Days of Noah are Here!

East End of Rundle Scramble

East End of Rundle

Basic route up the ridge

East End of Rundle

Start of trail is just before you go downhill to the Goat Creek Parking Lot. Some park at Goat Creek and walk back up the road

East End of Rundle

Looking back as you start the trail

East End of Rundle

Typical trail up to the ridge

East End of Rundle

Trail heads right at the big rock

East End of Rundle

Last part to the ridge proper

East End of Rundle

Just a short time along you go over a slabby section then head left The first half of the ridge you generally traverse on the left side or on top, then you hit two sections of ridge where you climb them on the right side taking you to the open scree slopes above

East End of Rundle

Heading onto the left side of the ridge

East End of Rundle

Typical trail

East End of Rundle

Climb up slabby terrain to ridge proper

East End of Rundle

A look back at the slabby terrain

East End of Rundle

Steep section

East End of Rundle

More terrain view

East End of Rundle

On the ridge proper again heading towards first section which is traversed on the right

East End of Rundle

Typical terrain as you approach ridge traverse on the right

East End of Rundle

More terrain as you approach section of ridge which is traversed on the right

East End of Rundle

Start of first section of ridge that is traversed on the right hand side

East End of Rundle

Typical trail on right side

East End of Rundle

A look back

East End of Rundle

More right hand terrain higher up on this section

East End of Rundle

Near the end of the first section that is traversed on the right hand side

East End of Rundle

Heading left back onto the ridge proper, see the cairn

East End of Rundle

Back on ridge proper approaching the second section that is traversed on the right side

East End of Rundle

A closer look

East End of Rundle

Another slabby section on the right hand side

East End of Rundle

Typical terrain higher up

East End of Rundle

A look back just before exiting onto the upper scree slopes

East End of Rundle

Last few steps to the upper scree slopes

East End of Rundle

Head up the trail to the right of the group of trees

East End of Rundle

As you come over the lower scree slopes things open up, the arrow shows the trail to take, still a bit loose but much better than the one on the left

East End of Rundle

Last part to get to the cliff wall, need to zigzag a bit here

East End of Rundle

Traverse along the cliff face on a narrow footpath and around the corner

East End of Rundle

Hug the wall around the corner up to the exit point onto the final slope

East End of Rundle

Exit point not as steep as it looks

East End of Rundle

A look back at the exit point, can exit a little farther up the slope also

East End of Rundle

A look at the summit, most people head over to the right to a big flat spot for a break before traversing along the ridge to the summit. Some just stay at another high spot to the right of the flat area.

East End of Rundle

Looking back at the traverse from the summit. See the high spot overlooking Canmore farther along

East End of Rundle

Last part to the summit. Route only approximate

East End of Rundle

A look back at last bit to the summit

East End of Rundle

Ha Ling and Lawrence Grassi

East End of Rundle

A summit friend on a rainy cloudy overcast day

East End of Rundle

Canmore of course from an overlook

East End of Rundle

Mt. Assiniboine in the distance courtesy of Granticulous

East End of Rundle Scramble

  • Scramble: Class 1 – Steep Hiking, short section use of hands on slope to skirt around last cliff band
  • Altitude: 2,590m (8,495 ft)
  • Elevation Gain: 900m (2,952 ft)
  • Ascent Time: 2 – 3 Hours
  • Best Season to Scramble: June to October, Ridge can be windy, ridge has ticks in the spring so beware

Highlights

This scramble offers nice views and is great early season training for bigger scrambles later on. From its summit you can see the majestic Mt Assiniboine, something that you do miss from the summit of Ha Ling Peak which is 600 ft shorter.

Getting There

Head west out of Calgary on the TransCanada highway # 1 to Canmore 106km (66.2 miles). From the Bow River Bridge in Canmore drive 8.6 km (5.4 miles) up the Spray Lakes road to the Goat Creek parking lot. The road from the Bow River bridge takes you up past the Canmore Nordic Centre and onto the Spray Lakes road (packed gravel). Just past the Nordic Centre the road turns to dusty gravel and you head uphill for a few kilometers. Go slow so the odd mountain biker climbing this road has less dust to eat. It levels off at the gap between Ha Ling Peak and the East End of Rundle then goes down a short hill then hang a right into the Goat Creek parking lot. If your base is Banff head east on the TransCanada for 26km (16.2 miles) to Canmore and follow route as above.

Route Description

From the Goat Creek parking lot head left back up the road you came until its levels off. You should find the trail on the left near the second set of power poles. Follow this to gain the ridge. For the first half of the ridge you end up traversing on the left side or on the ridge proper. After that there are two sections where you traverse on the right side and then exit onto the upper scree slopes. Once you exit onto the scree head left following the scree trail up towards a patch of scrubby trees. Above this the slope widens and you should head straight up towards the center of the slope to the rock band. There is a short steep section of loose rock up to the cliff face of the final slope. Gain the cliff face and traverse right, up around and exit onto the final short slope. You are only a couple of minutes of zig zagging away from a flat area where you can take a break before the last ridge traverse to the north west (left) to the obvious high point. Be careful on the traverse especially the gendarme just before the summit. A little bit of exposure here and if icy, snowy or wet consider just dropping down to the left and traversing around it. If you have a clear day Mt Assiniboine can be seen to the southwest.

Even though my pictures try to show the way you still need common sense route finding skills. The pictures may help but your skills are needed not to place yourself on a harder more dangerous route coming up the ridge.