PEAKWARE
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Kevin Altheim
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
My Peakware Content
Peaks
- Commander Mountain (Intermountain West, Canada, North America)
- Elpoca Mountain (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Gusty Peak (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Howse Peak (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Bell (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Birdwood (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Blane (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Brett (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Brock (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Buller (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Burney (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Chephren (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Cornwall (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Delphine (Intermountain West, Canada, North America)
- Mount Engadine (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Evan-Thomas (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Farnham (Intermountain West, Canada, North America)
- Mount Girouard (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Hood (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Inflexible (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Inglismaldie (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Invincible (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount James Walker (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Jerram (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Lawrence Grassi (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Lawson (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Lougheed (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Murray (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Nestor (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Packenham (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Peechee (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Robertson (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Romulus (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Shark (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Sir Douglas (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Smuts (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Mount Warspite (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Old Goat Mountain (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Pilot Mountain (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Storm Mountain (Kananaskis) (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- The Fist (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- The Lieutenants (Intermountain West, Canada, North America)
- The Tower (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
- Windtower (Rocky Mountains, Canada, North America)
My Photos
Click on any thumbnail photo to view it full size.
- Mount Galatea
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This is the S face of Mount Galatea on approach. This is where the main scrambling route is and gives people a good feel for the face and what to expect. - Mount Farnham
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the huge east face of Mount Farnham with the summit the highest point near the middle of the picture. Farnham Tower is the obvious tower at the right and one of the routes up it follows the sundering chimney system which is clearly visible. This picture was taken from the McDonald Creek Road. - Cascade Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This picture provides a good view of Cascade from Sulpher Mountain showing the south aspect and how big the mountain really is. The true and highest summit is the furthest right, with the middle summit is visible in the distance to the left of it. From there it extends to the left edge. The scrambling route trends down the left skyline from the true summit then drops out of view into Cascade Amphitheatre. - Mount Rae
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the South and South East side of Mount Rae. The scrambling route comes out of Ptarmigan Cirque on the left to reach the South Ridge. From the left of the picture it goes up the South Ridge then circumvents the pinnacle around the NW side, then continues on the South Ridge to the summit, which is visible. Lots of scree on these sides, and some snow left over from the winter. - Fortress, The
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good view of the south side of The Fortress from the summit of Mount Chester. The scrambling route comes up from the valley at left to gain the SW ridge which has some snow cover and descends towards the camera from the summit. Near the summit it veers left around a short cliff band to gain the summit up an easy chimney. I have scrambled up The Fortress and one the highlights of the trip was finding a nautiloid fossil about 4 inches long right on the summit. The snow covered Mount Kidd North Peak can be seen sticking out in the distance to the immediate left of the summit of The Fortress, and Mount Kidd South Peak is the long peak to the left of that. - Mount Niblock
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows a good view of the north side of Niblock and its steep north face. Mount Whyte can be seen sticking out to the left behind Niblock. - Mount Wintour
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The entire length of Mount Wintour from the west, which at roughly 3.2 km long is sometimes mistaken as a ridge, but with more than 300 m in prominence it is definitely a mountain. The standard ascent for Wintour was done in 1968 by Glen Boles and Ed Peyer. It gains the N end of the main ridge from the slopes near the left edge, and once on the ridge it is easily followed all of the way to N summit which is the high point to the left of the obvious saddle/notch. Most parties then return as the climbing becomes much more technical to gain the S summit. From the S summit the Boles route gains the notch, traverses across the shadowed face to gain the sunlit slabs trending downward and right from the summit, then follows that line to the summit. - Mount Wintour
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The main summit block and W facing cliffs of Mount Wintour from the West. Just today I was looking at the Alpine Journal for 1969 and read the first ascent of Mount Wintour from Glen Boles. For many years parties would climb the N end of Wintour (above King Canyon) to gain the ridge and follow it to the N summit, at which point they turned back because the climbing beyond to the S summit was technical. The S summit is the higher point to the right of the obvious notch/saddle. So believing the true S summit to be unclimbed the Boles party gained the notch and had lunch only to note the N main ridge line of the final summit tower was too much of a problem to climb direct. Because of this they traversed from the notch pretty much across the shadowed face to gain the sunlit slabs which descend rightwards from the summit. According to the line drawn on the photo in the Journal, from there they followed along the sunlit/shadowed line directly to the summit. The picture he had of the S summit from the N showed the whole area below the summit to be very steep. - Rundle, East End of (EEOR)
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good view of EEOR which is the acronym for the huge cliffs above Canmore on the East End of The Rundle Range. The cliffs are roughly 500 m high and are home to many routes, and the left end is a hotbed of sport climbing routes. It can be easily walked up on the backside from the Spray Lakes Road, and that route tops out along the left sklyine of the summit block. - Mount Fable
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the steep south side of Mount Fable and it was taken on the approach to the scramble route. There is a grade II 5.4 Alpine rock route up the south ridge which forms the left skyline. The southeast ridge forms the right skyline and is home to a grade II 5.5 Alpine Rock route. That route starts behind the subpeak to the right, then gains the ridge proper between Fable and the subpeak. There is also a route called The Boulevard which is graded at 5.10a that goes up the middle of the south face then traverses more to the left side of the face halfway up. That route was an impressive solo effort Steve Demahio. When viewed from the south or the Trans Canada Highway the mountain has a very impressive monolithic appearance. - Mount Wilcox
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the steeper west side of Mount Wilcox (Wilcox Peak), and Tangle Ridge is in the distance at left. The scramble route up the SE ridge generally follows the right hand skyline, going below the ridge where it is too narrow or difficult. Took this picture on a family trip to the area in which we took the kids on the Sno-coach tour on the Athabasca Glacier, which they loved. We also drank water right from the meltwater streams; it was great. - Mount Whyte
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Mount Whyte summit at center with the long southeast facing slopes below. Mount Niblock in the distance to the right and Popes Peak is behind to the left. This picture was taken from Mount Fairview. - The Wedge
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the northwest aspect of The Wedge and was taken from the creek just above Terrace Trail low on the Mount Kidd (North Peak) Scramble route. The summit of The Wedge is in the background with the subpeak the high point on the northwest ridge. The mountain can be scrambled on its northeast aspect, and the west side has some rock climbing routes. There is also steep limestone potential on the north face of both the main summit and the subpeak. The small subpeak to the right of the northwest ridge is known locally as Limestone Mountain, although there is question as to whether it is just part of The Wedge. - Mount Kidd
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the huge East Face of Mount Kidd North Peak with Kidd South visible behind at left, and it was taken from the side of Highway 40. A Friend informed me that the first ascent of the East Face was made by John Martin solo in 1988 and was detailed in the 1999 Canadian Alpine Journal on page 133. It follows the long gully system on the left side of the face (below the summit) and tops out only a few minutes walk from the summit and is graded 5.6 respectively. There is also an alpine route Graded III 5.7 on the northeast buttress which is at the right end of mountain. The route itself ends at the top of the buttress, but some continue along the entire ridge to the summit for a long day out. - Mount Glasgow
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows Mount Glasgow and its long east ridge, which is one of the scramble routes that I have personally ascended three times. On one ascent we encountered 2 grizzly bear cubs but were lucky not to see the mother, and ended up doing most of the descent in the dark. This is one of my favorite mountains and I did the east ridge without using any guidebooks or other sources. I crossed the suspension bridge then found an old handcut seismic line that led almost directly to Glasgow Creek. I then followed the creek and went up the long arduous scree slope to gain the east ridge. I then followed the ridge directly to the summit except I detoured around the cliffs just below the summit block. There are plenty of horn coral fossils on the flatter section just below the main summit block and the cliffs before it. - Mount Whymper
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Mount Whymper from the toe of the Stanley Glacier. Quadra Mountain is the first peak in the distance to the right of Whymper, and Bident Mountain is directly to the right of Quadra. In reality it is more or less a subpeak of Quadra. There are two potential scrambling routes up Whymper. The harder route goes directly up the gully below the summit, then angles left just below the final summit cliffs to gain the ridge left of the summit, then the summit. The easier route follows the same gully to roughly where the grass ends. It then traverses left and goes up to gain the lower portion of the W ridge. The W ridge is the left skyline down from the summit, then the line separating the sunlit W slopes and the shadowed S slopes. From there it follows the sunlit W slopes to the base of the cliff band and goes up a gully to gain the ridge again, then the summit. - Storm Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The west aspect of Storm Mountain (Vermilion) taken from the summit of Mount Whymper. The scrambling route up Storm is a long scree slog that goes right up the west slopes to gain the summit plateau just below and to the right of the snow patch visible near the summit. This route is a good ski ascent in the winter and is noted in Chic Scott's Summits and Icefields guidebook. Once you ascend out of the burned out forest you enter a long valley that gains the west slopes proper. This part of the route in the valley is below very steep loose cliffs that look like they could fall at any time, and they do. The whole valley floor was litterd with house sized boulders. The left skyline is the standard descent for the Alpine routes on the north face and the east ridge. - Stanley Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheimf, uploaded by Kevin Altheim
This shows Stanley Peak from the summit of Mount Whymper. There are several alpine snow/ice routes on the North and NE faces of Stanley Peak. Descent for all routes is down the NW ridge which faces the camera. Mount Ball is the glacier capped peak in the distance and the summit of Beatrice Peak can be seen directly between Mt. Ball and the lower east ridge of Stanley. A medium-sized glacier separates Stanley Peak from Beatrice Peak. Beatrice Peak and Mt. Ball are connected by a ridge. All mountains can be scrambled from the Hafner Creek side. - Mount Ball
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The ridge and small subpeak which form the scrambling route up Mount Ball from Beatrice Peak. For anyone wanting to do the scramble this picture provides an excellent view of the portion of the route from Beatrice to Ball. It follows along the ridge to gain the small snow patch just below and left of the small subpeak along the ridge. It crosses that snow then goes upwards to the subpeak, drops down to the col between it and Ball, then along the left edge of the old glacier to gain the summit which is out of view in the clouds. - Mount Bogart
Photo by Peter Weinacht, uploaded by Kevin Altheim
This shows Mount Bogart taken by a friend of mine from the summit of Mount Kidd North Peak. When my friend and I first attempted Kidd it started raining halfway up the north bowl and after a bit he decided not to continue but I did in shorts and T-shirt, the only thing keeping me from freezing was moving fast. By the time I got to the upper ridge there was a good amount of summer snow, and there was no view from the summit as it was clouded in. He went back a couple of years later alone and had good views from the summit. This is one of his pictures. - Mount Burstall
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The north aspect of Mount Burstall in attractive winter light taken while I was cross country skiing off of the Spray Lake Road. The scrambling route comes up the gully below the northeast face from the valley at the right to gain the col between Burstall and the subpeak to the left. From there it goes up the east (snow covered) slopes to the ridge, then goes left along the ridge to the summit, but one steep step must be negotiated and is the crux of the scramble. - Mount Burstall
Photo by Peter Weinacht, uploaded by Kevin Altheim
This shows me descending Burstall just after the crux pitch with Mount Sir Douglas and the Robertson Glacier looming behind. Mount Robertson is the peak on the left side of the glacier. For those wanting to ascend the Burstall scramble route this picture will give an excellent profile of the crux portion of the scramble. From where I am the best choice is to drop down onto the right side of the ridge to gain excellent ledges which take you into the gully just below the crux. From there you go up the solid slabs of the gully to gain the base of the crux step where the slab abuts the right trending final portion. Follow the ridge top to the left of me to where the rock angles upwards at about 45 degrees and the slab is on that slope below the upper summit block, out of view. Where the slab ends is the crux step, and at that point you are overlooking the airy east face. From the step you scramble carefully upwards to the right just below the ridge line to the summit, in which the cairn is visible. - Castle Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Attractive early morning light on Castle Mountain taken from the Trans Canada Highway. This is the technical climbing side of Castle with the scramble route up easy scree slopes on the back side, and the route up Eisenhower Tower (furthest right, route goes up the side facing the camera) is shown in good profile. - Mount Edith
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the 3 peaks of Mount Edith with the South Peak at right, Center Peak to the left, then the summit of the North Peak sticking out to the left of Center Peak. Mount Edith is comprised of three peaks with the South Peak being the most impressive from this direction. The scrambling route up the South Peak starts at the col between South and Center Peaks, then gains the SW face halfway up the left skyline. From there is generally goes to the middle of the face and more or less follows the easiest line to the summit. The scramble route up the center peak follows the obvious gully that trends right from below the summit. The technical climbing routes up Edith are on the other side of the moutain and are generally on good quality rock. - Mount Delphine
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good view of the North Face of Mount Delphine, which is quite steep on the upper portion which sits above a glacier that occupies the basin below. - Mount Cornwall
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The east aspect of Mount Cornwall from the summit of Mount Glasgow. Mount Cornwall retains snow on its east face longer than any other peak in the front ranges. The scramble up Cornwall starts at the Glasgow/Cornwall col and basically goes up the face to gain the ridge just right of the summit. One thing that proves these peaks rode out the ice age above the glacial sheets is that there are deep cirques carved all around Cornwall, and Cornwall itself is a scree pile. - Commander Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Commander Mountain from the air which is the furthest summit left with the bare rock ribs above the Glacier. The lake is The Lake of the Hanging Glacier after the ice broke up and is a well renowned hike. Going right from Commander the peak in distance at the back of the upper snowfield is Jumbo Mountain, to the right of the the sharp peak is Karnak Mountain, and the mountain with the face above the right end of the lake is called The Lieutenants (long snow couloir). - The Lieutenants
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The three peaks of The Lieutenants from the W end of The Lake of the Hanging Glacier. The first ascent of the W peak (furthest right) of The Lieutenants contoured around the right side of the lake and gained the ridge. From there it followed the ridge and the right skyline to gain the W peak summit. The second ascent of the W peak was done by the legendary Fred Beckey and J. Rupley. The went around the left side of the lake and crossed the glacier to gain the base of the east face. From reading the ascent information I believe they started near the right end of the Ice front of the glacier to the top of the cliffs below the snow slope. They then went leftward up the Rock Rib below the upper snow slope to the left. They then ascended the upper snow slope to the base of the final wall, climbing it and reaching the right skyline near the W peak summit. The first ascent of the Center Peak was done along the right skyline from the W peak. The first ascent of the E Peak ascended the icefall below Commander to the Jumbo Neve, then followed the left sklyine to the E Peak summit. - The Lieutenants
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The W face of the Lieutenants from the trail to Jumbo Pass with the West Peak (L), Center Peak (C) and East Peak (R) clearly visible. The lower W slopes of Karnak can also be seen at the right edge. - Mount Blane
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The impressive Mount Blane looms over the Kananaskis Valley and this picture was taken from the W end of Lower Kananaskis Lake. The huge gendarme to the right of the summit is called The Blade, and was named by the Calgary Mountain Club in 1960 whose members first climbed it. The NW ridge is the left skyline and is home to the "classic" NW Ridge II 5.6 alpine route which is mentioned in Selected Alpine Climbs (Dougherty). - Mount Brock
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The impressive steep W face of Mount Brock with Mount Hood at the left. Grizzly Ridge is in the foreground and Mount Blane is just out of the picture to the right. This picture was taken from the W end of Lower Kananaskis Lake. The W face of brock has some pretty clean looking limestone on it (from the ground of course) and the W rib is just below the snow line that descends rightwards from the summit. There is a route which starts at the base of the rib and generally trends along with and below the visible snow to reach the summit. There is also a route that starts from the Blane-Brock col (at right) that follows the ridge for bit, then uses the E face (other side) and ridge to finish. - Mount Packenham
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The steep west aspect of Packenham with some of Mount Hood visible to the right and it was taken from Hood Creek where it crosses Hwy 40. Mount Packenham forms the north end of the Opal Range and although I do not know about any routes on this face, the rock quality looks pretty good. The south face also looks very impressive from the summit of Hood. - Elpoca Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The south aspect of Elpoca Mountain from the Highwood Meadows Trail. The summit is visible and is the highest point that can be seen in the distance behind the lower south end. This side of the mountain is a perfect example of the thrusting where the strata was tilted upwards with soft layers between hard layers. The result was the pinaccle effect where the soft layer erodes and leaves gaps between the hard layers. The Big Elbow Trail goes up the valley between Elpoca and the slopes at the right, and Hwy 40 runs up the valley in the foreground that runs east to west (or west to east). Highwood Pass is out of the picture to the right. - Elpoca Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The huge Elpoca Mountain from the lower SE flank of Mount Indefatigable. Gap Mountain is the smaller peak visible in front of Elpoca, and the Kananaskis valley is the area below. - Mount Evan-Thomas
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The two summits of Mount Evan-Thomas from the west end of Lower Kananaskis Lake. Without getting up between Packenham and Evan-Thomas this is pretty much the best view of its west side that can be found in the Kananaskis valley. Although not the most visible and impressive it is the highest and most prominent peak in the Opal Range, having a prominence of 1010 m above Elbow Pass, with Mount Rae as its line parent. If you really wanted to stand on top of the Opal Range you need only climb this peak. - Storm Mountain (Kananaskis)
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The south/southwest aspect of Storm (Kananaskis)under late afternoon light taken from Highway 40. The East Ridge scrambling route detailed in Alan Kane's guidebook is approached by the valley below the subsummit on the right (to the right of the saddle between it and main summit). It ascends to the subsummit then drops down onto a ledge on the east face until the final portion of the ridge is reached going up towards the summit. At that point it comes back onto the ridge proper and gains the summit. My friend and I pushed a good hard scramble straight up the face just right of the summit that consisted of solid slabs separated by horizontal ledges of small tight scree. I would highly recommend that face to anyone, no loose rock except the tight scree. - Storm Mountain (Kananaskis)
Photo by Amy Presse, uploaded by Kevin Altheim
My wife took this photo from the trail to Highwood Meadows pass and it shows the west aspect of the mountain with a dusting of early fall snow. The left skyline visible is the route followed by Rick Collier on his first recorded traverse of Storm and Arethusa, with Arethusa out of the picture to the left. Rick is well known around these parts as he was the first to climb all 11,000ft peaks in the Canadian Rockies by going overland (no air support), he climbed all the peaks in the Southern Rockies listed in the 1973 edition of the guidebook, and has climbed over 1000 mountains. - Howse Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The northeast aspect of Howse Peak from Highway 93 along Waterfowl Lake. The northeast buttress descends from the summit towards the camera and was ascended in 1967 by Don Vockeroth, Lloyd MacKay, and Ken Baker. It has a grade of V 5.8 A0 and at its time was the most difficult route in the Rockies. The north face has the hanging glacier, and was ascended by W. Robinson and Barry Blanchard in 1988. The difficult route carries a grade of VI 5.9 A3. It starts up the buttress, then heads onto the face at the snow ledges. It then heads for the left end of the glacier, then straight up the face to gain the ridge to the right of the summit. For more information on these routes consult Sean Dougherty's Selected Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies. There have been some hard winter routes put up on the East face which is the face left of NE buttress. "Life By The Drop" is graded VI W15+, "M-16" is graded VI W17+ A2, and "Howse of Cards" is graded VI W16X M7. - Mount Chephren
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The steep east aspect of Mount Chephren from Highway 93 along Waterfowl Lake. The prominent East face is home to two extreme Alpine Climbing routes. The East Face route ( V 5.9 A1 ) starts at the scree pile at the base of the face (scree pile is behind the tallest tree to the left of the middle of the picture). It then ascends the prominent right slanting ribs to the first major snow ledge. From there it basically goes straight up the face. The Wild Thing ( VI 5.9 A3 W4 ) starts at the right slanting snow slope at the base of the face in the middle of the picture. It goes straight up the buttress to its top, then trends leftward straight up the face. For more information on these routes consult Sean Dougherty's Selected Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies. The mountain can also be scrambled on its south slopes. There is also a new/recent route on the left side of the face which a friend informed me about in Dec/02 (thanks Drew). The route was put up by Raphael Slawinski and Jeff Nazarchuk and is graded V 5.8. It is described in the 2001 AAJ. - Mount Chephren
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the East face of Mt. Chephren from the Icefields Parkway. There are two extreme alpine routes on this face. Starting from the lower left of the face, you should be able to see a 55 degree (approx) gully that trends to the right up the face. The East face route ( V 5.9 A1 ) follows the edge of this then up onto the small black triangular face at the top of it. From there it basically goes straight up through the summit rock bands. At the base of the face in the middle of the picture you should be able to see a large cone shaped buttress. To its left there is a couloir filled with snow and ice. The Wild Thing ( VI 5.9 A3 W4 ) goes up the buttress on the left side of the couloir and then comes out at the top of the couloir. From there it follows the right trending gully up into the middle of the face, then goes straight up through the rock bands. There is also a new/recent route on the left side of the face which a friend informed me about in Dec/02 (thanks Drew). The route was put up by Raphael Slawinski and Jeff Nazarchuk and is graded V 5.8. It is described in the 2001 AAJ. - Mount Jerram
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A distant view of Mount Jerram and the Opal Range from Mount Lawson. Unfortunately I do not have a better closer view yet. Mount Jerram is the pointy summit about 1 inch from the left edge with the long aesthetic ridge going right from the summit (there is a large gap to the right of Jerram). It has a good hard route on the west face and ridge which is that ridge going right from the summit. Mount Burney is the peak to the left of Jerram, Mount Wintour is the long peak in front of Jerram, and Elpoca Mountain is the large mountain behind the right end of Wintour. Gap Mountain is visible near the right edge on the same line as Wintour. - Mount Sparrowhawk
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The east side of Mount Sparrowhawk taken from Highway 40. The east and north sides of Sparrowhawk are comprised of very steep cliffs, quite a contrast the west slopes which are low angled scree slopes and serve as the scramble route. The scramble route itself is on the west slopes on the other side of the mountain, but it tops out at the saddle to the left of the summit, then heads left up the slopes that face the camera to gain the summit. - Mount Sparrowhawk
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The south/southeast aspect of Mount Sparrowhawk with full late spring snow cover taken from the Spray Lakes Road. It's no wonder that some wanted to put a ski hill up there. There was a plan at one time to make Sparrowhawk the site of the 1988 Winter Olympics skiing events. However, with more research they found out there is never enough snow and at times extremely windy up there. This view is rare, even in mid-winter there is rock visible on the south aspect and scree slopes as much of the snow in places is blown away by the wind. - Mount Murray
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The southest aspect Mount Murray in excellent winter light conditions taken from the Spray Lakes Road. Pretty rare to have lighting conditions like this but I was lucky to be up that way this day, and the light and view angle really made Murray look impressive. - Mount Murray
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The northeast aspect of Mount Murray taken from the Spray Lakes Road. The scrambling route for Murray starts at the col between Murray and CEGNFS which is visible at the right. From the col it essentially follows the ridge to just below the summit block, then from there it goes around the south side of the mountain to gain the summit just to the left of its highest point. - Mount Engadine
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The entire SW side of Mount Engadine take from the Watridge Lake Trailhead. If not for Kane's scrambles book, Engadine would hardly be ascended at all, because it is a brutal slog on mostly steep scree and scree covered slabs. The route itself starts as brutal bushwhacking up the treed slopes at the left edge to gain the area below the ridge proper near the left edge. On our approach we did not feel like the bushwhacking, so we followed Buller Pass trail to the backside of Engadine and found a reasonably clear gully to make it up the backside to gain the small notch at the left edge. From there the more difficult option is to gain the ridge and follow it proper, or traverse below the ridge, but we chose to traverse below as there was snow and cornice along the ridge still. From there we traversed upwards to the left to gain the V shaped area below and left of the summit, at the top of the huge gully, then went up a line generally along the darker band of rock to the summit. At that time there was a repeater on the summit and it was open but the equipment was not active, so we went and sat inside to escape the wind. Because it had been such a long day so far we wanted off the mountain, but made the mistake of descending the gully trending right from the summit. It was a long slog down and once at the bottom, we had to bushwhack across the entire mountain the gain the Buller Pass trail, which believe it or not was an easier option than bushwhacking directly to Spray Lakes Road. Although a long day at 9 hours it was a good demanding ascent, nobody else was seen, and the views were stellar. - Mount Engadine
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the SW aspect and NW ridge of Mount Engadine in an attractive light from the Buller Pond Parking Area. Took this picture after we parked the car on our way to scramble up Mount Engadine. The scrambling route starts up Buller Pass trail then after approx 20 minutes goes into the bush and heads straight up to the NW ridge. You can see a wide avalanche path that starts 1/3 way up the lower NW end, try to go up that, it makes for less bushwacking. Once you make the NW ridge follow it all of the way to the top. There is some difficulty and exposure on lower NW ridge. Descend the same way, do not descend to the South SW. We thought it looked closer, but makes for some brutal bush wacking back across the mountain or straight to the road. - Mount Engadine
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Grovelling up the scree slopes on the upper portion of the northwest ridge scrambling route. The best part of the scramble, and the crux, is the lower portion of the northwest ridge below the figure. The route goes directly along the crest of the ridge above the airy northeast side. Once you reach the point where the ridge meets the scree again, the rest of the ascent is a grovel. Although possibly removed since, the summit was host to a repeater. Buller Pond and the parking area can be seen in the upper left just south of the Spray Lakes Road. - Mount Engadine
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The panorama southwest from the summit of Mount Engadine. Starting from the left you can see Mount French, French Glacier, Mount Robertson, Robertson Glacier, Mount Sir Douglas, Whistling Ridge, The Royal Group (behind Whistling Ridge), Commonwealth Peak, Pigs Tail (Sharks Tooth), Mount Birdwood, and finishing on the right, Mount Smuts. Mount Burstall is the small mountain in front of and directly below the summit of Sir Douglas. - The Tower
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The northwest aspect of The Tower taken from the summit of Mount Engadine. The Tower is the unofficial name for the huge peak between Galatea and Engadine. The thrust sheets typical of the Kananaskis Range comprise the whole peak, and can be seen in the peaks in the background as the same layers. Mount Galatea is barely peeking out behind The Tower to the right of middle, and Mount Chester is the knob shaped summit near the left edge in the distance behind the ridge extending west from Galatea. The scrambling route up The Tower is on the other side of the mountain on the southwest/south slopes. - The Tower
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The south slopes of The Tower from the summit of Mount Galatea. I scrambled up the Tower using the S slopes that face the camera, mentioned in the the scrambles guidebook from Kane. It is similar in nature to Mount Galatea except Galatea is much more difficult in the top portion. As with Galatea, the best bet is to find and follow whatever solid portions of the rock ribs that manage to still protrude from the scree. Descent is slow as the slopes are mixed ribs and different sizes of scree at steep angles. - The Tower
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The south aspect of The Tower taken from Rummel Lake. Although not very "Tower Like", The Tower is the unoffical local name for a high peak that sits directly northwest of Mount Galatea. The summit is the high point with the 2 vertical snow bands near the top and from the valley the scrambling route follows the slopes below the summit, with several variations possible. For those wanting to scramble this peak this picture will provide a good profile of the route. - Mount Hood
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Not the closest shot but this does show a good view of Mount Hood and some of the other peaks of the Opal Range, taken from the summit of Mount Lawson. Hood is the peak second from the left and its scrambling route generally follows the right skyline. Mount Packenham is the first peak from the left, then going left from Hood is Mount Brock then Mount Blane with the large steep west face. Looking at Mount Brock one can clearly see those clean limestone slabs below the west rib (right skyline. - Mount Hood
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the west side of Mount Hood from where Hood Creek crosses Highway 40. Mount Hood is a good scramble which affords excellent views, particularly of the south face of Packenham and the north aspect of Brock. The route itself starts from the valley in front of it then goes up the west slopes to gain the col between Hood and Brock (out of picture to right). From the col it basically follows the S Ridge (right skyline), or little below the ridge where it is too narrow for unroped scrambling. - Eiffel Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A view of Eiffel Peak from the upper portion of the easy route up Mount Temple, at the yellow bands. Eiffel is the peak almost at the center of the photo, with the obvious separated tower to its right which is the Eiffel Tower. Pinnacle Mountain is the peak to the right of Eiffel which is closer. Pinnacle Mountain is the has a storied climbing history in which a large metal spike and hemp rope was used during the ascent. The same historical route is a popular Alpine Climb with some sections of Class 5 rock that is detailed in Dougherty's Classic Climbs of the Canadian Rockies. However, I heard from a friend who climbed it that the hemp rope is no longer there. - Mount Nestor
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Mount Nestor from the NE looking very impressive in excellent winter light conditions, with rare rime snow and ice present on the upper E Face and Ridge. A vantage from the NE gives a unique perspective of the "classic" E Ridge Route which descends leftwards from the summit, and the snow (or lack of) really shows how steep the forgotten N face (below and right of summit) of Nestor is. In my many travels along the Spray Lakes Road I always noted this vantage point from the NE and had a glance. Whether winter or summer, I myself have never seen the mountain look this impressive so a pic was a must. - Mount Nestor
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good closeup of the E Face and the aesthetic E Ridge of Mount Nestor in excellent winter light conditions. Believe it or not that is encrusted rime snow and ice up there and is something which is quite rare around these parts, especially on a peak below 3000m, and in a light snowfall winter like this season. The "classic" E Ridge route acsends the cliffs and watercourse at middle right to gain the steep plateau area below the face. From there it follows the main ridge right to the top. I myself have scrambled up Nestor in the days when you could still camp for free on the west side but that road has since been gated at the official campground. - Mount Nestor
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Mount Nestor from the south taken from the Spray Lakes Road. The scrambling route goes up the steep slopes to the left of prominent gully to reach a small sub peak, or directly up the gully itself. However, the gully has lots of scree, whereas the slopes to the left are more solid and provide better going. Once at the subpeak, it trends straight up and to the right to gain the ridge and summit. The grade II 5.5 Alpine route starts on the slopes below the skyline at the right of the picture. It then ascends a cliff band to gain the prominent snow covered slope and the base of the east ridge proper. From the base of the ridge at the top of the snow slope, is follows the ridge (right skyline) to the summit. - Mount Warspite
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good closeup of the NE face of Mount Warspite in winter conditions taken from the Spray Lakes Road. Pretty rare to get light and clear conditions like this so while out doing the Spray Lakes circuit on our way to Banff with our sons Amy and I were sure to snap some good pics. While going through it brought back many good memories of my hiking and scrambling along the Spray Lakes road, gotta love the mountains! Those ice streaks visible are climbed by local ice climbers when they form, but there are no official Alpine routes on the face that I know of. - Mount Warspite
Photo by Kevin Altheim
An impressive view of Warspite taken from the east on Highway 40. From this angle you get a better feeling of how steep the northeast face is. The left skyline is part of a ridge traverse from Indefatigable and Invincible which are out the picture to the left. The scrambling route is not visible. - Mount Invincible
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The north side of Mount Invincible from the Spray Lakes Road. The mountain is usually ascended along the entire ridge visible on a traverse route from Mount Indefatigable to Mount Warspite. - Mount Bourgeau
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A photo of the east side of Mount Bourgeau at left in the winter taken from the summit of Sulphur Mountain. - Mount Lawson
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The summit of Mount Lawson taken from the ridge directly above the east slopes. From here it is an easy to the summit, and you can see some of the path in the scree. - Mount Inflexible
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The east face of Mount Inflexible from Highway 40. Although it appears very steep from certain angles, the amount of snow on the face shows it is not that steep for the most part. The east ridge at the left hand side of the face can be climbed but the rock quality is not the best. It can also be scambled from the ridge in the background at left (Mount Lawson) up the west slopes which are not visible. - Mount Inflexible
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the sunlit east face of Inflexible in the Winter from the north, and the east ridge near the left end of the fact can be climbed but the rock quality is not the best. - Mount James Walker
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The northeast face of Mount James Walker from the Fortress Ski Hill road. The normal scrambling routes on the mountain are on the other (south) side but this face presents good Alpine climbing opportunities but I am unsure of any routes on this side. The slops at left would also make for a good hard scramble. - Mount James Walker
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The northeast aspect of James Walker from Highway 40 giving a good view of the breadth of the peak. - Mount James Walker
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows Mount James Walker from the summit of The Fortress, with the main summit and summit block just above middle right. The Opal Range is visible in the distance from the left. - Mount Galatea
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the view southeast from the summit of Mount Galatea, and it gives an excellent profile of the consistent thrust of the Kananaskis Range. The peak with the dark face at left is The Fortress of which the face itself is approximately 700 metres high. The Opal Range is visible in the distance. - Mount Galatea
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the south slopes of Mount Galatea which is the peak in the middle. Gusty Peak is the one at left and The Tower is the one at right, and this picture gives one a good feel for the steep east faces that all three have, with Galatea being the largest. The scrambling routes on all of these mountains go up the south slopes of which the uppermost portions are visible. - Mount Galatea
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Gives an excellent view of the south slopes of Mount Galatea taken from the summit of Mount Chester. The scrambling goes up these slopes and there is plenty of room for variation, but the best bet is to find the solid part of the bit of the rock ribs that are exposed above the talus and scree. Once the route nears the flat part of the ridge right of the main summit block it becomes more difficult scrambling as it cross the rock bands to gain the narrow ridge then the summit. The Tower is the peak visible in the distace at middle, and the summit of Mount Engadine can be seen sticking out in the distance to the left of it. - Fortress, The
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows The Fortress on approach to the scramble route which goes up the right skyline then veers left below the summit rockband to gain an easy broken chimney. The main ridge is gained using the scree slopes with the large snow patch. Some of the south slopes of Gusty Peak are visible at left and the north ridge extension of Mount Chester is visible at right. - Windtower
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows Windtower taken from the Trans Canada Highway and it gives an excellent profile of the very steep north face, which overhangs for most of the upper portion. - Mount Brett
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good view of the east aspect of Mount Brett taken from the Trans Canada Highway past Banff just after it crosses the Bow River. It is the highest peak in the Massive Range and I still marvel at the corrugated folds of strata on the south face of the unamed peak which is in the foreground at right. - Mount Brett
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good winter view of the east aspect of Mount Brett taken from the summit of Sulphur Mountain. - Mount Buller
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the northwest aspect of Mount Buller taken from the Spray Lakes Road. This huge gully is the quickest approach up Buller and if timed right can be done on consolidated snow which makes for a great glissade down. The route goes up this gully to the col then generally follows the right skyline. This is not the normal scramble route as it approaches from Buller Pass Trail on the other side. - Mount Lougheed
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the main summit at left and the northwest summit at right, with the other 2 peaks of the massif out of the picture to the left. Because the northwest summit is most visible to people from the highway around Dead Man's Flats most mistake it for Mount Lougheed proper. All 4 peaks form an alpine route called the Lougheed Traverse and the northwest summit has a few other routes. There was also a serious, loose alpine route put up on the north face of the northwest summit which faces the camera but is not recommended by the first ascent party. The route is called The Warrior and is named in honor of Brian "BJ" Wallace who died on the original first attempt which was not completed. For more information that route is detailed in Bow Valley Rock guidebook and the Traverse in Selected Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies (Dougherty). - Pilot Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the east side of Pilot Mountain in winter from the summit of Sulphur Mountain. Copper Mountain is visible in distance to the right. - Pilot Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The northeast side of Pilot Mountain as viewed from the Trans Canada Highway. - Mount Smuts
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the northeast aspect of Mount Smuts in late winter from the Spray Lakes Road. The scrambling route is the south ridge which is the left skyline, and it essentially follows the ridge or just below it on the other side to the summit. - Mount Smuts
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows Mount Smuts from the summit of Mount Galatea. Commonwealth Creek is the valley below and left and is used as the approach to the south ridge scrambling route, which is the left skyline of Smuts. - Gusty Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the south slopes of Gusty Peak from the summit of Mount Chester. The scrambling route goes up the scree slopes left of the summit then veers right to gain the ridge, then the summit. Mount Galatea is visible in the distance at left, and the pyramid summit block of Mount Bogart is in the distance directly behind the summit of Gusty. Mount Sparrowhawk is to the left of Bogart. - Gusty Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the southeast aspect of Gusty Peak from The Fortress. This photo shows how the east side is quite steep and how the south side is comprised of scree slopes. The south slopes scrambling route comes up the scree slope from the bottom left to the summit ridge just left of the summit. For those interested Mount Assiniboine can be seen in the distance to the left of the summit. - Gusty Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the northwest aspect of Gusty from the summit of Mount Galatea. The summit is at middle left above the large slab with snow on its right side, and this shows how this whole side is comprised of the solid smooth slabs from the thrusting that formed the Kananaskis Range. The Fortress and its large steep east face are visible behind Gusty at left, and Mount Chester is visible at the right. It is important to note that there is a valley between Gusty and The Fortress/Mount Chester which should make it easier to pick out the whole massif of Gusty. - Mount Peechee
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the northwest aspect of Peechee from the Trans Canada Highway near the old Banff airport. It is a large mountain with several sub summits but the true summit is the pointy knob in the distance above the large cliffband. - Mount Inglismaldie
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the southwest aspect of Inglismaldie from the Trans Canada Highway near the old airport. The moderate scrambling route goes up the slopes facing the camera but is hardly done as the Fairholme range is off limits to protect a valuable wildlife corridor and against the prescribed burns to try to kill the large mountain pine beetle infestation. You can see some of the red (dead) discolored trees that have been killed by the beetles. - Mount Girouard
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the west aspect of Girouard from the Trans Canada Highway near the old airport. The normal route is a difficult scramble via the left skyline which is the northwest ridge. - Mount Ishbel
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The south aspect of Mount Ishbel from a pullout on the Trans Canada Highway. The right skyline is the south ridge and it is low 5th class with most parties roping up in some places, and the descent is down the east face through gullies. Those steep cliffs at the left end and very smooth and there must be some rock routes up there. - Mount Ishbel
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good side view of Mount Ishbel taken from the south on the Trans Canada Highway. This view gives one a good feel of the standard "sawteeth" pinaccles that characterize peaks in the Sawtooth Range. The south ridge standard route follows the right skyline. - Mount Ishbel
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good view of Mount Ishbel taken from the west on Highway 93 near Vermillion Pass. The standard route is the right skyline. This angle gives one a better perspective of the steep cliffs at the north end of the mountain (directly below the summit in the pic). - Mount Patterson
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The steep east face of Patterson from the Icefields Parkway showing the upper hanging glaciers and the tongue of the Snowbird Glacier. The Snowbird Glacier clings to the east face of Patterson and forms a prominent ice tongue which descends from the upper bowl to the bottom of the face. You can see the U-shaped terminal moraine at the bottom of the picture which shows its extent. A Grade IV 5.6 Alpine route goes right up the middle of the glacier tongue to the upper bowl. From there it heads up the rock face to the prominent snow ledge, then traverses right to ascend the rock on the left side of the glacier. It then heads up to the left to traverse along the right edge of the hanging glacier high on the left side of the east face then the summit. - Mount Hungabee
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the huge east face and Horseshoe glacier of Mount Hungabee from the summit of Mount Temple. The small peak attached to Hungabee to the right is Ringrose Peak, and the slopes at right are part of Mount Lefroy. - Mount Lawrence Grassi
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the east aspect of Lawrence Grassi from Canmore, with the main summit just sticking out from above the wall in the foreground at right. The shadowed cliff at the left end with the aesthetic ridge line is called Ships Prow, and there is a good rock route up that line. - Cathedral Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the northeast aspect of Cathedral Mountain from Narao Peak. The main summit is at centre and the sub peak of the Cathedral Crags is the square shaped summit block at right. A good eye can pick out the top of Mount Stephen in the distance between the Crags and the Summit Proper. - Cathedral Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the Cathedral Crags and the Main summit of Cathedral Mountain behind the Crags just right of center, and it was taken from Paget Peak. - Cockscomb Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the west side of Cockscomb Mountain from the Trans Canada Highway. The leftmost summit is the higher one but the rightmost peak contains more of the "sawteeth" pinnacles typical of the Sawback Range. One other note of interest are the dead trees along the slops going left from the lower right edge. Those have died due to a small infestation of the Mountain Pine Beetle which they stopped by burning the trees in a prescribed burn. - Cockscomb Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the lower south peak of Cockscomb from the Trans Canada Highway. One note of interest for rock climbers if The Finger, which is the leftmost slab visible but all of those slabs have rock routes on them. - Mount Farnham
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A view into Farnham Basin on the east side of the mountain showing the old terminal glacier that occupies it. The upper half of the steep east face and the Farnham Tower are not visible due to low clouds. This picture was taken from the Red Line Creek branch of the McDonald Creek Road. Note the huge avalanche swath on the right side. - Mount Farnham
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the impressive peaks that surround the headwaters of McDonald Creek. Mount Farnham and the Farnham Tower are obvious at the right and this shows the scale of its huge east face. The upper part of Mount Hammond can be seen in the distance to the right of the Farnham Tower, and Mount Peter is the other peak with a large east face directly left of Mount Farnham. The heavily Glaciated north face of Mount Delphine is visible at the head of the valley, and Red Line Peak is near the left edge, and has a few hanging glaciers on its north face. - Mount Rae
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the entire Rae Massif from southwest on the summit of Storm Mountain. The south ridge is the left skyline and the small peak at middle left is Mount Arethusa, another popular difficult scramble in the highwood pass area. - Mist Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The west/southwest aspect of Mist Mountain which is a big mountain that is even steeper on the east side and usually retains snow well into the summer. Although not part of the Opal Range, Mist has the same type of thrusting where soft layers sandwiched between hard layers were thrusted almost near vertical. The soft layer then erodes leaving the hard layers to appear as pinaccles. The mountain itself can be scrambled along the NW ridge which is the left sklyine, or the SW ridge which is the right skyline, the SW ridge being more difficult. The NW scramble route typically comes up the grass slopes that start at lower middle to the top of the knob. It thens goes onto the face pretty much straight upward to gain the ridge, then follows along or just below it to the summit. - Mist Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This picture provides a unique view of Mist showing the east face and very loose south face (downwards and left from the summit) which is the easiest way up the mountain. The view is from the highpoint of the Pickle Jar Lakes Trail. - Mount Niblock
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good view of Mount Niblock at right and Mount Whyte at left from Mount Fairview. The scrambling route of Niblock comes up from the valley and basin below then ascends the rock bands and ribs to gain the ridge at the left end of the summit block. From there many options are available and when we scrambled it the normal ramp had too much snow so we went up a steep chimney then had difficult scrambling along the ridge crest. We did it in September with lots of snow and that gave the difficult scramble a slight Alpine feeling. - Mount Wintour
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The entire length of Wintour compressed into a view down the ridge from the N, showing the entire N ridge to the summit. - Mount Yamnuska
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This photo was taken from the base of the cliff and shows the view looking east along the face. This should give people a good feel for how steep the face is. - Mount Fable
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the Southeast Ridge route up Mount Fable and it was taken at the base of it. For those wanting to climb the SE ridge route, this picture should give an excellent profile of it. The route starts just out of the picture to the left and trends rightwards up the buttress towards the smoother slab clearly visible. From above the slab it continues rightwards to gain the base of the SE ridge proper which trends upwards to the left. From there the steep and exposed ridge is followed to near the summit, where you detour to the right to ascend several pitches of slabs. - Mount Kidd
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows both Mount Kidd North Peak (left) and Mount Kidd South Peak (right) and was taken from the summit of Mount Bogart. - Mount Kidd
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the South Peak of the Mount Kidd Massif and you can see the North Peak sticking out in the background to the right of the South Peak summit (middle right). Mount Bogart is the prominent pyramid shaped peak to the left of Kidd South, and Mount Lougheed is visible in the distance to the left of Bogart. The scramble route up Kidd South goes up the slopes facing the camera (lots of variation possible) to gain the ridge, then the summit. - Mount Kidd
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the massive Z-Shaped Fold of Mount Kidd South Peak and it was taken from Highway 40. The southeast end of Mount Kidd South Peak is quite spectacular, consisting of a massive Z-Shaped Fold and steep cliffs. There are established rock climbing routes on the vertical portion of the "Z", and at Kidd Falls, which can be seen at the base of the "Z" in the middle of the picture, still frozen. - Mount Kidd
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows a seasonal waterfall flowing out of the upper bowl of Mount Kidd North Peak and it was taken on the scramble route just below the point where it gains the upper Bowl. There was quite a bit of snow left over in the upper bowl, which is the source of this seasonal waterfall and it can be seen from Highway 40 if running. The scrambling route follows to the right of the waterfall and you can see a figure at the top of the falls. At that point you enter into the upper bowl and slopes of Mount Kidd North Peak. - Mount Kidd
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows Mount Kidd North in the winter, and was taken from the north on Highway 40. I scrambled up Kidd North Peak in my younger days and about half way up the steep bowl it started to rain heavily. My partner aborted and I continued in my shorts and T-shirt to the summit, which was covered with summer snow. Found a broken golf club stuck in the register, go figure! - Mount Glasgow
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This the west face and ridge (left skyline) of Mount Glasgow and was taken from the Glasgow-Cornwall col. The scrambling route gains the west ridge above the cliff bands then generally follows it all of the way to the summit. The southwest ridge can be seen directly above the col and is the ridge used if you traverse from Glasgow to Cornwall. Took this picture on a scramble up Mount Cornwall. We gained the west ridge then came straight across the west face to the col. We descended down the drainage to the left of the col below the cliff bands on the west face of Glasgow. - Mount Glasgow
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the southeast aspect of Mount Glasgow and to the left the east face of Mount Cornwall with the infamous snowpatch that can sometimes last well into late summer, and sometimes all year. It was taken low on the east ridge scramble route. The deep glacier carved Cornwall Cirque can also be seen below the snow patch. - Mount Glasgow
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows Mount Glasgow from Mount Cornwall with the long east ridge extending to the right and the southwest ridge facing the camera. The west ridge is the left skyline and is one of the scrambling routes, with the east ridge being the other. This picture was taken while descending Cornwall after plenty of late spring snow fell. 1 week before this there was hardly any snow on the face except for the infamous snowpatch. - Mount Victoria
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows a good view of Mount Victoria from Mount Fairview. The south summit is the highest and can be seen in the middle of the picture along the ridge. The north peak is to the right at the end of the ridge. There is a grade II Alpine route that starts at Abbot Pass which follows the entire ridge line, one the Rockies' most classic ridge routes. There is another route that starts on the glacier below the north peak, gets up below the east face proper, then goes straight up the face to the South Summit. The north face has a route up the North Glacier, which can be seen left of the north summit. - Mount Tyrwhitt
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the steep northeast face of Tyrwhitt and was taken from Tyrwhitt Basin while hunting for fossils. Mount Tyrwhitt is an enjoyable moderate scramble which affords excellent views of the Misty Range and Elk Valley. If you are up the Highwood Pass way try this one out. The Rock Arch that you pass along the scramble is clearly visible at the middle left along the flatter area just below the summit ridge, and Grizzly col is just out of the picture to the left. The basin below Tyrwhitt is an excellent place to find fossils. In fact, the day Amy and I were up there with our son Brydon we found several excellent pieces of rock with Tube Corals in them and horn corals. - Big Sister
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the southwest slopes of the Big Sister which are home to the moderate scrambling route and was taken from the parking area off of the Smith-Dorrien Spray Lakes Road. Big Sister is the highest peak in a well known group of mountains, the Three Sisters and I scrambled the Big Sister in June of 1993. The popular scrambling route heads up the forested ridge line on the left, then once at the treeline follows the NW ridge to the high point visible to the left of the pinnacle. From there you drop onto the NW slopes and then then follow them to gain the summit, which is not visible. Once at the treeline, continuing straight up the ridge is the harder alternative and looks quite steep (not as steep as it looks). The easier alternative is to find a "keyhole" chimney just above the treeline and go down that onto the low angled slabs and scree of the SW slopes proper. The downclimb onto the NW slope is more difficult scrambling and seems to stop many parties here as the sweeping NW slopes can be intimidating, especially if any snow lingers. The day we went up 2 parties were turned back here. - Big Sister
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Uri (Trevor Urichuk) doing the classic pointer towards the final portion of the scramble on the NW face. This picture is from the middle of the crux pitch and from here you descend onto the face, then head upwards toward the right between the 2 lower snow bands. At the top of the lower snowband on the right, you cross over and ascend along the top of the upper snow band on the right if present. If not present, it would be on rock of course. From the top of that snowband you head straight up to the ridgeline and go left to the summit proper. - Big Sister
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This picture was taken 1/3 of the way back up the crux pitch and gives a good profile of the crux pitch which provides access from the ridge onto the steeper NW face and it seems to deter some parties. It looks intimidating, but the rock is solid and the holds plentiful making for an excellent descent and ascent on the way back down. The Big Sister is a highly recommended scramble with virtually no approach which leaves you climbing as soon as soon as you leave your vehicle. It is a popular scramble, and the day we went up a party was just behind us and pushing fast. However, they almost turned back at the keyhole chimney you must descend to gain the W slopes, and from the summit we saw them at the top of the crux pitch, but they turned back. - Big Sister
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This picture is important because this is the spot where some parties end up turning around. From this vantage the lower portion of the NW ridge looks very steep, and the actual route drops down the "keyhole" chimney to the SW slopes proper. The "keyhole" chimney is just ahead of the figures in the photograph. Many parties miss it and retreat as the ridge looks very steep. We went down the "keyhole" but descended down the ridge and found it was not that steep after all. If you are a confident scrambler the ridge poses no difficulties. Whether you tackle the ridge head on or drop onto the SW slopes, once you top out the ridge it is followed to the right to the high point where you must drop down onto the NW slopes. - Mount Temple
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The east half of the East Face of Mount Temple with the Tower of Babel appearing superimposed. Although much less appealing from a climbing point of view, and much less photographed, this face is impressive none-the-less. This picutre is worthwhile as it shows the East Ridge which is essentially the right skyline and the Classic East Ridge Route follows it, with the Black Towers clearly visible. That route is featured in Roper and Stecks "Fifty Classic Climbs of North America". The Tower of Babel is scrambled from this side, and the Lower Consolation Lake is visible at the lower right. - Mount Whymper
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The steep brooding cliffs on the east/northeast apsect of Mount Whymper. This is definitely the least photographed side of Whymper. - Stanley Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the The North Face of Stanley Peak from the valley on the Stanley Glacier Trail. The Kahl route (Grade III) goes directly up the snow and ice just left of the summit. It is a popular route and on many occasions I have seen people on it while driving by on the Hwy. Most of the route is visible except for a bit of the lower portion just above the glacier. - Stanley Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The extremely steep east aspect of the Guard Wall. I did not know this wall was named but found Guard Wall in Graeme Pole's Canadian Rockies Superguide. However, a friend emailed me and noted that this is called the Stanley Headwall by most people. It was taken from the Stanley Glacier Trail. I was reading in Graeme Pole's Canadian Rockies Superguide that the wall is about 700m high, and the dark streaks visible on the wall are water seeps which in the winter attract ice climbers. As you come up the Stanley Glacier Trail you walk below the Guard Wall for at about 1km. The wall is incredibly steep and a friend emailed me with some route information. There is one rock route on it put up by Raphael Slawinski and Marcus Norman called "The Incredible Loneliness of the Man Without Hands". It is 10 pitches long with a grade of 5.10+ and the rock is reportedly excellent, all natural pro (no bolts, good cracks). - Mount Ball
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the the prominent east face of Mount Ball from the summit of Pilot Mountain. Shadow Lake can be seen below the east face and the subpeak to the right of Ball is Beatrice Peak, and to the right of Beatrice across the valley and glacier is Stanley Peak. - Mount Ball
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The Ice Tongue (c. 2004) which flows down from a pocket glacier on the ridge that extends W from Mount Ball. Mount Ball South Peak is the rounded glacier-covered peak above the pocket glacier. This picture was taken from Ball Basin on approach to the scramble route. This is one of the more impressive ice tongues and streams of ice drainage I have seen. Essentially the glacier flows from the summit of Mount Ball South Peak, down into the pocket basin, then down into Ball Basin proper via the tongue, then disperses via the old West Ball Glacier. I have no knowledge of using this tongue and glacier as a route up Ball, but this tongue is much safer than the tongue of the Snowbird Glacier on Mount Patterson, and probably almost as long. It would make for a great Alpine Route. From the picture you can see that the old West Ball glacier occupies the back of the basin, then drops into a trench which is approximately 20-30 m deep. The glacier ends pretty much after meeting the bottom of the trench, but the trench continues for about 800-1000 m down the valley to a point where it is lower than the top of the upper valley. At that point the creek disappears underground only to appear to the west of the headwall separating the lower valley from the upper valley and Ball Basin. My best guess is it flows undergound for at least one km. - Mount Ball
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The southwest face of Beatrice Peak taken from Ball Basin on approach to the scrambling route. Beatrice Peak is the unofficial name for a subpeak attached to Ball to the west. It can be ascended on the southwest slopes that face the camera, and is the start of the scrambling route up Mount Ball. From here you drop into the basin and approach the scree pile at the bottom of the face. There are 2 possible ascent lines. One can be made up the 45 degree gully that starts at the centre of the picture and angles upward to gain the west ridge left of the summit. The other line goes right from the gully up the scree to gain the base of the cliff band that runs along the entire face. It ascends through the band at the obvious weakness/gully where the scree slopes that are left of the summit pinch out. Once on the scree slopes, the summit is to the left, or some bypass Beatrice and head to the right to continue onto Ball. - Mount Ball
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The southwest face of Mount Ball at middle right taken from Ball Basin on approach to the scrambling route, and Beatrice peak is just out of the picture to the left. Note the size of the moraine at the middle right edge which was most likely a medial moraine between two sheets of ice that extended from each side of the valley. There had to be a glacier on this side of the Moraine as there is plenty of Karst Pavement present with deep cracks eroded in it. You can also see the ice tongue that descends from the glaciated south ridge of Ball at the right above the moraine. - Storm Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the long and steep east face of Storm Mountain (Vermilion) from the summit of Pilot Mountain. The right skyline of Storm is the aesthetic East Ridge, which has a grade III 5.6 Alpine route and there are also other routes on the east face. There are a set of lakes called Twin Lakes that are nestled below the summit and east face of Storm which are not visible. These lakes can be accessed using the Gibbon Pass trail that comes out of Redearth Creek to the lakes. Gibbon Pass is below the ridge at the left end of the mountain. - Mount Bourgeau
Photo by Kevin Altheimf, uploaded by Kevin Altheim
The east aspect of Mount Bourgeau taken from the Trans Canada Highway. The main summit block is composed of massive horizontal strata which looks like it was pushed straight upwards. Because of its location above the point where the Bow Valley turns to the northeast it usually gets large accumulations of snow and typically retains it into the summer months. - Mount Burstall
Photo by Peter Weinacht, uploaded by Kevin Altheim
Shows me descending the crux step of the final crux pitch. This is the crux step just above the broken slabs of the gully and the point at which you are overlooking the airy east face. The rock is reasonably solid and this step and the final crux pitch provide for an exciting finish to an excellent scramble, highly recommended. - Mount Chester
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows Mount Chester from the summit of The Fortress. This is a more unique view of Chester as most pictures are of the southwest side from the approach trail or from Chester Lake. The mountain stands on its own, connected by a ridge to the Fortress with 341m of prominence. - Mount Hector
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows Mount Hector, a large prominent that looms over the Bow Valley northwest of Lake Louise. It was taken from the summit of Fairview Mountain. You can also see the Icefields Parkway snaking its way up the valley past Hector. - Mount Hector
Photo by Peter Weinacht, uploaded by Kevin Altheim
This shows the North Glacier Route with The summit of Mount Hector to the right of the col. The North Glacier route is a popular Grade II summer climb and winter ski ascent. From here the standard route heads across the glacier to the col, then the summit. We wanted to avoid some crevasse systems so we went straight ahead to just below the ridge line. We then went back on to the steeper upper portion of the glacier and made the col. From there a short Ice/Rock section leads to a narrow snow ledge above a steep snow slope. The ledge is traversed to the right. Once at the end of the ledge a short climb up the rock gains the summit. - Mount Lady MacDonald
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the southwest aspect of Lady MacDonald and was taken from Canmore. I have been up Lady MacDonald twice and it is mostly hiking except for the final ridge. The second time there was some serious static electricity on the summit block and summit from a major storm approaching from the north. My hair was standing up and the stick in the cairn was buzzing. Did not stay long on the summit and after descending the groove and starting the traverse below the summit ridge it began raining. - Mount Delphine
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The south side of Mount Delphine from the air. Delphine Glacier sits in a huge basin below the southeast face and forms an Icefall sitting at the top of the cliffs above Delphine Creek. There is also a glacier with several small hanging tongues on the upper face. The ridge extending from the right is the west ridge of Red Line Peak. The glacier can be approached by a trail the goes up to a point near the icefall, then heads up the obvious gully to the right then up the gentle snow covered slopes at the right edge. - Mount Romulus
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The southeast aspect of Mount Romulus from Mount Glasgow. The scrambling route up Romulus starts at the base of the southwest shoulder (lower left) of the mountain, then goes up a large gully system that is not visible to gain the saddle between the left end of the cliff face and the orange colored ridgeline that forms the west aspect of Romulus. From the saddle it generally follows near the cliff face to the summit. However, it is clear that most of the southeast aspect would make for a good probable line of ascent to gain the saddle if you want to leave the Little Elbow Trail early and ford the Elbow River. The pyramid shaped summit of Fisher Peak can also be seen directly behind the flat summit of Romulus. - Mount Blane
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good closeup view of the impressive W face of Mount Blane and the big hole taken from about 75m below the base of it and should give one a feel for the steepness of it. The huge gendarme on the right is called The Blade. - Mount Brock
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The entire West Rib of Mount Brock from the slopes below Mount Blane. There is an official route on the rib but in my opinion (non-technical climber) the whole face looks pretty clean, with lots of delicate water runnels visible in the binoculars. The entire face and rib to the left of the broken ground in the middle with the snow is the West Rib, and the SE Pillar of the West Rib is at the bottom of the rib in the middle of the picture. The Grade II 5.6 SE Pillar of West Rib goes along here and after double checking Selected Alpine Climbs (Dougherty) I can give a pretty good description. It starts at the base of the pillar on the left side and starts up the obvious corner, then near the top of the pillar goes out onto the W face of the rib along the corner where the tiny snow path is. From there it generally goes up to the top of the rib and pillar (along the corner and blank looking slab), upwards along the rib for bit, then cuts across the broken ground up to the right to gain the summit, which is to the right of pointy slab above the broken ground. - Mount Sparrowhawk
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The southeast aspect of Mount Sparrowhawk taken from the summit of Mount Bogart, and it is pretty rare to see snow in this area in July. The scrambling route up the west slopes comes up from the bottom left to gain the snow filled saddle to the left of the summit. It then contours around to the southwest slopes and goes up scree just to the right of the summit. The original ascent of the peak, the ESE ridge route, goes up the right skyline and aspect of the mountain. - Mount Sir Douglas
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the north face of Mount Sir Douglas with the Robertson Glacier below taken from the summit of Mount Burstall. The upper portion of the NW face can also be seen, of which is the finish for a Grade III Alpine climb, the NW face. The West ridge descends to the right. The East Ridge (III 5.6) can be seen rising from the Robertson/Douglas col. On the far left is the French Glacier with Mount Robertson the prominent peak between the 2 Glaciers. - The Tower
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Rummel Lake taken from the northeast shore of the lake. Rummel Lake is one of the quieter places to visit as compared to the busy area of Chester Lake. There is no signed trailhead and no large roadside pullout indicating some kind of trail. I like the area best in the the fall when the Larch tree needles turn a golden yellow color as seen in the picture. Most of the lake is visible, with a small portion of it out of view to the left. This picture was taken on the way back out after a failed attempt on The Tower due to a brutal storm that came through. In the background you can see the grey mist of rain and snow from the storm across the valley, while currently at the lake the heavy wind driven rain was just a light drizzle now. After this picture was taken the big wet snowflakes began falling in copius amounts. - Mount Robertson
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The northeast aspect of Mount Robertson from the summit of Mount Burstall, with the French Glacier below and the Robertson Glacier at right. - Mount Lawson
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The east slopes of Mount Lawson from Highway 40. The scrambling route starts from the Fortress Ski area access road and aims for the first avalanche path to the left of the deep basin below the right side of the face. Once near the top of the avalanche path where it curves the route heads straight up to the ridge above, then its a short walk to the left to gain the summit. If you try this peak do not be discouraged as it is not as steep as it looks when you look straight at it. - Mount Buller
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The steep north side of Mount Buller taken from the Spray Lakes Road. It has a different profile depending on which direction you look at it from and this is one of the steeper sides. - Mount Buller
Photo by Kevin Altheim
Shows the east side of Mount Buller just left of center taken from the summit of Mount Bogart. Mount Assiniboine is visible in the distance at right. - Caldron Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
The east side of Caldron from the Icefields Parkway. Some of the upper Peyto Glacier is visible in the distance at left. - Nigel Peak
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This shows the southwest aspect of Nigel Peak taken from the Athabasca Glacier Sno-Coach terminal. The scramble route up Nigel goes up the SW slopes in the middle of the picture to gain the bowl to the left of the summit. From there it gains the lower portion of the N ridge where the rock cliffs meet the scree, then follows the ridge to the summit. There is an old pocket glacier on the other side of the N ridge but it is down enough so that the route is still on rock. - Grotto Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
A good full view of the west side of Grotto Mountain taken from Whiteman Gap on the Spray Lakes Road. Besides being on the summits of peaks around here, Whiteman Gap is one of the few places you can get a good full view of Grotto and marvel at how big it is. There are several routes up Grotto including a maintained trail which bypasses all cliff bands, making Grotto one of the most ascended peaks in the entire Bow Valley. The summit is also home to several repeaters and transmitters. - Quadra Mountain
Photo by Kevin Altheim
This picture shows the east face of Quadra Mountain from the summit of Mount Whymper. At the right edge of the picture is Consolation Pass, then directly left above that is Bident Mountain which is really a subpeak of Quadra. To the immediate left of Bident there is a col then Quadra and its huge east face. In fact, you can notice the 4 block shaped summit blocks between the snow gullies. Going left along the top of Quadra you can see a rounded snow field which is in the distance, and is part of Mount Fay.
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