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Mount Edith |
| Elevation 2554m Height Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent Ascent |
Follow Highway 1 west past the town of Banff. Take the Bow Valley Parkway (1A) turnoff. Almost immediately look for the sign indicating the Fireside Picnic grounds. Turn right and follow the narrow road to the end until you reach the parking area (GPS reference 51d10m32s N, 115d39m07s W). The trail starts from behind the map shelter. Cross the footbridge and make a right. In a few minutes take a left at the signed trail for Edith / Cory Pass. Fifteen minutes later at the far end of a clearing (GPS reference 51d10m49s N, 115d38m22s W) turn left. Almost immediately the trail head up steep hillside to the south ridge of Mt. Edith. Token switchbacks do little to ease the punishment on your legs. After an hour or so you'll catch glimpses of the east face of Mt. Cory through clearings on your left. The grade finally eases. The trail now dipsy doodles its way through light tree cover. When you arrive at the top of a large, rocky mound look to scramble down straight ahead to the continuing ridge. Don't be fooled by the path going right - it's going wrong. From here on Cory Pass is just a long traverse away, as the path hugs the western slopes of Mt. Edith. Straining your neck, look up to the right as you march pass first the south peak, then the central peak, and finally the north peak. When you arrive at Cory Pass (GPS reference 51d12m21s N, 115d40m26s W) a recognizable branch trail leads you up towards the north summit. At the first shoulder Mt. Louis springs into view to the north. Ahead the angle increases once again as the terrain also changes to loose scree. Grin and bear it - the end is near. At the base of vertical rock the most obvious chimney is narrow and steep. Shimmying your way up this 10m groove is a frustrating exercise, especially with your backpack on. And another thing - you're certainly not going to come back down this way! An easier way up (and down) is actually close by. Follow the base of the slab to the right up and over a bump, then look for a second chimney. Even though the alternate route is less steep, it is nevertheless not a place for novices. The first section of 5-7m ends in a narrow ledge. Carefully negotiate this semi-exposed section and continue up the next stretch of about 10m. Turning right, the north summit is mere minutes away. As you top out (GPS reference 51d12m22s N, 115d40m06s W) you'll notice the cairn sitting some 20m to the east. To get there you have to down-scramble steep slope to bypass an open crack. The crack may appear narrow but I wouldn't advise jumping across. The summit view is quite admirable: Mt. Cory to the west; Gargoyle Valley, Mt. Louis and Mt. Brewster to the north; Mts. Cascade and Norquay to the east; Mt. Rundle to the southeast; the Sundance Range to the south; and the Massive Range to the southwest. If you're adventurous enough you may contemplate heading over to the centre and south peaks. To reach the central summit you'll need to go back down the chimney and traverse over to the interconnecting ridge. We avoided the journey on the day of our outing due to early-season snow and unstable slopes.
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