Peaks

 

88

 

 

Pursuers

 

316

 

 

Finishers

 

5

 

 

The definitive challenge of non-technical "scrambles" in the northern Canadian Rockies based closely on Alan Kane's 2nd edition of the seminal "Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies". Most peaks are accessible in day trips from the Calgary/Banff area. This challenge includes only peaks in the northern areas of the book, specifically Canmore/Bow Valley, Banff area, Lake Louise area, Skoki area, Field and Little Yoho, Icefields Parkway, and Jasper area; the southern peaks can be found on peakery in the companion challenge 'Canadian Rockies Scrambles South' here: https://peakery.com/challenges/canadian-rockies-scrambles-south-challenge/

Note: Kane has since published a 3rd edition which includes many new peaks (featured on peakery in the 'Canadian Rockies Scrambles Encore Challenge' for the truly committed). The 2nd edition is out-of-print but you can still view it here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/AKkhMLqtENIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1

 

Highest peak

Mount Temple

11,630 ft / 3,544 m

Most prominent peak

Mount Temple

5,003 ft / 1,525 m

Most climbed peak

Ha Ling Peak

378 climbs

Most difficult peak

Sunwapta Peak

Class 2

Difficulty breakdown

Class 1/2 5 peaks

Class 3/4 15 peaks

Class 5+ 4 peaks

Top climbing months

August   21%

July   20%

June   13%

Highlights
"Went into Skoki with Paul so he could get Anthozoan and Brachiopod. Brachiopod is still as shitty as it was in 2013. I just did the north summit of Anthozoan because I was tired from doing ~9000m elevation since Sept 5. I am definitely getting old lol." — leigh-annewebster • Sep 24, 2024
"On our return trip from Skoki Lodge, we passed by the beautiful Zigadenus & Myosotis lakes enroute to Redoubt Mountain. We ascended on the Redoubt Lake side through a break in cliff bands (Kane route) up to the north ridge. From this first ridge, we traversed left around the bowl, dropped down and then scurried up a loose gulley to get onto the next ridge. This wasn't great and it would likely have been better to cut straight down across the bowl to the bottom of the next ridge. Once we were on the ridge, the scrambling was fun up to the summit. We descended via the south bowl (Spirko route) back onto the main trail. The bike ride out from Temple Lodge was a blast as always. 14km hike, 4km bike, 1070m elevation gain, 7 hours" — geoffhardy • Sep 17, 2024
"I have mixed feelings about Mount Ball, so here is a pros & cons list: PRO: somewhat of a trail exists for the first kilometer CON: many kilometers of deadfall makes the next section slow travelling PRO: after the headwall, some flat karst pavement makes for some fast trail CON: a long scree slog up to Beatrice Peak PRO: pretty awesome views from up top CON: from Beatrice, it takes longer than expected to get to the summit of Ball PRO: kinda nice to check this one off after gazing at it for so many years CON: it's a long way back to the car PRO: the scree descent is pretty quick CON: despite having a GPS track to navigate by, it's still pretty easy to get off route PRO: a big day out exploring a valley with no-one else around There was a lot of getting off route on this track. Strava did not record the whole track. Actual time was 13:40. Actual distance was likely around 27km. Elevation gain around 1900m." — geoffhardy • Sep 8, 2024
"I have mixed feelings about Mount Ball, so here is a pros & cons list: PRO: somewhat of a trail exists for the first kilometer CON: many kilometers of deadfall makes the next section slow travelling PRO: after the headwall, some flat karst pavement makes for some fast trail CON: a long scree slog up to Beatrice Peak PRO: pretty awesome views from up top CON: from Beatrice, it takes longer than expected to get to the summit of Ball PRO: kinda nice to check this one off after gazing at it for so many years CON: it's a long way back to the car PRO: the scree descent is pretty quick CON: despite having a GPS track to navigate by, it's still pretty easy to get off route PRO: a big day out exploring a valley with no-one else around There was a lot of getting off route on this track. Strava did not record the whole track. Actual time was 13:40. Actual distance was likely around 27km. Elevation gain around 1900m." — geoffhardy • Sep 8, 2024
"Went up SW ridge, descended W ridge. Class 2 terrain ("moderate scramble"). The elephant in the room is, of course, the slog through Haffner Creek. I'm happy I don't have to go there again! It was worse in the morning when the logs were wet and extremely slippery." — Taras • Aug 26, 2024