These Kananaskis Country trip reports are organized by the five major areas within K Country. Trip reports include hikes, backpacks, scrambles, summits and skiing. For a list of trip reports by activity, click here. For an alphabetical listing, click here.
Please read this article BEFORE you start winter hiking, snowshoeing or skiing in Kananaskis Country.
- Safe(r) Winter Routes for Snowshoe/Hikers – Kananaskis Parks
- How to Keep your Phone Battery Alive in Cold Weather – tips to keep your phone alive.
- AST 2 Course with ACMG Paddy Jerome / Canadian Rockies Mountain Guides
Read these articles to help get you physically and mentally prepared for the mountains:
- How to Suck Less in the Mountains, Part I – Strong Legs and Lungs
- How to Suck Less in the Mountains, Part II – Strong Mind
- Backcountry Eats – Dehydrating Dinners for beginners
- Shoulder Season Shuffle – how to not destroy trails and severely piss of bears
- 52 Hike Challenge – Completed!
Kananaskis Country
For a colour map of the various areas/parks in Kananaskis Country, please visit our friends at Kananaskis Trails.
Ghost, Canmore, Bow Valley, Spray Lakes
- Anklebiter Ridge – Close, quick and steep
- Door Jam Mountain – very close with great views
- Exshaw Mountain – close, short and a loop
- Heart Mountain – A traverse well worth doing
- Loder Peak via Door Jam Mountain – a short scramble ideal for shoulder season
- Mount McGillivary Canyon – An obstacle course
- Pigeon Mountain – A look back into time
- West Wind Pass – A straight shot to an amazing view
- Wind Ridge – A Hike with Spice
- Wind Tower – An accessible peak beyond West Wind Pass
Kananaskis Valley, Smith Dorrien, Kananaskis Lakes, Elk Lakes
- Mount Baldy – quality scramble that’s close and ready early season
- Barrier Fire Lookout / Yates Mountain – close with amazing views, plus optional loop.
- Blueberry Hill at Elk Pass – Cross-country skiing
- Cascade Falls / The Green Monster – a winter frozen waterfall hike
- Chester Lake – WINTER snowshoe and ski routes
- Elk Pass – cross-country ski
- Grizzly Peak – An easy and accessible scramble
- Gypsum Ridge – Backcountry skiing. Mellow and Steep
- Hummingbird Plume Fire Lookout – cross-country ski
- Kent South Peak – an accessible winter peak
- Mount Lawson – South Summit – Nice winter hike along a ridge
- Little Lougheed – a short summit with incredible views
- Midnight Peak Traverse – An enjoyable summit, with a challenging traverse
- Old Baldy Hike or Scramble – off the beaten path (not Mount Baldy)
- Opal Ridge – North Summit – The Best Mother’s Day present
- Opal Ridge – South Summit – A More Adventurous Hike
- Pocaterra Ridge – Go from North to South
- Porcupine Ridge – A ridge with some spice
- Mount Roberta – Short and Spicy
- Rummel Lake – A classic Kananaskis backcountry ski tour
- Skogan Pass – Hummingbird Plume Fire Lookout, Skogan Loop and Troll Falls Ski
- Mount Sparrowhawk – my 8 year old’s first summit
- Tent Ridge – An electrifying traverse
- Whiskey Jack to Tyrwhitt to Fox Creek trails – Cross-country skiing
Jumping Pound, West Bragg, Elbow
- Belmore Browne to Boundary Peak – three peak traverse, no scrambling, and epic views
- Canyon Creek Ice Cave – a bike and hike adventure
- Cox Hill – a popular hike in the Sibbald area with excellent ridge views
- Forget Me Not Ridge – North and South
- Fullerton Loop – “the” beginner or kid friendly hike
- Iron Springs Loop at West Bragg Creek – Cross-country skiing
- Mustang Hills Loop – A small hump with many hiking options
- Powderface Ridge – One Summit, Two Summit – your choice
- White Buddha Loop – short and spectacular limestone walls
Sheep, McLean Creek
- Little Ware – Mount Ware’s Little Brother
- Mount Hoffman – Short, Sweet and Close
- Mount McNab – an ideal hike for the winter doldrums
- Missing Link Mountain – Close & short for the shoulder season
- Sheep River Road – A hilly but ideal early season cycle
- Shunga-la-she – Varied terrain, nice ridge scramble with unique views
Flat Creek, Highwood, Cataract, Willow Creek, Livingstone
- Arethusa Cirque & Little Arethusa Peak – an easy hike with an added challenge
- Arethusa Cirque – Backcountry Skiing
- Mount Burke – There and Back, or a Traverse from North and South summits
- Carnarvon Lake – Do it ALL at Carnarvon Lake
- Coyote Hills – stunning views on a wind protected hike
- Grass Pass to Boundary Pine – an quick and straight forward hike with a lovely look out.
- Gunnery Mountain – An easy summit
- Hailstone Butte Fire Lookout – gorgeous views and mosaics for a short hike
- Highwood Pass Cycle – South gate to Highwood Pass bike
- Holy Cross Mountain – nice ridge scramble
- Junction Hill – This loop has route finding, grass lands, forest, talus slopes and a ridge.
- Linehan Ridge – This is the hike that provides views to the series of Lineham Ridge scrambles.
- Mist Mountain – Second time lucky!
- Picklejar Lakes – A string of four lakes, nestled in a mountain cirque.
- Raspberry Ridge – A lovely ridge with lots of options
- Thunder Mountain – a long ridge scramble
Various:
- 52 Hike Challenge – Completed!
- Drumlins Among Us – They are hiding in plain sight 🙂
- My 200th Strava Activity – The power of doing something small
- Cov-Idiots. Adventuring during a Pandemic
- How Adventuring Helps me Survive Self-Isolation – a humorous look at what we consider ‘hard’.
- The Ghost of Abbot Pass – a spooky post to celebrate Halloween
- Cultivating a Pack Valet Relationship – The care and feeding of your pack b!tch 🙂
- World Cup Newbie:
- Confessions of a World Cup Racing Newbie – Part One
- Confessions of a World Cup Racing Newbie – Part Two
- Confessions of a World Cup Racing Newbie – Part Three
- Newly Minted Ski Instructor
Alisen Dopf 