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The Fortress |
| Elevation 3002m Height
Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent
Ascent |
Park at the
Chester Lake parking lot on the Smith-Dorrien. Get there early if you want to avoid the
choking dust whipped up by other vehicles along this stretch of dirt road. There are two approaches to Fortress. The longer route via Headwall Lakes adds a couple of kilometers to the journey. I usually loathe doing extra distance but in this case I'll make the exception, since the way via Chester Lake leads to disgusting scree in the later section. Start at the blue ski trail at the south end of the parking lot. After 1km take the yellow/blue trail and proceed for another 0.9km. Keep right at the branch and follow the yellow trail. Over the next 0.8km the forest thins and Mt. Burstall and the Cegnfs come into view on your right. This section of trail ends up at a sign on top of a large clearing. Continue to follow the path for 1.5km towards Headwall Creek. Soon after crossing the bridge, the trail takes a sharp right up a hill. In a few minutes at a sign denoting "Hazardous Downhill", look for a cairn on your left marking a trail into the forest. The trail runs parallel to Headwall Creek, and in 30 minutes emerges from forest onto rockier terrain. Eventually the trail winds its way to first Lower, and then Upper Headwall Lakes. There's a fishing survey box at the later so presummably there's trout in them thar waters. But you've come for a different reason, so march on. Beyond the lakes at a final shallow pond angle up towards the Chester-Fortress col. Boulders give way to coarse rubble and eventually scree. Pause at the col to catch you breath, and to enjoy the view to the north of Gusty Peak and Mt. Galatea. Scattered trails then make their way up the ridge towards the summit. At the summit block the trail snakes left along its base. The cliff wall diminishes as you proceed. Look for an easy spot where you'll need to do a 4m climb up to the summit plateau. If you go too far you'll find yourself looking down cliffs on the north side of the mountain. From the summit, the most spectacular views are to the northwest - the east to west dipping strata of Gusty Peak, Galatea, and The Tower form an impressive array. On a clear day Mt. Assiniboine can be seen peeking just above Gusty Peak. To the southwest is an edge-on view of Mt. Chester. The way to its summit is definitely not from this direction! Looking down the valley to Chester lake, Mts Burstall and Commonwealth form the backdrop. The eastern view is formed by the Kananaskis valley. Mt. Kidd is directly north, while Opal Ridge and the Opal Range stretch their way south. Returning via Chester is a shorter route, and it offers some change in scenery. Descend back down towards the Chester-Fortress col, then turn right. The steep angle and loose scree give testimony that the longer trek via Headwall Lakes was well worthwhile. The way back to Chester Lake is obvious. Check out the cliffs on either side of this valley, and the house-sized boulders scattered on its bottom.
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