It is quite long and windy so I suggest having ample water, a wind-breaker, and hiking poles as the latter will help you alot throughout the hike. The trail is not defined very well, expect trail finding on a loose screw. To the right is Mount Nestor. The hike up Sulphur Mountain is approximately 5 km (3.1 miles) one way with around 700 metres (2297 feet) of height gain. We found Spencer Creek and the trail following it on climber’s left without any issues (11 km past the Goat Pond bridge from Canmore). Chatting with them, we found out they had decided to turn around as the wind was too much at the ridge. Allan long ridge (Centennial Ridge) and Mt. on the right is easier, From the notch (behind Dinah) we headed to the bowl, To reach the ridge crest from the bowl, we scrambled up the broad, white rock slab, Looking back after crossing the bowl, we took note of the notch (mouse over) to find our way back, Once on the ridge, it's a scree slog to the summit ridge, Southwest views include Mount Collembola, Mount Allen, Lougheed 3, and Wind Mountain. 3 hours up to mount Lougheed then 30 minutes to L3 then 2 hours descent. It was defiantly sketchy as it was more of slush with ice and water underneath. We followed the creek until we came to a side drainage on our left. We watched in awe as lightning struck nearby mountains. Make sure to bring lots of water and snacks as this is a really long hike. We saw the aircraft wreckage on the decent, which was awesome. Mount Lougheed – Peak II. But we will be back - we both agreed that we would tackle this trail next summer, when it’s hot and absent of hurricane-force winds. The Mount Lougheed Scramble is a great scramble in the Kananaskis. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/alberta/little-lougheed Mountain height: 3107 m Elevation gain: 1400 m Ascent time: 4:40 Descent time: 2:50 Scrambling with Calvin. Consider things such as access and accommodation at the base of Mount Lougheed, as well as the logistics of climbing to the summit. it is a bit of a slog to climb the last bit, but so worth it! Completed this yesterday. Sometimes I wished I'd had hiking poles. Dog-friendliness: 3.5/5 Lougheed), about 2.8 km south of Spurling Creek (signed) on the Smith-Dorrien highway. I stood transfixed after seeing one particular lightning bolt just a couple of peaks away. Approximately 50m below the notch you need to traverse to climbers right across a snow slope. Once the trail peters out (approximately 1500’ in gain), take a sharp right turn and aim for Mount Lougheed’s northwest peak. The majority of this hike however is spent on scree and rock and both summits were a slog for our group of three (the previous day’s sunrise hike fatigue likely contributed). There was a heat warning issued yesterday which makes it harder for us as there were no shades when you make it halfway through. Though I try to avoid repeating mountain trips to the same summit (okay…just forget I’ve done the various summits of Mount Baldy fourteen times! The trailhead is found near the Spray Lakes West Campground in Spray Valley Provincial Park off of Highway 742 (the Smith Dorrien Trail) out of Canmore. After uncomfortable bushwhacking/drainage walking, finally the first peak of Mount Lougheed peaks out. Once at the trees there is a clear cut path that eventually connects with where you started from. We had some challenges with snow, especially on the summit of Lougheed 2, that we needed to navigate around. Pick a nice day. Lougheed I dominates the view to the north (photo 9) and Wind Mountain to southeast (photo 10). I did the hike today 08/02/20 I started at 7 in the morning from the trailhead and did the hike counterclockwise, what I would recommend. Great hike! For amenities – including showers, power and water hookups, and amphitheatre programs – stay at Boulton Creek or Elkwood. Wear good hiking boots no runners, bring enough water and food for energy. The thing I was surprised about is how much fun I had. Mount Lougheed A route called the Warrior climbs the central portion of the north face of Mount Lougheed’s northwest peak (the peak that is next to Windtower and prominently in the view from dead Man Flat). Great trail! The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from April until November. We climbed up a bit further, and about 20 minutes later, we were met with an impressive wall and an equally impressive cloud surrounding the top of it (Photos 1, 4, 5). but a notch (not seen here) However, I would say this is top 3 of the best hike I've ever done. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash. We hiked past a bubbly spring that gave life to a beautiful, mossy stream (Photo 2). From Spencer Creek, the lay of the land prevented us from seeing Mount Lougheed, but after topping out onto a bench, a sweeping scene lay ahead, including the route up the impressive scree cone. No real technically difficult parts but damn do you feel the elevation gain! Difficult and long. I guess it’s one of the secrets in the Rockies. It's a long hike just to reach the ascent gully, After leaving the creek, we headed to the waterfall but ended up ascending the slope on our left, From the top of the slope we viewed the vast scree cone we must climb, At the top of the scree we'll need to make our way right, After passing the white rock in front of me we found a trail on our right, I scrambled up the weakness in the cliff above Dinah, This ridge, actually the edge of a scree slope, leads to the summit ridge. It enjoys a long season and delightful scrambling through a boulder field. Due to getting off trail several times and a couple of weather systems moving through while on exposed sections this took our group 12 hours. Regardless, we reached the highest peak and enjoyed it all, even the storm. Hiking up Spencer Creek. After traveling yet another section of snow and ice with a decent amount of expose given the conditions, you come around the corner to see the notch. 28 Take the Smith Dorrien Trail until you get to the pull off for the West Wind Pass. Zosia, Marko and Amelie are on their way down. Starting back down the talus slope. Mt. Mount Lougheed Climbing Notes. After leaving the creek, we headed to the waterfall but ended up ascending the slope on our left. Mount Nestor and Old Goat Mountain garner a lot of attention across the reservoir. PAGE 4 : HIDE PAGE 4 SHOW/HIDE PIC 1 But, BUT to get there we had to face with endless scree rubble… You won’t notice Windtower much on approach to the col between Windtower and Mount Lougheed. Mount Engadine Lodge sits in the shadow of its namesake peak, at the head of the expansive and pristine Spray Valley Provincial Park. We headed up the grass slope west of it. Drive 2.2 km down this road and turn right (south) onto the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Trail (also known as Hwy 742), and drive for 8 km to the Mt… From Hwy 1, take the Hwy 40 exit and head south for about 50 km. Follow me on instagram to see pics and vids of the hikes and scrambles I do - @realasifzeb. The initial part of the trail through the woods and meadow were lovely and easy to follow. We did this hike yesterday. Trail Length Season Permitted Activities () Status List; 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition Interpretive: 2.1 km: Summer: Hiking: Open: HikingInterpretive Trail,LoopKananaskis CountryPeter Lougheed-- Peter Lougheed PP The screen itself is not bad, there is no exposure on the trail, virtually no scrambling. The two men were a bit shocked to learn that they were going up the wrong valley, but since they were already so far up the trail along Spencer Creek, I convinced them to switch their objective to Mount Lougheed. I looked over to our mountain - oh shit, there were no longer any blue skies (Photos 6, 7). Lougheed. Total elevation gain: 860m (out of 1,520m) Was surprised with the elevation gain but it felt easy which was nice. The views were absolutely breathtaking. The Windtower (distant left) and 1st Peak of Mount Lougheed sit to the north and northeast, respectively. The face visible to the tourists, however, is not a scramble, but an easy scramble route does exist on the other side. Mount Lougheed seen from the trail. bobspirko.ca  |  Home  |  Canada Trips  |  US Trips  |  Hiking  |  Snowshoeing  |  MAP  |  ABOUT, Mount Lougheed Little Lougheed on the right. This is where we started up the shale. Brett is a tall and lanky guy, and he was being smacked around by the wind. I found the trail very difficult to keep track of, especially on the decent of Lougheed 3, not very many cairns after getting to the base of the basin between Lougheed 3 and Windtower. Little Lougheed Kananaskis, Alberta December 31, 2001. The scramble upto L2 and hike up to L3 is fairly easy. Distance: 9.3km (out of 15km) We took advantage of a easy-moderate scrambling route that started appearing last year on websites. Sparrowhawk. Hiking Mt Lougheed II and III Hiking Mount Lougheed. In fact, the summit was starting to be covered by threatening rainclouds. After not being able to summit 4 times this year due to extreme wind conditions, I wanted to make sure wind wouldn’t be a factor today. Way back in 2012 I had a great day on Mount Lougheed II and III via a route up Spencer Creek from the Spray Lakes road. We made it to Peak 2, the main summit, and were well down the mountain before the storm struck 20 minutes after summiting. what a hike! If you have a mountain helmet I would recommend to wear, it's not a must, but better safe than sorry. Well worn path once again but was kind of like walking on a tread mill. Be the first to submit your climbing note! Okay, Mother Nature, you win again. Nestled high up in an alpine valley conveniently located a short distance from Canmore, Alberta, Mount Engadine Lodge contrasts luxurious creature comforts with a dynamic and enthusiastic landscape where outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy a … July 25, 2009. Blue skies and hardly any wind where we were - no problem! It's definitely a hard trail Especially coming down from Lougheed 3!! A true test of will in my opinion. ... Mount Lougheed Change: Type: When Dinah and I started climbing Mount Lougheed under clear, blue skies we hadn't expected to find ourselves in a thunderstorm later. What an amazing hike! Aside from all that good day, great hike to the cirque saw a few marmots and aprently there is airplane wreckage in the cop between lougheed 3 and wind mountain. I wonder if doing the route in the reverse direction would be easier, possibly an out and back along the actual downtown route. Mt Lougheed is the tallest mountain at 3109 m, visible from Canmore, and from the highway it looks to difficult to climb. So yea, the climb up the ridge was hell. Watch out for frogs . Past that we crossed a bowl to another ridge. The wind was light but it was steadily bringing the storm our way. Damian and John with the North face of Mt … But we couldn’t help but hear what sounded like a jet coming from the top of the adjacent towering mountain to our south, Mount Sparrowhawk. We “summited” the ridge but we had to admit the wind at this point was insane and too much to handle. Little Lougheed is a western outlier of Mt. Please submit any useful information about climbing Mount Lougheed that may be useful to other climbers. Out of range of lightning strikes, we experienced lightning flashes and thunder in safety. @brett.mcmillin and I started out on the trail at 9:00am. After hiking Headwall Lakes in crappy weather the day before, I was delighted with the clear, crisp air and the wonderful forecast for Sunday. But we laughed about it because what the hell else could we do? Peter Lougheed Provincial Park is a premiere camping destination in the Canadian Rockies with several campgrounds to choose from. The trail crosses a side creek. The secret is to go around the back from the Spray Lakes road. Bring lots of water, snacks, windbreaker, hiking poles, hat, and hiking boots NOT RUNNERS. Heading back down the drainage. Vern coming up the SW ridge. Introduction to Little Lougheed Mount Lougheed has several summits, one of which is the tiny peak, known as "Little Lougheed." When you finally get to the rocky, barren summit and catch your breath, you’ll enjoy views of Moose Mountain and can pose beside the Canadian flag planted at the top for a well-deserved photo-op…and proof that you completed one of the toughest hikes … Collembola are on the east but I could barely see them. The mountain we chose was Mount Lougheed, a peak so huge and prominent that it even has its own sign and small viewing area on the trans-Canada highway. Did just peak 3 due to time constraints, 6.5 hours car to car. Mount Lougheed (2) from the top of Little Lougheed. Once you're down from Lougheed 3, there's a lot of trail finding. The first two hours is an easy and a beautiful hike but the next hours is quite challenging. Well worth it for the views. The creek goes in between Mount Lougheed and Mount Sparrowhawk, so you're enclosed by mountains with a carved bedrock creek. After this you either need ice climbing gear or some RISKY scrambling/low grade climbing, we opted to scramble as we we didn’t have ice gear but we should have turned around. In 2017 I finally managed to scramble the much more difficult Lougheed I with Cornelius Rott. Located about 137 km (85 mi) southwest of Calgary, in the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park offers a host outdoor recreational activities and breathtaking mountain scenery. Peak two only. Park at the Spencer Creek Trail. From the top of the slope we viewed the vast scree cone we must climb. Frozen rain literally hit our eyeballs, causing us to yell in pain. Peter Lougheed PP - Summer Trails Map Map, Kananaskis, Aster Lake Backcountry, Elbow Lake Backcountry, Forks Backcountry, Peter Lougheed PP, Point Backcountry, Three Isle Lake Backcountry, Turbine Canyon Backcountry, 1982 Canadian Mount Everest Expedition Trail, Black Prince Cirque Trail, Boulton Creek Trail, Burstall Pass Trail, Chester Lake Trail, Elbow Lake Trail, Elk Pass Trail… Once you hit the base follow the drainage and look for cairns which will eventually lead you to the trees. The small peak with the vertical cliffs in the foreground is Little Lougheed, a short and fun hike accessed from the west side. Mount Lougheed | 2009-08-22 Whole trip started from bushwhacking then rubble walking, and this trip was coming to end by rubble walking then more bushwhacking. Take the right fork in the T intersection before the tree line to go towards the windtower. We had originally planned to continue to Peak 3 and descend from the col between 2 and 3, but our plans were foiled by the thunderstorm. June 20 2020 You Would have to do a third traverse across a sheet of melting ice that looked visually unstable, if you fall or it slid, it would be game over, as there is a large cliff right below the ice. It was the goddamn wind. Turn right (west) onto the Kananaskis Lakes Trail. Small creek coming from all the run off at the top was a bit swollen and trail was washed out a little bit but it was easily navigated. Medium to hard trail for an experienced hiker. The 4th peak of Lougheed, also known as “Wind Mountain” has been on my list the whole time thanks to a trip report from 2006 when Andrew Nugara posted … I'm usually an elevation junkie, but this was a really relaxing hike in a pretty incredible area. Hiking date: October 10, 2020 We agreed to carry on because we REALLY wanted to summit this motherducker. We knew the idea of summiting at this point was crazy, so we decided to head back down (Photo 8), with our tails tucked between our legs. The views at both the summits are fantastic. When coming down L3, stick to the left and ski scree / hike down the traverse between L3 and Wind Tower. Overall, I really enjoyed this hike. The trail is well switchbacked and never overly steep. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/alberta/mount-lougheed-2-and-3 Little Lougheed is one of my all-time favourite short hikes with a huge reward-to-effort ratio. We saw three large avalanches off sparrow hawk setting the mood, the risk factor of slides. Not only was there the howling “Category 1” wind - as Brett rightfully called it - to contend with, but the steep and slippery scree also took a lot out of our sails, leaving us gasping for air every few steps. The day began with the threat of rain, however, as we reached the summit, we broke through the cloud cover; exposing blue skies with the tips of mountains just peeking above a sea of clouds. Most parties should be able to make the hike up in 2.5 hours at most, which is in time for a nice lunch at the summit. Because in my opinion it's looks really hard to go down from lougheed 3 back where is the loop junction. The summit view probably rivals that of Mt. Traverse III 5.5 (South to North) one or two days with the latter preferred If you know the route, this mountain isn’t more difficult than the nearby Sparrowhawk. Immediately to the east is the 2nd Peak of Mount Lougheed. Prepare yourself for a 10-hour hike. ), Cal and I had been trying to hook up for a trip for some time and when he suggested an … Instagram for pics/DM: rootyhiker, Summited Lougheed 2 and 3 on Sep 4 - 2020. So, naturally, we pressed on. Kananaskis, Alberta We saw a group of four ahead. Lots of scramble and very steep trails. They are equally good, but Elkwood has a playground and Boulton has a camping store and restaurant. We traced our steps back down the ridge to the lower forrested trail along Spencer Creek and were back at the vehicles before 2:30 PM. Lots of route finding after L3. The trail isn’t shown on any map but is very easy to follow. Oh boy, was it windy. The snowshoe route up Little Lougheed starts at Spencer Creek (the creek flowing down from between Mt. The scramble right before the top ridge near peak 3 was challenging but manageable. Trail finding is easy getting upto both L2 and L3, however, on the way down ensure to look for cairns as it is easy to lose your way. And it was windy. This is where we actually turned around. In the summer the hike would be really easy but the conditions did not allow us to summit and we descended via the same route back down with ease, although the weather was kinda bad. 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