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Mount Lady MacDonald |
| Elevation 2555m Height Gain Time to Reach Summit Degree of Difficulty Scenery Date of Most-recent Ascent |
Were it not for the summit ridge traverse this trip would be just one long, steep hike. Sunbathers lounging about at the teahouse is a common sight. Coming from Calgary, take the first exit for Canmore. At the end of the exit loop hang a left and follow signs for Elk Run Industrial Park. This takes you left again at the T-junction up Elk Run Blvd. Follow this road until you cross Cougar Creek bridge. The parking lot (GPS reference 51d05m21s N, 115d19m41s W) is on the right just past the bridge. Follow the wide trail on the west bank of Cougar Creek. After several minutes of walking note the trees on the left. Numerous trails seem to dart in and out of here. Keep going. 15 minutes from the parking lot look for a clear trail heading left into forest. You don't have to find the exact trail. Any one of many paths that takes you up to the top of a low ridge will do - they all intersect the ascent trail further up. As you come over the top of the ridge the angle relaxes a bit. This is only a short breather, as the pitch picks up again once you get closer to the mountain. Surprisingly, side trails continue to peel off to the left even as you gain elevation. When you're about half way to the teahouse you'll arrive at a Y junction. The right branch is blocked off by a large fallen tree - it heads towards some slabs ahead. This is the old trail up to the teahouse. It is a direct but steep approach which skirts to the right of a rib on the east side. We found this to be a quick decent route. Take the left branch at the Y. The excellent trail rises in several switchbacks and eventually shakes tree line. As you come over slabs the teahouse ahead looks like an old bunker. The teahouse (GPS reference 51d06m52s N, 115d18m59s W) with the large deck and heli-pad is certainly enticing for a stop and a nap. A path on the east side leads to a gazebo further down. By the way the teahouse offers no services; construction was halted several years ago and the structure lies abandoned. Continue up the broad ridge up to the top of a knoll (GPS reference 51d05m30s N, 115d19m20s W). This is a perfect spot to scout out several ascent route possibilities. The east (lowest) summit is at the top of some moderate angle slabs. The easiest approach is to angle right as you scramble up loose rubble. Mark your line as the summit cairn (GPS reference 51d07m11s N, 115d18m53s W) is hidden as you head up. An alternate approach is to follow the trail to the left. This takes you across scree towards a gully between the right-most and center summits. However be prepared to treadmill you way up oodles of loose stuff. If you take this route you can avoid the first pitch of scrambling on the narrow summit ridge, but what you miss is actually the easy part. Regardless of where you top out on the summit ridge you're going to have to do some serious scrambling across the knife-edge. The south (left) side is high angle slabs, while the north side is an airy drop some 800m into Cougar Canyon. In good conditions the summit traverse takes about 30 minutes. Keep in mind that such exposed scrambling should be carried out carefully and methodically. There is no reason to try and set a record and do something stupid. If it take you a hour to go across, so be it. From the east summit the first stretch is relatively easy and dips into a notch which joints up with the alternate route. Up you go on a steep pitch to the center peak. Carefully maneuver your way around a couple of narrow sections. The most difficult section is at the low-point between the center and west summits. The south-facing slab suddenly tilts to near-vertical, and the ridge is too narrow to walk over. You have little choice but to straddle this short section. Beyond this bit, the rest seems trivial as you prance you way to the summit (GPS reference 51d07m20s N, 115d18m57s W). When the adrenaline settles down take in the view. West across the Bow Corridor is the 12km Rundle Uplift. Puny Ha-Ling Pk. and Mt. Lawrence Grassi is southwest. Three Sisters is directly south. To the southeast is Mt. Lougheed and Mt. Allen. Massive Grotto Mt. is to the east.
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