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Castle Mountain |
| Elevation 2130m at Tower Lk. 2210m at Rockbound Lk. 2760m at summit Height Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent Ascent |
Castle Mt. is a relatively easy ascent. The only drawback is the long approach. Make sure you get an early start, and bring an extra pair of legs if you have them available. Access is via the official Rockbound Lake hiking trail. From Banff head west on Highway 1 to Castle Junction. Go north to Highway 1A and make a right. Park in the parking lot (GPS reference 51d16m08s N, 115d54m54s W) on the north side of the road on Highway 1A, 200m east of Castle Junction intersection. The road (yes, road) starts just beyond the map shelter. At the signed intersection keep left - the right branch leads to Silverton Falls. The 7.7km hike into Tower Lake (GPS reference 51d18m25sN, 115d55m20s W) is easy going through sub-alpine forest. As you wind your way up to the southeast shoulder of Castle Mountain, the road narrows to trail. Once you near the crest the trail levels and is down-right mucky in sections. As you approach the lake, the limestone cliffs of Castle Mountain spring to view. The first tower up ahead is Eisenhower Peak; your summit objective remains hidden until further on. Past Tower Lake, the trail climbs rapidly for the next 0.7km up a headwall and emerges at Rockbound Lake. The majority of casual hikers congregate here and marvel at the scenary and the completion their 8.5km trek. Rockbound Lake (GPS reference 51d18m40sN, 115d55m43s W) is surrounded by cliffs. Helena Ridge fills the north-east side. High above the back of the lake is Stuart Knob with the dark band at the top. The Castle Mountain chain starts at this far end and finishes up at Eisenhower Peak. Your destination is the last summit before Eisenhower Peak. Although not obvious from lakeside, there are two terraces above the cliffs. The lower terrace starts at the base of a large dome half-way up to Helena Ridge, while the upper route starts at the top of the dome. Circle the lake to the right towards a wide talus slope just before the last finger of forest drops to the lake. Within moments of reaching the rubble a good trail branches right through stunted trees. As you gain elevation the two terraces become evident. Either one will take you around the lake above cliffs. Both paths converge for the final stretch to the summit. Upon reaching the level clearing follow the trail left. When you get to the base of the dome below Helena Ridge circle low and to the left instead of climbing up the steep trail. You'll traverse the top of a couple of notches before dropping down coarse rubble to a huge slabby/grassy area. Looking almost level and across, note the last big patch of vegetation on the lower terrace. You'll eventually have to scramble up a narrow gully above this feature to gain the upper terrace. Continue the relatively flat traverse on limestone slabs and occasional grassy steps. Shortly past the rear of the lake you need to carefully step around the top of a narrow notch. Beyond this point you should start angling upwards slowly. Keep in mind the aforementioned gully above the last vegetation. The scrambling section is perhaps 20m long on steep rubble. Once you emerge at the top swing over the steps on the left. You have a clear view of the summit which seems miles away. Take your pick of routes from here - all paths will converge on snippets of trail at a small saddle, which is within shouting distance of the summit. On a clear day you can see forever. The summit (GPS reference 51d18m05s N, 115d55m36s W) view does not disappoint. Mt. Temple and the Wenkchemna Group is directly west, and Mt. Assiniboine to the south east. Helena Ridge obscures most of the Sawback Range to the east with the exception of the southern-most peaks such as Mt. Ishbel. Distinctive-shaped Pilot Mt. is in the southeast; backdropped by the ever-present Mt. Assiniboine. Far below you in the Bow Valley you can see the Castle Junction interchange and where you left you car. You start thinking about the 14km return trip...
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