Kananaskis Country

Tues. 11 to Fri. 14 September:                       KANANASKIS COUNTRY

Rounding off my two week vacation, I spent a few days in Kananaskis Country, visiting familiar places as well as exploring the less accessible, but spectacular, area around Fortress Ridge.

 

Wed. 12 September:  Kananaskis Lookout

At last – a fire lookout still in operation, and someone to chat to at the top.

It was a cold morning, two or three degrees below freezing, and ice in all the puddles.  I could have started my hike from my campsite.  But to save a long, steep hill, I drove around to the Kananaskis Highway and parked at the fire road gate.  I was last here in November last year, for a ski in temperatures of below minus 20.  Today at minus two it seemed almost as cold.  This time I biked down the fire road as far as the steep hill leading up to the lookout.  From there I hiked to the top.  I parked my bike at exactly the same place I had swapped my skis for snowshoes last November.

It took me less than an hour from the car to the lookout.  This route in winter is a popular cross-country skiing trail.  In summer, although a bit rutted and stony, it makes a good biking route.  In fact, the people manning the observatory had driven their car all the way up to the lookout.  I signed the visitors book, and was feeling a little disappointed as you can’t get a good view of the Kananaskis Lakes from here.  The elevated lookout building has the command of the view. 

Just as I was about to leave, the observer appeared, and she kindly invited me to come through the gate and see the lakes below.  Dale B and her husband Joe have been observers at this lookout for several years.  They have created a tiny paradise up here.  Flowers blooming around a tiny garden, with two comfortable chairs to relax under the Continental Divide mountain wall across the Upper Kananaskis Lake.  I was invited to climb the outer stairs for the full view, which is spectacular, taking in both Kananaskis Lakes and the peaks which surround them.  The day was perfect for views.

I learned that there is just one resident black bear on this lookout hill.  The other day Dale followed it down the hill in her car.  It found a berry patch and apparently rolled in the bushes in delight.  Dale pointed out to me the Fortress Ridge, my destination for tomorrow, which stood at the northern end of the Kananaskis Valley as seen from this ridge.  She said there was a good snowfall earlier this week as temperatures had dropped suddenly.  It had been a good summer and it seemed as if it might go on forever.  But now Dale says that the Indian Summer should start.  I noticed that the visitors book only covered the summer period.  They keep a separate visitors book for winter when the lookout is closed.  The full books are kept in the observatory.

It was a bit chilly standing out there in the little garden.  After a nice chat I headed back down the hill and was soon back at the car, having seen no other travelers on the trails.

Statistics
Kananaskis Lookout
Wed. 12 September
Total Dist.	3.0 km (hike) + 5.2 km (bike) = 8.2 km
Height Gain	900 ft.
Max. Elev.	6,950 ft.
Time	1 hr. 45 mins.

Other Stats.
Start:             9.09 am L/O site:        9.59 am Ret. to car:   10.54 am	Temp: Minus 2 C to + 3 C.  Ice in puddles. Cloudless, cool, no wind

Wed. 12 September:  Kananaskis Bike Trails

What luxury!  Large wilderness campsites with electricity.  And linking these various campsites is a network of paved bike paths leading through the lonely forests.  They have been graded to make them fairly easy to travel on, with a few gentle hills. 

Today being mid-week, I had the trail system to myself, apart from one middle-aged couple on their bikes.  Starting at Boulton Creek I headed north to Elkwood.  The trail starts by running through dense forest.  Soon, however, the trail comes out onto a high bench with views west to the Continental Divide and a large glacier.  Space has been made for an occasional picnic table.  These trails are very popular with families in the summer.  

At Elkwood campsite, I turned around and retraced my steps, taking time on the return journey to admire Marl Lake and its reflections of the mountains.

Back at Boulton Creek, I continued south to the Lower Lake campground and finally Sarrail tent site (now closed for the season).  This final stretch was more challenging with some steep hills to negotiate, and signs warning of bears.

I left my bike at the Canadian Mt. Everest trailhead, and clambered up onto the earth dam of the Upper Lake.  This is a beautiful setting.  But a short stroll through the woods brings one to a truly awesome view.  As I came out of the trees, I was hit by a strong wind, and immediately came to the shore of the main part of the Upper Lake.  Whitecaps swept across the lake, and the waves crashed onto the shoreline below me.  This was a great place to enjoy one of my most favorite views.

Returning back down the same path, I stopped at the Boulton Trading Post for a snack, under a warm sunshine.  Back at the campsite I was ready to relax, catch up on this diary, and prepare for my adventure tomorrow.

Statistics
Kananaskis Bike Trails
Wed. 12 September
Total Dist.	1.0 km (hike) + 16.2 km (bike) = 17.2 km
Height Gain	200 ft.
Max. Elev.	5,630 ft.
Time	2 hrs. 26 mins.

Other Stats.
Start:             1.54 pm Elkwood:        2.17 pm Marl Lake:     2.29 pm Boulton:         2.53 pm Upper Lake:   3.22 pm Ret. to camp: 4.20 pm	Temp: Rising to around + 14 C Cloudless, cool, strong W. wind on lake

Thurs. 13 September:  Fortress

This adventure relied on two people who had never met, meeting in the right place at the right time.  Otherwise the plan would fail.  It worked!

My destination, Fortress Ridge, sits above the old Fortress ski hill.  The resort closed many years ago, and so did the access road.  This twisting gravel road climbs over 1600 feet in eight kilometers, bringing this awesome ridge country into the realm of a day trip.  But how get a ride up there?

For several months I had been in touch with Joey O'B, the current President of Fortress Mountain Resort, who last winter started to run snowcat skiing trips up there.  This proved to be very popular.  He very kindly offered to run me up the hill in his truck, with my bike in the back.  Sure enough, a few minutes past 9 a.m., Joey and a work colleague arrived in their truck, opened the padlock on the access gate by the river bridge, and we were soon speeding up the hill.  This road has several hairpin bends, but was in very good shape with a smooth gravel surface. 

On the way up we chatted about the possibility of allowing summer access.  It is not likely to happen.  It would require a full environmental impact study due to the grizzly bear population in the area.  Also Joey rightly queried whether it is the sort of area which could handle the sort of crowds that find their way up the nearby Galatea Creek trail every summer weekend.  In fact, he was expecting to receive a letter from the responsible government department instructing him not to give people rides up the hill! 

I mentioned that I had seen some cranes up on the hill the other week.  He showed me a video clip of this.  The cranes were being used to carry a wire supporting a hang glider, as part of a romantic comedy movie being shot on the hill.  The major movie which was shot at Fortress the other year was Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Apparently this made over a Billion dollars for Warner Brothers.  There is absolutely no trace of the building which was erected, then blown up, on the top of the front ski run.

By this time we were at the ski hill.  I have to say that it is today a sad place to see.  Some of the original ski resort buildings, including the ski lodge, and a small row of chalets, are all boarded up and not looking in good shape.  In fact the chalets have a sign on each door from the Alberta Government designating them as “unfit for human habitation”.  Some of the large sheds and garages are still there, and are surrounded by a collection of machinery including the snow cats.  There is a full-time caretaker who lives up here, called Mountain Mel, but I didn’t see him.

My trail started at this collection of sheds and headed up onto the first ridge above the resort.  It then contoured down into Aussie Creek before heading steeply up onto Fortress Ridge.  This was a truly spectacular place to hike into.  The crazy peak of Fortress Mountain soared above this valley, together with a ring of gigantic mountain cliffs.  Talk about photogenic.  I must have snapped a hundred pictures even before I arrived at Fortress Ridge – and it kept getting more spectacular.

The ridge is bare and grassy.  Here on the summit of the ridge a ski lift stands, still with the chairs attached.  It made for some good pictures.  However, I cannot see any way by which these ski tows could be made operational again.  Technology and time have moved on, and in my view they are simply junk metal waiting to be removed by whoever can afford to do so.

The bare, grassy summit of Fortress Ridge rises invitingly up from the ski tow, and it didn’t take me long to reach the top.  Behind me the Fortress Mountain skyline became even more breath-taking.  The shadow of the peak lay across the valley like a long hand, reaching out as if to embrace the whole scene.

To the north, the view was dominated by the wall of Mt. Kidd, with the two northern peaks of Fortress Ridge below.  To the north-east lay the Kananaskis Valley, with the golf course prominent way below.  Further west Galatea Creek and Guinns Pass were clearly visible.  Looking southwards, I could see Pocaterra Ridge far in the distance, where we had stood just a few weeks ago.  To the right of that was the gentle rise on which sat the Kananaskis Lookout, my destination the previous day.

I continued northwards to the second peak.  This was a spectacular cliff-top setting.  To reach the final two peaks of this ridge would require a steep drop.  I felt strangely devoid of energy so I satisfied myself with this grand viewpoint and lingered there for a while.

Returning to the south end of the ridge, I decided that I should drop down into the valley below Fortress Ridge to explore Fortress Lake.  This required a steep drop of 400 feet down into the valley below.  It was an exciting descent, passing two stone cairns, one erected in the memory of Blair Griffiths, cameraman on the Canadian Mt. Everest expedition of 1982, who was killed in an icefall.  The other is, I think, in memory of the three sherpas killed in an avalanche on that same expedition.

I made lots of noise in case “Griz 1”, as Joey knows her, was lurking in the trees.  Fortress Lake sits right under the wall of the mountain in a grand setting.  The sun was still shining on the waters, although the long shadow of the mountain was swinging across to envelop the lake.  The water level was low, as is normal at this time of year.  There was a comfy little back-country campsite above the lake, compete with axe and shovel.  What was a little un-nerving were the obviously recent bear diggings right next to the campsite!!  I was glad to be simply passing through.

It was a very steep ascent back up onto the bare ridge.  The final few hundred feet were a striking grassy valley curving up to the flat top, not unlike the summit of Kinder Scout in Derbyshire!  The little pathway wound through this valley up onto the ridge top.  I enjoyed the return journey down into Aussie Creek and up the other side.  Fortress Peak was changing shape constantly as I moved down the path.

I stopped on the ridge above the ski resort to recall the time, thirty years ago, when I came up here to go skiing.  I looked down the main ski slope which was wide and gentle, and recalled that this was an ideal early try-out for my new skis all those years ago.

Back at the resort, I left a message for Mountain Mel to let him know I was safe, and took my time biking down the first hillside, to look at the remains of a once proud ski resort.  Then it was one exciting speedy bike ride down the hill.  In no time at all I had eaten up eight kilometres and was flying across the bridge towards the locked gate.

This had been an energetic day, and a magical one.  I had met no other people on the trails, and no grizzly bears either!

The next morning I packed up, and headed back to town.  I stopped at a sunny, warm Kananaskis Village where L and I met up for a late breakfast and a short stroll to the magnificent viewpoint behind the hotel.  I was able to point out to her my trip of the previous day.  It looked high and remote.  Yet right below us, people were playing golf!

As a sad post-script, the flags were flying at half mast in Kananaskis Village today, to mark the death last night of Peter Lougheed, Alberta's respected Premier back in the 1970's and early 1980's.  At Boulton Creek I had been camping in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. one of many fitting tributes to this great politician and founder of Kananaskis Country.

Statistics
Fortress Ridge and Lake
Thurs. 13 September
Total Dist.	11.8 km (hike) +   8.0 km (bike) = 19.8 km
Height Gain	1,820 ft.
Max. Elev.	7,760 ft.
Time	6 hrs. 4 mins.

Other Stats.
Start hike:      9.45 am Summit:       11.22 am N Peak:        11.52 am Summit:       12.40 pm Lake:             1.15 pm Ridge:            1.57 pm Ski Ctr:          3.13 pm Ret. to car:     3.49 pm	Temp: + 2 C to around + 20 C Cloudless, some cool winds on ridge