Days of Noah are Here!

Pigeon Mountain - Canmore Dead Man Flats

Pigeon Mountain

Trail head

Pigeon Mountain

Looking back at cut line trail

Pigeon Mountain

Ok to take cut line here, road parallels for quite a long way

Pigeon Mountain

After just over an hour you take the left hand turn to the upper road

Pigeon Mountain

This continues to follow the cut line but go left as per photo above

Pigeon Mountain

Photo of the upper road

Pigeon Mountain

After approx 20 min on the upper road keep an eye out for this sign and head left here

Pigeon Mountain

Better view of the "Living with Wildlife" sign, only 5 minutes to tree line from here

Pigeon Mountain

Tree line, a good spot to have a snack and check the wind and clothing

Pigeon Mountain

Trail is deceptively steep as you exit tree line

Pigeon Mountain

Making progress up the slope

Pigeon Mountain

Looking back on the grassy slopes

Pigeon Mountain

Another steep section, north summit area in the far distance center left

Pigeon Mountain

Looking back again

Pigeon Mountain

Trail heads up to ridge point between south summit (out of sight to the right) and the north summit center left

Pigeon Mountain

Last section to ridge point

Pigeon Mountain

Looking back at south summit from ridge point

Pigeon Mountain

Looking north from ridge point

Pigeon Mountain

Getting closer hiking north along the ridge crest

Pigeon Mountain

Looking back along the ridge crest

Pigeon Mountain

North Summit

Pigeon Mountain

Adeem's summit pose

Pigeon Mountain

Little windy so went back down to some trees for food and drink

Pigeon Mountain

Nice views Canmore to the west

Pigeon Mountain

Nice views to the south

Pigeon Mountain

View of north summit from the top of the south summit

Pigeon Mountain

Looking at the cut line we came up

Pigeon Mountain

On the long walk back to the trail head

Pigeon Mountain

Al is heading home!

Pigeon Mountain - Canmore Dead Man Flats

  • Scramble: Class 1 - Steep Hiking
  • Altitude: 2,394m (7,852 ft)
  • Elevation Gain: 990m (3,247 ft)
  • Ascent Time: Approx 3 Hours, Roundtrip approx 6.5 Hours and 15km
  • Best Season to Scramble: August to October, lots of mountain sheep in the area and ticks in the spring to early summer season, trail closed from December 1st to June 15th?

Highlights

This scramble is a good late fall shoulder season hike with nice views of the Bow corridor and hopefully not too windy a day as you spend around 1.5 hours traversing the open slopes to the North summit. Check the wind conditions before you venture out.

Getting There

Take the highway # 1 west from Calgary for approx 75km and take the Dead Man Flats exit and cross over # 1 to the south side of the highway. From here it is approx 1.3 km mostly on a gravel road to the parking lot and trailhead keeping right just near the Banff Gate Mountain Resort. There is a washroom at the trailhead.

Route Description

At the south end of the trailhead parking lot head through the vehicle barriers and only minutes later you make a left up the obvious cut line with power poles which heads up to Skogan Pass. There is a road that parallels the cut line on your left for large portions of the trail. Generally keep on the cut line trail and circumvent a couple of ravines by taking the trail or road on your left. Eventually you come to an obvious left hand turn onto the upper road with a cairn and couple of posts at this intersection. From the upper road (approx 20 minutes later) keep an eye out for the sign "Living with Wildlife" on your left. This is where you exit the road and only 5 minutes to tree line on a hiking trail. It takes around 1.5 hours to this point at a moderate pace. From here there is a small foot trail up the open grassy slopes all the way to the ridge between the north and south summits. Some sections of these grassy slopes are deceptively steep. Follow the ridge to the north summit, south summit optional. Traverse from tree line to the north summit is approx 1.5 hours for a moderate pace.