Mt. Wilcox

If you get one reasonably nice day while in the Columbia Icefields area, I would highly recommend this scramble. Outstanding views of the Icefields from Mt. Wilcox are well worth the effort.

Follow the Wilcox pass trail for about 45 minutes when tree line is reached. At this point, pick a suitable line (you may not find any discernible trail from the pass) to the lower ridge, a mix of scree and vegetation. The way is obvious from here but the terrain switches from hiking to moderate scrambling the closer you get to the summit ridge. The crux will be a rocky outcrop about 10-15 min from the summit ridge. Good route finding skills are needed here. A few minutes from the summit, you reach a narrow connecting ridge with exposure on the north side.

The summit area is small but provides enough room to relax for lunch, sign the summit register and perhaps watch the snowcoaches make their way on the Athabasca glacier below.

Earlier in the day as you reached tree line on the Wilcox pass trail, you probably noticed Nigel Peak (3211m/10,532'), a moderate scramble, to your right. The normal ascent route follows the north ridge beside the minor glacier. There have been ascents up the NW bowl (hard to see in the photo) but damp rocks and precarious ledges steer most to traverse left to gain the north ridge.

Mt. Athabasca, 3491m / 11,450'. If you want to climb it, check out this climber's report of a successful August 1997 ascent. Total trip time was 7 hours.

Mt. Andromeda, a view from the summit of Mt. Wilcox.

Athabasca glacier, a view from the summit of Mt. Wilcox.

Snow Dome, a view from the summit of Mt. Wilcox.

As I approached Wilcox pass on the descent, a herd of about two dozen mountain sheep separated me from the trail. A simple detour alleviated this "problem".

Back to my scrambles/hikes history.

©1995 All images by Craig Knelsen. All rights reserved.

Created: Jan 26, 2000. Revised: Nov 12, 2002.