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TABLE LEGEND

Difficulty     Easy       Moderate       Hard     Consider rope/protection

Rating     Great!!!     Fun     OK     Just shoot me

Time: green (4-6h or less), orange (6-10 hrs), red (8-10+ hours, pita)

 

CANMORE / BOW VALLEY

Mountain Difficulty Rating Time Elevation Gain Max Elevation Comments
Big Sister 5-8h 1200m 2936m Better than Middle Sister; but other mountains offer equivalent views in less time
Fable, Mt 7-10h 1300m 2700m Lengthy approach with average views. Other mountains are similar  minus the pita approach. 
Gap Peak 6-8h 1200m 2450m Nice ridgewalk. and early season hike. 
Ha Ling Peak 3-5h 700m 2408m (Chinaman's Peak). Good peak if you are in a rush.
Heart Mountain 4-6h 875m 2135m Quick scramble.
Lady MacDonald, Mt 4-6h 1300m 2605m complete *the* ridgewalk, and lo, epiphany, never fear exposure again.
Lawrence Grassi, Mt 4-6h 950m 2700m kind of like Ha Ling with the negative of bushwacking
Middle Sister 8-12h 1400m 2700m Long. Exposed to the sun. Booooring.
"Princess Anne" 7-8h 1500m 2750m Enjoyment depends on your ability to delay gratification. Scree slog from hell = scree skiing in heaven
Squaw's Tit Traverse 7h 1000m 2400m Attempt. Probably not feasible, and certainly not without rope. This is not scrambling.
Yamnuska, Mount 3-6h 900m 2240m Great scree skiing on the descent. Reasonably quick.

 

KANANASKIS COUNTRY

Mountain Difficulty Rating Time Elevation Gain Max Elevation Comments
Arethusa, Mt 4-6h 750m 2900m Short approach + long ridge with difficult scrambling = awesome
Baldy, Mt 4-6h 800m 2192m Fun scrambling on the traverse. Baldy keeps growing on me due to the 1 1/2 hr ascent time.
Burstall, Mt 4-6h 890m 2760m Best scree skiing ever!! Short approach with sweet scrambling at the top.
Chester, Mt 5-8h 1150m 3054m Fun scrambling on the slabs (left). Un-fun if you take the scree (right)
"Colonel Belcher" 6-8h 940m 2400m Uninspiring views. Bushwhacking with difficult scrambling on crumbly rock
Compression Ridge 12+ 900m 2500m Pro: Extremely fun scrambling on a ridge without end. Con: seemingly endless ridge. 
Engadine, Mount 7-10h 1200m 2990m Short approach with sustained ridge with high exposure for hours. Yeah!!
Fist, The 5-8h 770m 2700m Very fun scramble. 
Fullerton, Mt 8-12h 1050m 2700m Hours of walking, wrong route. Good luck if you do this pita hike
Galatea, Mount 8-11 1300m 3190m Nice views, but not worth the length of approach. Not really difficult since hard parts of the  ridge can be bypassed by traversing to the left.
Gap Mountain 4-6h  800m 2750m Nice views with some fun scrambling. Bushwacking is a negative
Grizzly Peak 6-10h 900m 2500m Easy loss of path always seems to turn this easy scramble into a moderate one for me.

GR358415

 7-10h 1300m 2800m (Unnamed peak near McDougall)). Fantastic aerial views. Highest point in the area.
Holy Cross 8-12h 1200m 2685m Mediocre scramble with a long approach. Try "Col Belcher" for same views, but shorter trip time
Hood, Mount 6-10h 1300m 2903m Very nice views, but failed attempt from lengthy and complicated approach can ruin the day
Indefatigable, Mount 5-7h 1000m 2670m One of the best ridge walks in Kananaskis
Kidd, Mount 6-9h 1350m 2958m Seemingly endless scree grind. Supposedly a lot of fun with snow
Little Lougheed 4-6h 777m 2492m Found @ the amazing RNT site.  Pro: feasible almost all year. Con: neighboring Read's Ridge (same views, less effort) 
Lorette, Mount 6-8h 1100m 2500m One for the checkbox. Painful scree slog with mediocre scrambling and views.
Lougheed, Mount 8-12h 1400m 3107m Similar views to Mt Sparrowhawk, but multiple peaks and varied scrambling.
Nestor, Mount 6-10h 1250m 2975m Long approach without bike. Basically a tedious steep hike with 10 minutes of scrambling up top (5-7h with bike)
Nihahi Ridge 8-10h 900m 2500m Endless tedium  with repetitive uninspiring views.  If you feel compelled to do this, and can handle difficult scrambles, do Compression as well. 
Opal Ridge 6-8h 870m 2597m

Kind of like Grizzly only I managed to stay on the path
Rae, Mt 5-8h 1000m 3218m Short, well-defined approach. more of an easy 'moderate'. Superb larch views in Ptarmigan Cirque
Rimwall Summit 5-8h 1000m 2700m A reasonably short easy early/late season scramble with very nice views.
Rundle, Mt (East End) 4-6h 900m 2590m (EEoR). Technically harder than the west end. More of a hike. 
Smuts, Mount 6-12 1075m 2940m Not really a scramble. Really fun ascent..descent.. not so fun.
Sparrowhawk, Mt 6-10h 1350m 3121m One of my favourite summit views ever.
Tyrwhitt, Mount 4-6h 650m 2874m Awesome views in minimum time. Arch Pictures are worth the trip alone
"Wasootch Peak" 4-6h 900m 2400m Fantastic hike. Great views. Great ridgewalk. Quick ascent
Wedge, The 5-8h 1100m 2665m Lady Mac Lite with the added bonus of crumbly rock

 

BANFF/LAKE LOUISE

Mountain Difficulty Rating Time Elevation Gain Max Elevation Comments
Borgeau, Mount 8-10h 1500m 2930m First scrambles are always thought of fondly; but on deeper thought, this was incredibly long
Castle Mountain 8-12+ 1400m 2765m Spectacular views at the top. however, with a 14 km return, your rating of the hike drop with each passing km.
Cory, Mount 6-10h 1400m 2800m An enjoyable hike with lots of different route possibilities (some tedious, some excellent)
Edith, Mount 7-10h 1120m 2554m Another favourite. Lots of fun scrambling without crazy exposure. Cool looking rock.
Eiffel Peak 6-8h 1230m 3084m One of my favourites. An 'easy' moderate (ie. some handwork, no real exposure)
Fairview, Mount 4-6h 1000m 2744m Maximum view in minimum time
Niblock, Mount 6-8h 1260m 2976m your basic moderate scramble. full cellular reception at the top :)
Mount Norquay 6-10h 1000m 2500m Average views, but enjoyable scrambling with very solid holds.
Panorama Ridge 4-6h 1000m 2800m Nice views but boring. Enjoyed it more with snow.
Rundle, Mt (West) 6-8h 1570m 2949m Everyone has to do it once (and hopefully never again). Total slog. 
St. Piran, Mount 4-6h 900m 2649m Like Fairview, but not quite as good views.
Sheol Mountain 5-10h 1060m 2780m Time dilation effect makes this trip seem longer than it is. Fairview offers equivalent views in 1/3 the time. 
Richardson, Mount 4-6h 800m 3086m Basic scramble, but getting to the start point (skoki lodge) requires an overnight stay
Skoki Mountain 2-3h 530m 2697m Easy scramble in minimum time, but requires an overnight stay.
Temple, Mount 8-10h 1690m 3543m Aaaargh. This is way too popular. Prepare to queue up as caravans of dogs/ people who haven't hiked in years work their way down. 
Tower of Babel 2.5-4h 450m 2360m Unlike most of the Moraine area, no group size restriction. Interesting cairns up top. Fast. 

ICEFIELDS

Cirque Peak 5-8h 1050m 2993m More of a hike than a scramble. However, some of the best views in the Rockies for time/effort spent
Dolomite Peak 5-8h 3000m 1100m Beautiful area. Rating varies from annoying to excellent depending on route taken. Awful rock.
Nigel Peak 4-8h 1200m 3200m Some of the best views in the Rockies. Short approach, interesting scramble, and phenomenal scree skiing..
Observation Peak 5-9h 1100m 3175m Nice views like all peaks in the Icefields, but slightly longer than other mountains with less interesting scrambling.
Sunwapta Peak 7-11h 1735m 3315m Despite attempts to dislike this hike, the views are simply too amazing from the start

 

YOHO/FIELD

Mountain Difficulty Rating Time Elevation Gain Max Elevation Comments
Carnarvon, Mount 7-12h 1725m 3040m Fun scrambling up top, but hike is looong.  Go when dry. Would suck to do 1600m gain, only to discover snow 100m from the top (like us the first time)
Paget Peak 4-6h 1000m 2560m Another min/max scramble. Phenomenal Yoho valley views in minimal time. Shortest scramble in the Yoho area
Stephen, Mount 10-14h 1920m 3199m Another hike for the checkbox. 2km of gain won't have me coming back anytime soon
Wapta Mountain 7-11h 1330m 2778m Phenomenal views. long approach. Blurs the boundaries between climb and scramble.

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