Heart Mountain
| Climbed: | July, 1994 & July, 1999 |
| Elevation: | 2135 m = 7,005' |
| Elev. gain: | 875 m = 2,870' |
| Ascent time: | 3 hours |
| Descent time: | 3 hours |
| Difficulty: | Easy scrambling with one moderate step via NW ridge |
| Location: | Canmore area |
| Trail head: | Heart Creek parking lot off highway #1 |
| Topo map: | 82 O/3 Canmore |
As the photo shows, the mountain is aptly named for its appearance to those who view
it from the Bow Valley. At .7 km along the trail, the route up the NW ridge becomes
obvious. Slabs will add variety from the scree. Exposed portions can be easily skirted
by moving into the trees. About 2/3 up, 4m of vertical rock must be climbed with good
hand and foot holds. After that, the rest of the ascent is just more hiking over scree
and slabs (albeit at a higher angle).
From the summit ridge, the praires can be seen back towards Calgary. No one encountered
on the ascent. Instead of retracing the ascent route, I descended an intermittent drainage
below the true summit. This is primarily open slope until a sharp drop-off guarded by a
rock wall is reached. This is easily skirted and a game trail leads you to into the upper
Heart Creek Valley. Follow downstream until the interpretive path is reached which will
return you to the parking lot.
Back to my scrambles/hikes history.
©1994 All images by Craig Knelsen. All rights reserved.
Created: Mar 15, 1998. Revised: Nov 12, 2002.