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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