Gear Review: Scarpa Charmoz

The Charmoz are an entry level boot in Scarpa's Technical Mountain boot category. As a mid-range manufacturer that makes this the Charmoz a entry level to mid-range mountaineering boot. Within their technical mountaineering category there are a few other options offering lighter weight materials and some with a more technical toe welt in addition to the heel welt found on all their mountaineering boots. Scarpa also has a standard Mountaineering category which offers a couple selections that sit between their Technical Mountain category and heavy backpacking boots.

I bought my Scarpa Charmoz from MEC in Calgary. I tried on every pair of mountaineering boots they offer short of plastic. Probably around a dozen different pairs ranging from entry level boots like Scarpa Escape up to the super technical and rigid La Sportiva Nepal Evo. None of them felt great. It took more than one visit for me to settle on the Charmoz but they definitely felt the best on my feet.

The Charmoz left my feet sore and blistered after the first two trips. First a hike and then a 11,000 mountaineering object paired with crampons. I was about to give up on them and return them but elected to give them one more shot on a scramble. My feet emerged from the third trip unscathed and have since become my go to footwear for any trips with technical fourth class scrambling and simple fifth class climbing.

These boots really shine in situations that involve scrambling. Foot placement is extremely precise for a boot of this bulk and the soles are very grippy. I've used them to climb a 5.9 crack in quartzite and plenty of granite slabs. The soles smear and stick to tiny lips nearly as well as a rock shoe.

Even with little to compare to, I'd recommend these boots to anyone that likes the way they feel in the store.

Mount Arethusa

The approach

Mount Arethusa is a deceptively difficult summit over the Highwood Pass. If you know what you're doing and can maintain a good pace, it can be a quick summit though. 

It was getting pretty late in the season so we were looking for a summit that wasn't supposed to take very long. Jenn added the requirement that our trip be exhilarating and scare her a little so Mount Arethusa seemed like a great option. 

We had a few road bumps getting on the highway so we didn't get to Highwood Pass until almost 9:30. The drive out on Highway 40 was fairly eventful with the usual amount of wildlife making an appearance on the shoulder. The trailhead for Arethusa is an obvious pull off 1.3 kilometers past the Highwood Pass parking lot and trailhead. 

Mount Arethusa

We started up the trail at a good pace. So quick that we actually passed the first geocache we were aiming for without realizing it and decided to pick it up on the way out rather than doubling back. 

The trail quickly took us to a small meadow offering us our first really good views of the mountain. Storm creek passes through this meadow and there's a small pond that was covered in a thin layer of ice that morning. We surveyed the route carefully as the beta we had indicated that if there was any snow along our intended descent route that it would be impassible and we would have to turn back. Fortunately it all looked clear so we continued on. 

Our lunch ledge

Our line took us to the right of a direct line to the base of the mountain. There was an obvious trail but we discovered an easier route through a thin patch of forest on our return. From the lower meadow the route up to the ridge was plainly visible but not obvious. We were uncertain whether to go up the slopes on the right or straight up through the cliff bands at the end of the ridge. Fortunately it became clear that straight up through the cliff bands would be the better option as we approached the toe of the talus field.

Our ascent passed through the awful scree and had us sliding back nearly as much as we could move forward. As we progressed we found bits of solid rock protruding from the scree and took full advantage of the more stable footing for an easier climb.

Farzad after gaining the ridge

The wind was howling and the temperature was brisk. We stopped for lunch about three quarters of the way up on a well protected shelf with a large overhanging wall that made a nice pocket for us to take shelter in.

The last push to the summit was pretty easy as there was more and more solid rock among the scree. Here the scramble became much more enjoyable and more of a climb at times. The ridge revealed itself in no time and the slope became much more manageable.

Portions of the ridge were very thin and with a howling wind it was easy to feel a slight sense of vertigo but crossing the ridge was little more than walking until we reached the crux. The photos we had seen of the crux did a poor job of illustrating just what it was going to be like. It was intimidating but not overly difficult.

Farzad descending the crux

The crux is little more than a chimney you have to down-climb. The only tricky part is in how steep it is and how exposed the base is. A fall down the chimney would likely lead to a fall over another large cliff below the it. Fortunately the holds are huge and the route has been cleaned well. A distinct contrast to the rest of the mountain that is largely just loose rocks wedged between other loose rocks. The holds in the chimney were solid and I tested each carefully.

Sitting on the ridge

After the crux the route drops a few meters below the ridge proper. Here the ridge is narrow and exposed. Traversing the top would be dangerous. Instead the route picks its way through some narrow ledges with moderate exposure. Falls here would be painful but probably not fatal.

Before long the ridge widens and becomes a very easy walk while teasing you with a false summit. While it was disappointing to have further to go it was a relief that the true summit was only minutes away. Here though the route crosses some narrow sloping ledges covered in loose rock with severe exposure. If a fall here wasn't fatal you would certainly be wishing it had been.

On the summit

The summit was tiny with little more than enough room for us to crowd around the summit cairn and take a group photo. We had taken longer than we had planned to reach the summit and were in a hurry to get down. Our ascent time had nearly reached the planned time allotted for the entire hike.

The descent gully

From the summit we doubled back a couple meters and began working our way straight down through some ledges until we found a good route to the planned descent gully. The gully is on a ridge that separates Ptarmagin Cirque from Arethusa Cirque. From below it appears as though there are many gullies but from above it's clear that only the first is an option as the notch it creates would be impassible without climbing.

The last drop into the gully is down a steep slab. The best way down is the less than graceful butt-scoot or a crab-walk. It's not pretty but it's the best option. The top of the gully is full of loose large rocks. In hindsight I think we should have stayed together a very tight group never more than an arm's length from one another but we opted to descent independently which required us to do our descent in stages, one at a time.

A rock ptarmigan

Rock fall is a severe hazard in the gully. We were constantly dislodging large football and basketball sized rocks along with innumerable baseball sized stones. Each would tumble the entire length of the gully bouncing unpredictably off the walls.

As we progressed we found corners and ledges we could take refuge on while allowing us to regroup. We dubbed the last long and smooth section the death trap and I opted to head down first. Despite the smooth walls and the strain of pressing against the walls for traction it was relatively smooth going. That is until I reached a huge boulder lodged in the middle.

Storm Creek

I knew immediately that this was the crux of the descent. I searched for a way over the boulder and found that I could use the crack it had formed as an undercling hold. I carefully climbed down the 15 or 20 feet down and resumed my descent but now full of worry as to how my companions were going fare.

Fortunately they both managed to make it down with only a small slip each. Farzad banged up his knee but was still able to walk out with a slight limp. Once out of the gully we made our way over the talus and made our way back to the car.

It wasn't an epic day but it took us longer than it should have. The summit of Mount Arethusa isn't anything spectacular and is lower than a lot of the surrounding peaks but the climb is a lot of fun and makes the trip worth the effort.

The story of my knees

I suffered through a knee injury for a long time so I thought it might be helpful if I shared my experiences with others. My knee problems made certain hikes extremely painful but I got over it. 

I first hurt my knees on a hike almost 15 years ago. I was on a multi-day backpacking trip with my father. Two days into the trip a major weather system moved in and proceeded to soak us. Our equipment back then wasn't what it was today and the elevation we were at kept us inside clouds for the entirety of the second day. Visibility was zero, it was cold and wet and we were feeling defeated. It wasn't until we stopped to make camp that we fully realized how wet we were. My pack had literally soaked through. Everything in side it was soaked. My down bag was soaked and useless. With temperatures hovering around freezing I think that was the worst night's sleep I'd ever had.

The next morning we woke to pouring rain so we elected to cut our trip short by a couple days and get out. The weight of our packs had increased with the water saturation and the hike out was long. When we reached the low lands we found several bridges washed out and sections of the trail under water for kilometers at a time. I felt like I was in some Vietnam war movie, walking through water knee deep for hours on end.

When I got back my knees were done. It was months before I could walk down a set of stairs without wincing at the pain. I was in university at the time and sitting in those tiny chairs was torture as I had to keep my legs as straight as possible to avoid the pain.

Years passed and hiking got a little better but the pain was always there in my knees. Descents were the worst. I could hike uphill and across flats all day with no issues but as soon as we started to descend all hell would break loose. Since we tend to do a lot of summits this poses a significant problem. I start out fine, we reach the summit and as soon as we start out descent I slow to a crawl.

It all came to head on a hike with Jenn on our way back down from Mount Indefatigable. We were coming down, trying to beat what appeared to be a nasty weather front, back to the car. I was in pain like usual on the descent but then suddenly this time it got worse. The pain was unbearable. I couldn't force myself to move. I was prepared to lay down and stay on the mountain forever. I was popping Motrin like candy. I wanted to cry. I was seriously wondering if I was going to have to crawl off the mountain on my hands and knees. We took a long rest and eventually made it down very slowly and returned to the car far later than I'd have liked. We got lucky and the storm missed us on the other side of the ridge.

After that, our hikes all followed a similar pattern. I was fine on the way up and then in agony on the way down. I hated descents. But no matter how much pain a descent caused, as soon as we got back on flat ground the pain would disappear and I could hike again at full speed across flat terrain.

I eventually caved and went to see a physiotherapist. He had me perform a few motions and deduced that my problem was likely that my quads and glutes were out of balance and that on a descent the quads were pulling the knee cap out of position and causing the pain. He assured me that simple exercise could resolve the issue which was a huge relief as I was dreading that surgery would be my only hope. He gave me a few exercises to work on and sent me on my way.

I went home with great resolve, performed my exercises but nothing changed. The hikes followed the same pattern. I stuck with the exercises and added some low impact jogging to my exercises. Still nothing seemed to change. Running downhill even made the problem worse. After one run down a long hill I found myself barely able to walk for nearly three weeks.

But I stuck to it. I was determined to give exercise a chance. The alternatives meant either giving up hiking or looking into surgery. Neither of which were viable options in my mind. I had learned ways of descending that took the pressure off the knee. It was awkward and slow but got me down without the pain.

Then something magical happened. We were on our way down from a summit. We were rushing and moving more quickly that I thought my knee could handle. I was waiting for it to start complaining but it didn't. I wasn't sure if it was a fluke. Maybe the descent wasn't as difficult as I thought?

Then another descent passed without pain and another. I started walking with a normal stride on my descents and still no pain. Suddenly my knee appeared good again.

It's only been a few months but I've gone through a half-dozen summits with none of the pain I experienced before. I can jog down hills without pain. I don't want to say my knees are perfect again but I'm amazed at the impact a few months of exercise has had. It didn't happen over night either. It might not be the answer for everyone's knee problems but it worked for mine. It's amazing what the body can do when you ask it to.

I'm looking forward to pushing myself more now and seeing how strong I can get my knees. Some simple leg exercises can go a long way but jogging is probably what really got me over the hump. Anyone that says jogging ruins your knees, probably hasn't spent enough time running. I credit jogging as the activity that saved my knees.

Squaw's Tit

This summit received it's politically incorrect name from its resemblance to a breast with a large summit "nipple" when viewed from the Trans-Canada Highway.

If you dislike this bushwhacking you will hate this summit. It may be tempting to park in Harvey Heights and save yourself a half kilometer at the start, the residents of the area have a reputation for not taking kindly to people parking on their streets. With that in mind we decided to park in a gravel parking lot off the highway which appeared to be a trailhead for some hike. Study the summit from the parking lot because once you won't see it again for a while and without a trail you're relying on your memory of the features to get you to where you want to be.

The trail starts on a generally agreeable heading but quickly veered off in a direction we didn't want to go. All the route descriptions we had read warned against following the trails as none of them would take us to where we wanted to go and would just waste our time.

So as the trail began to head in the wrong direction, we looked for an opportune place where the brush was less dense and set off on our own trail. As we made our way through the brush we stumbled across dozens of old campfire rings. I'm guessing it's a popular spot for the Canmore youth to go hang out and drink.

As we made our way through the brush we encountered many game trails that we attempted to follow for as long as they seemed to head in a desirable direction and even on trail that appeared to be somewhat maintained.

The described route we were trying for went up the left ridge that runs east-west on the map. Once above the tree line it is easy to spot as you can't go past it as there is a large vertical drop on the other side.

We encountered horrible loose scree on slabs above the tree line but traversed it to the ridge and found good rock for scrambling. There are a couple narrow sections but the climbing is fun. There was really only one tricky move but seasoned scramblers won't slowed at all. It would be possible to bypass certain parts of the ridge by traversing to climber's right but the scree and slabs would probably make that option at least as sketchy as sticking to the ridge so I'd avoid it. If it were wet or there was still snow it would probably be much easier and safer to stay on the ridge proper.

For the most part the ridge will continue to climb with a couple small notches that require some down-climbing. The down-climbing is easy with as the rock is almost ladder like.

We stopped for lunch on a slightly grassy saddle immediately below the summit "nipple". While the summit block looks fairly intimidating from this angle the route up is comparatively simple. We ascended the slabs on the left of the summit block. The rock is "grippy" with plenty of good holds but there is exposure that would be magnified if the route were wet or snow covered.

Once up the slabs there are some easy climbing routes up chimneys to the summit or continue on a little further around the back for a simple trail that will switch back and up to the summit. The summit is deceptively tiny. We barely had enough room for the two of to stand on top and take the obligatory summit photo.

On the descent my climbing partner realized that he was about to run out of water. While it wasn't a hot day, we were in the sun for most of the ascent and he'd consumed almost all of his 2L. I always bring 3L and I was down to barely over a litre left. So we made the decision to descend as quickly as possible via the scree slopes as opposed to retracing our steps. While we were able to lose a lot of elevation quickly at the start the scree quickly began to lessen and we soon found ourselves on less than ideal terrain. We debated descending into the slot canyon at the bottom of the slope but without know what was down there we decided that despite the lack of water it would be worth it for the added safety to traverse back to the ledge and restart our descent from there.

We made it back to the ridge without any difficulty and managed to avoid the sections that would have made for the trickiest down-climbing so our scree attempt wasn't a complete loss. We followed the ridge down to the last of the major ribs in the mountain that led into the canyon on skier's left. At this point my climbing partner had completely exhausted his water and we were trying to ration the last of mine. We had the option of continuing along the ridge and down the scree slopes or beginning our descent from where we were into high forest on steep slopes.


We knew the ridge and scree would likely be quicker overall but it was a southwest facing aspect and we would be in the sun the entire time so we opted for the treed route to take advantage of the shade. The descent felt like it took forever but eventually the slope began to ease although with that came a thicker forest and increasingly difficult bushwhacking.

We basically followed the contours of the mountain while trying to maintain a heading that was in the general direction of the car. As you can see on the GPS track data we even crossed our path up at one point but didn't realize it as we tried to make our way through the brush.

As the terrain leveled out we finished the last of our water but were fortunate enough to find a small creek running fast and clear enough for us to feel it good enough to drink from. Feeling refreshed and knowing we were only a kilometer from the car, we set out at a quicker pace.

The brush grew increasingly thicker and more difficult to navigate as we got closer to the car. We stumbled across an array of deer bones strewn about a small clearing at one point. All polished clean. Kind of creepy actually.

We emerged from the brush onto a bike path 100m north of the car. It would be tough to think of another hike where I felt happier to return to the car. We drove to the nearest gas station and loaded up on Gatorade and bottled water.

The scrambling on the route was fun but the bushwhacking offset it enough that I don't think I'd want to do the route again. We're glad we did it, so we can check it off the list and move on to better summits.

Picasa Web Album

GPS Track Log (.gpx)

Going ultra-light

It's difficult to ignore the allure of having a an ultra-light pack that doesn't strain your back and shoulders but I haven't figured out how to make it a reality yet. I'm not even certain it's realistic to go ultra-light on the routes I favour with the level of risk mitigation that I prefer.

We carry a relatively light weight 2 man tent that weights about 2.2kg. There are tents that are lighter weight but not by much. Our sleeping bags are -7C bags and only weight 600g. We could switch from Thermarest sleeping pads to foamies to reduce our pad weight from 680g to less than 200g.

As I've mentioned in my previous entry, I carry the MSR Whisperlite stove, which weighs 410g plus fuel. I could shave have the stove weight off by switching to the MSR SimmerLite or go with something like the MSR PocketRocket which only weights 85g.

I don't carry unnecessary clothing. My only rule is that I would have to be able to wear everything in my pack at once and it should be able to keep me warm and dry. So if we were caught in some wicked storm I could layer up and wait it out. So I don't bring pants and shorts. I figure if I tore my pants I could mend in the field or just hike out in my long johns. I always carry a gear repair kit. The weight is worth it and paid off on one backpacking trip this summer when the hip belt buckle broke on Dave's pack. Carrying a full backpack without a tight hip belt would be torture.

I'm not sure if I can get my food weight any lighter. Our dinners and breakfasts are all freeze-dried packaged meals. They're not the most delicious thing on the planet but they have the calories and they don't weigh much. Plus they're easy to clean up since you don't dirty dishes and they're vacuum packed and sealed so they won't attract wildlife. We still hang them with the rest of the food though. For mid day meals we eat powerbars, gels and other energy foods. Things you can pull out of your pocket, have a few bites and put back for later. The alternative would be to bring food that doesn't require any sort of cooking on short trips, thereby allowing us to forgo the stove and its weight. I enjoy a hot dinner and breakfast and a cup of tea around camp though so that's not really an option I'm willing to consider on most outings.

My 65L pack is heavy. I think it's around 3kg. I've experimented with ultra-light packs and they only work if your load is ultra-light as well. It's not worth saving weight on the pack when your load remains the same as the ultra-light packs are designed to carry ultra-light loads. The heavy pack is designed to carry heavier loads, so while you're carrying more weight, that weight is handled better.

So when it comes to going ultra-light, it's pretty much an all or nothing kind of thing. It's really hard to half-ass it. If I really wanted to I could probably lose 5-7kg with just the options above. Maybe 10kg if I lost the tent in favour of other shelter options. We'd move faster but we'd be less prepared for certain conditions. I'm just not that motivated since I still really enjoy the experience even when my pack approaches 20kg.

I'd say more often than not my trips are starting to involve more alpine objectives as well. When you add a harness, helmet, ropes and other miscellaneous climbing gear you quickly find your pack weigh has jumped another 10kg. Really serious objectives might even require ice tools, crampons and a smaller summit pack. Anyone else have more success going light? If so, what's your secret?

Gear Talk: Backcountry stove

I spend a lot of time debating my gear choices with myself. When you'll be carrying all the gear you'll have on your back you don't want to make a mistake and load up on crap at the expense of something else. I'm still finding my comfort zone between being prepared for every possible contingency and going as light as possible.

There are plenty of options when it comes to a stove for the backcountry. Each with its own set of pros and cons. You can't say that any one particular stove is best in all conditions. My choice will perform well in just about all conditions and doesn't tip scales. There are lighter stoves but I'm willing to carry the extra grams for the added benefits.

I've been using the MSR Whisperlite almost exclusively since 1994. I retired my original Whisperlite earlier this year. The newer models are supposed to burn a little more efficiently and I was beginning to worry about the components so I figured it was time. The Whisperlite burns hot in all conditions. It's relatively to light once you get your head around the priming procedure. And it takes white gas which is easy to find and refill.

Previous to the Whisperlite I'd been using an old Coleman Feather stove. A heavy, unstable lump of a stove that didn't get nearly as hot and was a pain to use, not to mention heavy. It was like hauling a brick around with you.

It's my opinion that the Whisperlite is the best all-round backpacking stove. If you want something that weighs less your options are limited and some have significant drawback. First are the micro stoves that run on those butane canisters. They burn hot but they don't like the cold. You can't refill the canisters so when you're getting low you have to carry another full canister or else you end up with a bunch of half used canisters. If you do end up carrying in spare canisters you also end up carrying out all the weight of those spare canisters. I enjoy the way the weight of my pack diminishes over the course of a trip.

Another option I've seen in the backcountry are the ultra-light weight methyl alcohol stoves. Basically a small vessel that holds some fuel that you light. The open fuel burns and heats the pot above. It weighs next to nothing. I encountered a group using such a stove on my last outing. Aside from a little trouble lighting it and having it go out after simmering for an extended period of time, it worked well for their dinner. Then a major weather system came in over night dropping 20cm of snow and sending the mercury well below zero. The whisperlite had no problem boiling 2L of water for us in a few minutes, while the methyl alcohol alternative was nearly impossible to light. We had broken camp and were on the trail before the other party had warm water. In the Canadian Rockies you shouldn't be surprised by those kinds of conditions even in the middle of summer.

I consider my stove an essential piece of equipment that absolutely needs to work all of the time. If it fails the trip is over. I guess that's why I'll never succeed as an ultra-light backpacker.

Another Defeat

I really need to update this site more. I think the issue is that I also post trip reports on other sites. Sites that easily allow me to upload my GPS data and overlay it on a map.

The hiking season in this part of the country appears to be coming to a close for the year. The season has ended with a significant amount of precipitation. There are still routes but for me it's time to transition to other pursuits while waiting for the snow pack to stabilize and the temperature to really drop to winter levels. We're in that awful transition phase right now that results in deep slushy snow everywhere that's no fun.

I got snowed on during my last two outings. We went out to Kananaskis for the Labour Day long weekend. We had planned to hike into Aster Lake on the first day, the go over the Northover Ridge to Three Isle Lake the following day. Then hike out on the third day. I had done the route twice before and it was the last hike I had ever done with my father so it will always be a special route to me. This time I took my sister along so she could see the country our father loved so much.

The trip started out well enough. Some mixed cloud in the skies. A little light rain and a short but intense hail storm as we arrived at Aster Lake. We made extremely good time, so we set up camp and prepared dinner and explored the area. I showed Keri where my father and I used to camp back before the parks department created an official campsite. Our campsite was far superior but in a more fragile area so I can see why they wouldn't want the hordes camping there now that there's a semi-official trail.

We went to bed with high spirits, looking forward to the highlight of the trip; the walk across the Northover Ridge. We woke up to roughly 20 cm of snow. Heavy, wet snow.The weight of the snow had caused the side of Keri's dome tent to collapse on her and the tent of another group in the area completely collapsed on them. The skies were socked in and the snow was continuing to fall in large flakes. I weighed our options and decided that without knowing the conditions on the ridge it would be safer to return the way we had come the day before. The return route wasn't free of challenges either. A significant portion of the descent was very exposed with large cliff bands above and below the trail. There were even a couple short steps that were interesting when dry so I had some concern that we might be stuck high in the alpine.

We broke camp before 6am and suffered an immediate blow to our moral as the a simple rock face that we ascended to camp the previous day became a very difficult descent when covered in deep snow. Although we didn't know it at the time, that proved to be the most technical portion of our return. The next significant challenge was the complete disappearance of the trail. A large portion of the trail is a faint alpine trail that doesn't cut deep into the landscape. Large sections cross hard rock and it sneaks its way through dense forest. With that much fresh snow the trail across the the rock sections was invisible and the weight of the snow caused many trees to bend, often blocking the path in an innocuous way that caused me to follow the wrong trail a couple times.

Despite the adverse conditions I had a great time though and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I had to break trail the entire way down and was exhausted by the end of it. As we descended back to Upper Kananaskis Lake the snow had turned to rain. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground but nothing significant. We put it in high gear and walked those last, extremely boring 5.5 km as fast as could. We arrived back at the car around noon, soaked through but in high spirits. We had left refreshments in the car in anticipation of our return the following day. For once the cold weather proved a blessing and we found our beverages nicely chilled.

The trip report on Everytrail.com with GPS data.

The following weekend I decided to do a short scramble. I'd bought a new pair of mountaineering boots and on my previous two outings in them, they had left one of my feet blistered fairly badly so I wanted to give them one more try before attempting to return them.

I had an idea what the conditions in the mountains would be like from the previous weekend so we chose Heart Mountain because of its location in the front range and relatively low summit. The day started out with intermittent light showers and some occasional misting drizzle. It was still mostly sunny though and we enjoyed a nice lunch in the sun on the second summit.

As we approached the third summit the weather changed. The wind picked up, the temperature dropped and precipitation started to fall. At first it was a rain and then quickly turned to sleet. As we made our way around the ridge the snow started to fall as the wind howled. It was as though the wind was trying to drive the snow through us. It wasn't cold so I battled on for a while. My lower half protected by good alpine pants but the wind quickly took its toll on my ears. I had to stop and put on my ninja-clava. I was told the entire side of my face and neck were completely red from the driving ice.

We hurried down the ridge and the snow changed back to rain and began to fall vertically as opposed to being driven horizontally. As we completed our descent the rain stopped and the skies opened up again. It was almost as though someone didn't want us to be on that mountain.

Heart Mountain on Everytrail.com with GPS data.

All told, it was a fun day and my boots performed perfectly this time. I guess I'll have to give them another shot with crampons. I hope it's not the crampons causing me to walk differently that's causing the blisters.

Mount Victoria South Summit - Failed Attempt

Mount Victoria provides the scenic backdrop in just about every photo you've probably scene of Lake Louise. The ridge between the north and south summits dominates the view beyond the lake.

We stayed at the Hostel in the hamlet of Lake Louise and woke up at 4am so that we could be at the trailhead at 5am to start our trip. We followed the regular tourist trail around the shore of Lake Louise. Past the lake the trail began to climb gradually and rose through the trees above the Plain of Six Glaciers. If not for the extreme over development and popularity of this trail it would be a wonderful area to visit. Unfortunate the ease of access has attracted massive crowds. Horse tours start from the chateau so you'll enjoy the stench of horse manure and unless you're on the trail before dawn you'll be fighting traffic the entire way.

Eventually the trail led us to some very gentle switch backs before gradually climbing to the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse. Beyond the teahouse the trail crossed a small slide path. The alpine trail branches from the main trail on the far side of the slide path. The alpine trail is faint and easily missed. The trail climbs rapidly from this point and is often covered with overgrowth that we had to push through.

We ascended the the trail and began our journey across the Upper Victoria Glacier's moraine as the sun began to rise and we were treated to some spectacular views as the light shifted to some amazing hues and lit up the surrounding peaks. Mount Victoria glowed red with the between summit ridge line shrouded in cloud which sort of made it look like the mountain was on fire.

We didn't have the luxury of stopping to enjoy the scenery for long and kept moving towards the edge of the glacier. We stopped on the edge of the glacier to gear up. If you aren't experienced in glacier travel or aren't travelling with a certified guide you should stop here. Travelling across the glacier is extremely dangerous and is a sure fire way for the unprepared to end their life. Even on the first sections of the glacier that appear perfectly safe, we encountered many small crevasses.

We have limited experience in glacier travel but had hired a certified guide for this trip. We got into our harnesses, strapped on our crampons and helmets and roped up to begin the next section of our trip. The guide repeated the safety brief and we started walking. There had been a recent snow fall that left 10cm of snow in many places with as much pockets knee deep. We had great weather but the snow relatively fresh snow was wet and heavy and did a great job of obscuring crevasses. Even crossing the flatter section of the glacier was slow going as we had to stop frequently to probe suspected crevasses with the axe to find a suitable route across.

Our original intended route was the go around the large rock buttress on the left but massive gaping crevasses made our guide rethink the route and we opted to go over the buttress. Crossing the buttress wasn't difficult but some sections were awkward to cross as it involved a lot of exposed rock which isn't fun when wearing crampons.

We crossed the buttress and the terrain got very steep and the going got very tough. The recent snow made the ascent interesting. We were forced to choose between snow where traction was sometimes difficult and exposed ice that strained the calves.

The slope was steep and sustained but we didn't have the option of stopping to rest as there was considerable objective hazzard. As the sun rose and warmed the slopes we began to experience more rock and ice fall from the loaded slopes above.

We pushed on beyond the bergshrund but our pace had begun to slow significantly. A combination of factors had caused us to to be at less than our peak condition and our staminia was lacking. As the time stretched out and we found ourselves forced to stop to rest we came to the realization that we wouldn't be able to make the summit. So shortly before 11am and with less than 500m vertical distant from the summit we turned around. 500m might not sound like much but that still would have translated to another 3 or 4 hours to reach the summit. A summit at 3pm would have made for an extremely long day and a treacherous descent.

Reluctantly and with considerable disappointment we turned around and began the descent. While we had no trouble climbing over the Bergshrund it posed slightly more difficulty on the descent. The snow bridge had weakened through the day and I put a leg through, then my hand through trying to free myself.

Our descent from the glacier went much more quickly and we had returned to the edge by shortly after noon. We stopped and took our gear off and repacked it and enjoyed a leisurely lunch since time wasn't an issue anymore. The descent to the teahouse was also uneventful until we reached the slide path. As we crossed the path we spotted a grizzly scrounging in the shrubs for dinner. He didn't seem to notice us so we followed the trail that followed a path that didn't bring us any closer to him. It was about then that the masses of tourists at the teahouse noticed the grizzly and to my horrified surprise the crowd surged towards the grizzly with the hopes of getting a better picture. Perhaps they thought there was safety in numbers but several people got precariously close while pursuing that perfect picture. We decided to take advantage of the now empty trail and with a large buffer of a hundred plus tourists between us and the grizzly we continued on our way without having to worry about the bear.

The trail below the teahouse was a nightmare with scores of tourists walking about with no urgency, making for slow progress at times. With our trip cut short we elected to stop at the cliffs at the back of the lake and did a couple routes in our boots. We figured it would be great practice to climb in boots since we had really only climbed in rock shoes before. The climbing behind the lake is probably the best in the Canadian rockies.

After our fill of climbing we battled the legions of tourists back to the car and started planning for our next attempt.

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Bow Peak

Bow Peak is a relatively easy summit that yields great views of the Icefields Parkway and distant views of faraway peaks on a clear day. Despite the rewards, it is not a popular trail likely due to the difficulty finding the start and river crossing early into the hike.

Park on a gravel pullout 0.9km southeast of the Crowfoot Glacier viewpoint along the highway. We approached from the southeast so we drove to the view point and doubled back 0.9km. The gravel pullout is difficult to see from the opposite side of the highway so it's probably safer to double back, than to back up traffic while searching for it.

After parking you'll have to continue down the highway on foot. You'll pass a culvert after approximately 230 paces. You should hear the running water as you approach and see a small stream on the opposite side of the road. After another 115 paces you should arrive at the trailhead. The "Don't waste your time in the Canadian Rockies" guidebook said the culvert would be passed after 230 paces and the trailhead would found after another 140 paces so keep your eyes open as not everyone's stride is the same length, obviously.

The trailhead along the highway was marked with a small 3 stone cairn just off the shoulder and a hubcap tied to a foot tall tree just a few feet in. The trail starts very faint and cuts back and forth a little as you descend off the highway but you should emerge from the brush fairly quickly to a much more open and clear trail. From here it should only be about 10 minutes to Bow River outlet from Bow Lake.

There is no bridge across the river so you'll have to wade across. I've read various guides saying the water could be as low as ankle deep but this hasn't been a dry year and the water was just over knee deep for someone about 5'10. The river is deepest and the current is strongest on the far side. Stay as close as you can to the lake while crossing as that's where the river is widest and shallowest and the current the weakest. For us the river was higher and faster on the return so if you feel uncomfortable crossing during the ascent you may want to turn back and do the equally amazing summit trail for Helen Lakes and Cirque Peak just across the highway. Knee high water in the morning, was mid-thigh high water in the afternoon.

Once you've made it across the river you probably won't run into many other groups. Be sure to make noise though as the trail follows the river and we saw plenty of bear activity from fresh prints in the mud to fresh scat on the trail.

After crossing the Bow River the trail will follow a more or less parallel path to the river as it drops away. There will be a couple creek crossing that you'll either have to rock hop or balance on fallen logs. After a couple kilometers the trail will start a steady climb towards Crowfoot Pass. The trail is not maintained so be prepared to deal with plenty of dead fall across the path. You should be able to step over most but you'll probably have to duck under some.

Take a quick break at Crowfoot Pass to tighten your boots and survey the ascent root. You'll want to start by following the slight ridge on the left and then pick your way back to the right as you ascend the talus slopes. I aimed for breaks in the talus.

You should find yourself on the summit ridge in under an hour with the true summit, marked by a large cairn, visible a short ways off. It's a cake walk from there. As you traverse the ridge towards the summit make note of a couple scree filled chutes. They make for great quick descent routes even though the scree isn't the best. Enjoy a nice lunch at the summit cairn. We had virtually no wind at the summit even though the ridge was windy.

For the descent retrace your steps to the scree chutes and head down. The chutes have a lot of mixed rock so be mindful of dislodging rocks on people below. It's steep enough and some rocks are the right size to travel a long ways. One person in our party took a rock in the elbow from a hiker several hundred feet up.

Once back to Crowfoot Pass retrace your steps back to the car. The return should go much quicker.

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Mount Bourgeau

Mount Bourgeau is one of Banff's premier hikes. It's a long trail but not terribly difficult. The trailhead is clearly marked with plenty of parking. Expect to spend at least 7 hours on trail. 


We made our trip up Mount Bourgeau into a big group hike, dragging along a couple friends that hadn't been on a mountain in years. We arrived at the parking lot bright and early and started our day. The trail starts as a nice wide path through the forest and climbs gradually as it heads straight up the valley. 

The first treat along the hike are the falls on Wolverine Creek. The creek crossing is kind of interesting. It's a wide enough creek that it would normally warrant a bridge but in this case there were a few large mounds of rocks held together by chicken wire that acted as good stepping stones across the river. Sort of like the type you would normally see acting an pillars for a bridge to rest on. An interesting choice but it works and looks relatively natural from a distance so it's not a terrible one.


After crossing Wolverine Creek, the trail started to climb through a series of switch backs but those quickly give way to Bourgeau Lake. The lake is generally unremarkable except for its setting at the base of the huge cliffs along the side of Mount Bourgeau. A lot of route guides only go as far as the lake and it's a real shame as the scenery of the lake is nothing compared to what lies ahead. 


We made our way along the trail on the right-hand side of the lake. Here the trail is at its steepest but the section is short. We encountered several snow patches that had to be traversed. At the top of the slope the valley narrows to give way to a large cirque with a few tarns. We made our way around the first tarn. There's a nice outcropping at above the first tarn that is a popular place to stay for lunch but we opted to push on a little further to the lake in Harvey Col for our lunch. From Harvey Pass you're granted your first view of Mount Assiniboine. The lake in the pass isn't spectacular but there are plenty of places to get out of the wind if there is some. 


From Harvey Pass you can almost see the summit of Mount Bourgeau and the route up is nice and clear. It's a long sustained ridge to the summit but the rock is good with very little "treadmill" scree. We set a steady pace and made it to the summit in about an hour. 

When we did the hike in mid-July there were still plenty of large snow cornices along the ridge. Stay well back from them. We witnessed one fall late in the day and the fracture line was well back from the edge. Anyone standing on it would likely have been catapulted into the air and from there it would be pure luck whether or not you landed back on the ridge or would find yourself in free fall down the face of the mountain. 


The summit is marred by an ugly weather station but the views are impressive enough that you won't care. You'll have a great view of Mount Assiniboine dominating every peak around it to the south beyond the slopes of Sunshine Village. To the north you should be able to see Mount Temple and the peaks around Lake Louise. The town of  Banff is clear well below to the east and to the west are countless peaks begging to be summited. 


The descent is straight forward and goes quickly. I was suffering from a knee injury at the time and the descent down the ridge was the worst part of the return. However once returning to Harvey Pass and beyond I was able to move very quickly without any difficulties. The steep slopes between the tarns and Bourgeau Lake offer plenty of good scree to aid in a rapid descent. 

On our way out below Bourgeau Lake we encountered a few people in groups of two or three all completely inadequately prepared for hiking. By this time the sun was setting but they were determined to press on to the lake despite having only the clothes on their back (inappropriate cotton) and a 500ml bottle of water between them. I can't help but shake my head at those people that venture into the back country without proper respect. On a trail that busy and that well groomed I'm sure they'll be fine 99 times out of a hundred and that that one time something does go wrong there will be plenty of people to help them. But they don't get how easily something can go wrong and then how quickly things can spiral from there. I probably go too far towards the side of being prepared but someone has to. 

We returned to the car about 10 hours after we started our hike. Mount Bourgeau makes for a long day. We likely could have completed the hike a couple hours quicker but we had a couple rookie hikers in the group and one individual had some boot problems that required attention multiple times. Our rest breaks and summit time were far longer than they needed to be as well. Plus hiking in such a large group always seems to slow things down. I prefer groups of four or less. Six is okay if you know what you're doing. But seven plus becomes an ordeal and I felt like I was spending as much time herding as I do enjoying nature. 


Mount Bourgeau is a great long hike that everyone should do at least once. You won't regret it but you'll probably hurt from it. 

East End of Rundle

The Rundle Massive dominates the skyline and separates Canmore and Banff. The true summit may take you to a higher elevation but only through much greater effort with no more reward. The East End of Rundle grants you a significant summit that can be attained fairly easily and rewards you with spectacular views almost the entire way up.

There is a large official parking lot at the Goat Creek trailhead but we were able to park on a large gravel shoulder by a large rock outcropping at the start of Whiteman's Pond. Both parking options are marked on the GPS file, although there is only room for a few cars at the spot closer to the trailhead. Mind the parking signs as they do occassionally enforce the restrictions.

From your car head back down the gravel road towards Canmore. The trailhead isn't marked but it's easy to spot. It's just past an old sign that no longer has the sign board on it, only the frame. The trail will angle up the slope before cutting back and continuing to climb to the ridge. This is probably the least enjoyable portion as the trip as you're climbing and stuck in the trees. Don't worry though, you'll emerge from the trees and start to enjoy the view in no time.

The trail will branch again and again as it climbs along the ridge. No particular branch is better than any other but if you generally keep to the right you should enjoy a less obstructed view towards Canmore while staying to the left might provide a slightly easier and more direct route up the ridge. If you're really uncomfortable with heights the options to the left should calm you a little more as well.

The trail will climb rapidly and in no time you'll be completely above the tree-line. The trail will eventually lead you to a bench on the shoulder of the summit just below some soft vegetation covered slopes and the final scree ascent to the summit. The only well defined trail here is to the far right but there are several lesser trails heading up in a more direct route.

There are several routes to the summit. We elected to aim for the small saddle between a nub and the ridge to the summit. From there you can follow a path to just below the rock bands guarding the summit. Strong scramblers that without an aversion to exposure can head straight up the ridge. If you're not quite so sure footed, follow the base of the rock band to your left. You will pass a couple chutes before coming to one that can be climbed easily. It's steep with lots of loose rock but it requires no climbing and has no real exposure. It should be fairly obvious so if you're not sure go to the next chute. For the summit route with the absolute least amount of exposure and absolutely no scrambling continue left along the rock band. You will eventually encounter a trail that will be angling back towards the summit to your right. It's the trail we used for our descent but it can also be used for an ascent. If you want to ascend that way you can approach it directly by going straight up the scree slopes from the bench mentioned earlier.

Once you're above the rock band there's just one small hop to the summit of the East End of Rundle. From here you'll be able to see all the other summits along the Rundle massive. The next most southern peak is an easy ridgewalk that will only add an hour to your trip.

There are a couple bivy walls built near that summit that act as great shelters from the wind if you want to lunch at top. You will also have views of Assiniboine sticking out above all the other peaks to the southwest.

To descend we followed the route with the most scree as I find it the easiest way to descend with as little pain inflicted upon my knees as possible. A fast descent can have you back at your car an hour.