peak, Mt, Chester and Mt. Vavasour.  This destination is a gem unto itself, however for those that wish to continue to the summit of Snow Peak need to just follow the ridge and climb up the broad scree-slope for another 450m. It was here that our team broke into two.  Arming each squad with a two-way radio a 10-person summit team decided to continue while a 2-person Pass Base Camp stayed back, relaxing in the warm weather and majestic scenery. 

 

Upon starting up the mountain you will leave the crowds behind and likely find yourself alone with your group on the slopes with the people on The Pass slowly shrinking to dots.The only two technicalities that you will encounter in the summer is a small cliff band below the summit and the potential of a large cornice.  The cliff band is not a problem, the cornice should be avoided at all times as a fall would unquestionably be fatal.  Winter ascents should always test avalanche conditions prior to starting an ascent.  As you ascend the views only get better as more peaks come into view.  Upon passing the cliff band(s) you reach a short ridge that leads to the summit where hundreds of other peaks come into view, the main mountains that now dominate are: Mt. Sir Douglas, Whistling Rock Peak, Mt. Assiniboine, Mt, Birdwood, Mt. Smuts, Mt. Murray, Mt. Warre, Mt. Chester, Mt. Laval, White Man Mountain and Mt. Leman.

Summit Shot

With no threats of inclement weather, our summit visit was extensive as we summitted in three waves (teams of 4,4,2).  One summit team tackled the cliff bands straight on, the second veered to the left and found a weakness directly beside the  steep cliffs (not recommended), myself and a co-worker were the third wave and stayed near the right and climbed the cliffs at their shortest point.  Due to health concerns we were also at least 20 minutes behind the 2nd summitting group. 
The route down is pretty much follows the same trail as you come up, however the scree mainly allows you a quick descent.  Just ensure that you are below the cliff bands if you wish to go off trail.  After reconvening with our two team members we followed the same trail in as we did out passing hikers that were still heading up to The Pass exchanging friendly hello's and encouraging them that they were almost there. 

 

Descending the summit looking towards Mt. Sir Douglas

 

Round trip is about 18km and 900m elevation gain, but a view that you will likely remember for a very long time.  While crossing back over the gravel flats our group was given an awesome moonrise behind Mt. Robertson, but the presents didn't stop there. On the way en route to Canmore for a bite to eat our group was treated to the sight of a mother Coyote and her 3 pups playing on the side of the road as well as a deer.

 



Moonrise over Mt. Robertson



Coyote mother watching over her pups

I'm still debating if the views are better in the summer or the winter...all I know is both are fabulous and this definitely won' be my last summit of this mountain.

 

Profile of GPS for Snow Peak.  GPS batteries ran out before completing descent.