Outdoor Video Magazine

Length: 44km
Time: 3 days
Elevation gain: 1380m
Difficulty: Moderate (in good conditions, harder in snow!!)
Rating: 9/10

So the Thanksgiving weekend is another great oppurtunity to escape to the mountains for 3 days, if only to avoid the turkey. This time, I was on a University of Alberta Outdoors Club trip to the Skyline Trail in Jasper National Park. After much confusion and careful organising by VP of the club, Ian Curran, 10 people remained on the trip. It was very important that we knew the capabilities and preparedness of the people we had on this trip, as we knew tackling the Skyline in October would be quite the undertaking, given the recent snowfall. The decision was made that all group members should carry snowshoes.

I think this is a GREAT time of year to do the normally busy and over-used Skyline trail. We didn’t expect to see anyone else on the trail, and we hoped that the huge expanses of rock above the treeline would look a lot prettier than the do in summer, given the recent snow. The downside of doing it this time of year, is missing out on the gorgeous alpine meadows and flowers.

We set off from Edmonton around 5ish, and after a quick pitstop at the super-express-gourmet-fastfood restaurant that is Wendy’s in Edson (that is sarcasm. Don’t ever stop there. It took nearly an hour of waiting, and the only entertainment to pass the time was admiring the skill of the staff who had one person to take the orders, and another person whose only observable job was to knock the orders over as they became ready.) we arrived at the campground in Jasper at 10pm for a few beers and a not so early night.

Day 1 - Trailhead to Snowbowl - 12km

We hiked this trail from North to South, to reduce the total elevation gain. After dropping one car off at the Northern traihead on Maligne Lake road, we all headed to Maligne Lake where we would start our hike. After much faffing (I’ve decided that time to get ready increases proportional to number of people squared, although in theory it should take 10 people no longer than one!!) we ready to start hiking at around noon. We started off with 1cm or so of snow on the trail already. The trail winds through spruce and pine forest past some pretty lakes, gaining elevation only gradually, for the first 5km to Evelyn Campground.

After an extended lunch stop (Ian needed to have a full on cooked affair) we were ready to climb the switchbacks to the first pass. This climb wasn’t too bad at all, and we quickly gained elevation and arrived at Little Shovel campground at 8km, where your first views of snowy peaks and valleys open up. It really was looking like skiing season was here! We were now in a good few inches of snow, and as we pressed on up the gradual incline to the pass it quickly deepened to a good foot of snow. The luring ascent to Sunset Peak on the right of the pass caught my eye, and I suggested a quick sidetrip. With three of us capable of leading the group, we decided to split the group into two as not everyone was feeling up to the rather strenuous elevation gain to the top of Sunset Peak. A quick game of rock-paper-scissors determined I was the poor soul who would lead half the group to the campsite, while the others would take the sidetrip. A well worthwhile one from the sound of it, you can ascend the first ridge to the summit from well before the pass, and then drop down a second ridge that brings you out on top of the pass where you can rejoin the trail. The views (from the photos they showed me!) looked fantastic.

Meanwhile, my group bust out the snowshoes as we headed over the pass and down into the snowbowl. A very apt name on this particular day. Gorgeous sun and a stiff breeze provided excellent conditions to enjoy the wintery terrain and stunning vistas in all directions. We reached Snowbowl Campground at 12km, and set up camp. Boxed wine and backcountry cooking provided the entertainment for the rest of the evening.

Day 2 - Snowbowl to Watchtower (skyline aborted) - 12km

One of the group was struggling with the cold and the extra effort the snowshoeing with a big backpack was putting on her, so it was decided the group would again split into two. Ian and Nicole would head out via Watchtower and the rest of us, led by me, would try and finish the Skyline. My group got a (slightly) earlier start at 9.30am (despite the first people being up at 7am…again the person squared law applies to the getting ready time). A rather dark, threatening sky provided an awesome backdrop to sun-lit snowy peaks, and we plodded on towards Big Shovel Pass at 17.5km. The time we were making was pretty bad, and I began to doubt we would have time to make it all the way to Tekarra Campground at 30km. Especially as we still had the Notch, the hardeest part of the trail, still in our way. As we crested the pass in extreme winds, I had my first view of the Notch. It looked impossibly steep, and very, very snow clad. With a large cornice at the top. I didn’t like the look of it at all. Anyway, we had a quick and cold lunch, and then headed on toward Curator Lake through some barren, rocky ground. The wind by now was getting incredibly strong, and the smaller members of the group were having trouble staying vertical! As the wind got stronger, and I had more time to contemplate the Notch, I realised to go on would be foolish. The group wasn’t strong enough to make it over the Notch to the next campground, and the thought of falling short and having to camp out in the exposed ridge beyond the Notch in gale force winds was not very attractive. Not to mention the avalanche risk on the Notch itself..it looked pretty sketchy to me. After a quick discussion we decided to head out via Watchtower too. A steep climb up to Watchtower Pass, and we soon had a view down the picturesque Watchtower Basin. With excess time on our hands now, we decided to frollick in the snow for an hour or so, before heading on to Watchtower Campground, where we joined soon afterwards by Ian and Nicole. The group was reunited.

Very wet snow conditions were worsened when it started to rain, and people retired to bed early. 6 of us squeezed into a Tarn 3 to play several hours of cards.

Day 3 - Watchtower CG to Maligne Lake Road - 10km

When I awoke in the morning, I discovered the rain had turned to 4 inches of snow over night, and everything was frozen solid. A temperature somewhere between -5C and -10C coupled with the rain the night before meant people had to resort to licking tent poles to get them to collapse, and I had to spend nearly 10m de-icing the bear hanger before we could get our food down.

Because we were exiting the trail in the middle of where our two cars were parked, 3 of us went on ahead to get the road first so we could hitchhike and get the cars for when everyone else arrived. The 10km out was a fast, but enjoyable hike along a pretty trail. The fresh snow really added to the gorgeous view of the impressive wall formed by the Colin Range that dominated most of the view ahead. Arriving at the trailhead at around 12.30m, we were suprised to find we had apparently travelled back in time from winter to autumn. It was warm, sunny, dry and there was no snow on the ground for the first time in 3 days. The trees were even still yellow.

It didn’t take me long to get picked up, and we were soon all on our way to Miette hotsprings for the last day of the season.

Good times.

Time: 5-7 hours (just hiking time from book) - 11 hours total for us!
Elevation Gain: 1500m
Highest Point: 2580m
Difficulty: Moderate
Scariness: 1/3
Map: Not really needed
Book: Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies - Alan Kane
Trailhead: Morro Slabs. just East of the bridge over the Athabasca River on Highway 16, a few kilometers East of Snaring River campground.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

This is a LONG day’s scramble with considerable vertical gain and NO water along the way. The terrain is variable and interesting, the views good, and I would definitely recommend it if you’re feeling up to the distance.

Starting of on the obvious Overlander trail (which allows mountain bikes) the hike initially contours the side of the mountain sticking fairly flat for around 35-50mins. Keep an eye out for the first drainage you cross (a dry stoney creek bed probably) and this is where you turn left off the obvious trail and find a fairly well beaten track that will take you up the mountain proper. Starting through brush and then eventually a large burned area, the trail quickly steepens and will never really let off until the summit now. You follow the edge of a cool canyon for some of the way, and apparently there is a waterfall if you follow it all the way to end. When you’re up above the first small cliff band, hang right and follow the base of crags along to the ridge above the next drainage area. From here it’s essential to pick up the fairly obvious and well trodden trail again (marked with cairns and pink/orange flagging tape) and follow it up to the start of the scrambling.

Here is the ‘crux’ according to Alan Kane, but I have to say the ‘5m chimmney” is not really is difficult as it sounds. With little/no exposure and some good holds it won’t cause any problems. If it does it can easily be by-passed via an easy line to the right where there was even some webbing for hand-support when I was there.

From here an obvious trail leads up to the right, following a fairly steep drop on your righthand side. This bit sketched me out a bit, especially coming down. The trail was dry and loose with dirt and some rock, and a slip could have been far from amusing. Don’t let me fool you though, this part was still easy (I’m just a wuss!). You could take a more rocky route than this in parts if you fancied scrambling some more.

Topping out above the rock, you’re back in spruce again (by a cairn with some big horn horns). The trail now follows the ridge crest through the trees and is well marked with ornage flagging tape the whole way. As you approach the tree-line there are some fun places for some slab-bouldering (see video).

From here to the summit is an enjoyable slog up talus, across scree and up some easy rock scrambling (you can usually find a trail if you prefer, ot a harder rock-line if you want!). Don’t be fooled by thinkign your near the top until you are looking down in every direction…Hawk has on of the worst most consistent false summits I’ve seen!

From the top there are great views of the surrounding mountains including Mt Robson, Pyramid, Edith Cavell, and some other HUGE ones further away that I didn’t recognise. lol. Check out the crazy coloured pounds the far side of Highway 16 too. We saw a bear sat on the train tracks from this vantage point too, and the resulting bear jam. Put a quick note in the summit register, feel free to add a plug for outdoorvm.com haha, and begin your descent the way you came.

By this stage we were all pretty short of water, it being around 30C out. I had gone through 3 litres already. 3 of the 4 of us dosed up on Ibuprofren to ready our aging knees for the descent (yes, I’m only 24).

Once you get back to the canyon, there is an optional detour if you find a safe descent into it and want a bit of fun. We all LOVED this part of the descent. We followed the canyon bottom the WHOLE way back to the Overlander trail. There are numerous small (up to 4m) would-be waterfalls (it was all dry) that make great fun to downclimb. Some involved walking down trees, some had to be jumped, some downclimbed in VERY interesting fashion by certain members of the group. See video! This whole part provided great comic relief to a tired and sore group of people.

Back on the Overlander, it’s nearly over with just a quick, fast, flat march back to the car. Interestingly enough I predicted 11 hours for our trip before we set off. We were back a few seconds under 11 hours 1 minute. Pretty good eh?

Another good route description is given by dowclimbing.com along with some good photos, but not a patch on mine of course

Length: 48km
Time: 3/4 Days
Book: None I could find, parks office has details
Elevation: 1400m-1400m = FLAT!
Date done: April 14th 2006
Effort: Medium
Rating: 8/10
Notes: Lots of grizzly tracks on trail - beware! Rating applies to April, could be plain/boring in summer
Map: Can be done without

If you don’t want to go uphill but love mountains, this is the hike for you. Also for an early spring hike it is perfect. This trail takes you through spectacular mountain scenery whilst hardly gaining any height at all. It has some superbly situated campgrounds, and is well maintained. I did this in April of 2006, and the parks people thought you we were crazy for trying to go backpacking at that time of year. But the low elevation and the low snow levels for that year meant that trail was in perfect condition for hiking right up until the last few kilometers approaching Fortress Lake. By then there was some old, crusty, thigh deep snow to battle through. The days were very warm and sunny…and the nights and mornings a little chilly to say the least. Fortress Lake was still fully frozen over.

Day 1 - 6km (half day)
Starting from the Sunwapta Falls car park on the Icefields Parkway, follow the trail over the falls and through some rather repetative forest to the first campground, only 6km from the start. From here there is your first view of the mountains to come. It is a gorgeous area with a nice lake as well as a river, and it provides some excellent photography opportunities at sunrise.

Day 2 - 18km
Following the trail onwards, I recommend breaking out to the river to your right occasionally to get the best views. You can even hike along side the river on a fairly decent game trail all the way to the next campground, a total of 15km from the start. Or you can stick to the true trail that takes you through the trees and limits your views somewhat. This campground is in a lovely spot too, with yet again a gorgeous lake nearby and two rivers. We had lunch here.

Crossing a suspension bridge It is now another 9km to the third and final campste at Fortress Lake. The trail becomes slightly narrower but remains very clear, and rises and drops in places. Eventually you come out to the main river bed, where you have to ford. This was no problem for us, but during high-water this would be impossible. If the water is low, this huge river bed gives you a good chance to soak up the views of the mountains on all sides. On the farside, the trail becomes less distinct as it winds along the trees by the river. This is where we started to pick up some bad snow that made the going tough. It is possible to stick to the river bed for a clearer walk though, just keep an eye on the path. Eventually it swings away from the river and heads toward Fortress Lake passing through gorgeous mossy forest (welcome to BC, you actually over the Continental Divide now). The final campground is perfectly situated above the lake with some stunning views. A shame the lake was still frozen in early April.

Day 3 - 18km
You know have to retrace your steps all the way home. If you want you can stick to the river all the way to the first campsite, or you can follow the main trail. Or mix the two. We decided to take the river back for some variety. In retrospect, I think this was slower and more tiring too. Maybe it’s just cos we were out in some VERY hot sun (it was April, but it must have been around 20C!!), or maybe it was the hour long game of frisbee we had! The river bed is sandy, flat, and huge. One day I would like a full Ultimate Frisbee game here, haha. The open views were amazing, and it was excellent for avalanche watching. We must have seen about 20 in one day. We spent the third night back at the first campsite.

Day 4 - 6km (quarter day)
We hiked the final 6km back to the car, and enjoyed a leisurely drive back through Jasper in some stunning weather.

This would make a gorgeous cross-country ski in winter and you can actually take bikes as far as the second campground (it’s a recognised MTB route in the park).