Wasootch Ridge

Kananaskis, Canada

27 April 2024

With Wen 

 

Scenic year-round ridge walk

After climbing neighboring Wasootch Peak a week earlier, Wen and I headed out again to do Wasootch Ridge. This is a super popular outing that’s a bit lower in elevation but longer in distance. Reaching the true summit of the ridge is about a 14 km trip and only doable in dry conditions. I had done the full trip a few years ago in drier conditions, but this year soft snow and the risk of avalanches stopped us a few hundred metres before the summit. 


What I love about Wasootch Ridge is that it’s a relatively short drive from Calgary, the trail starts right from the parking lot, the area is super scenic, and you can go as far as you want and turn around at any of the many high points. The first few km are mostly in the trees with occasional views here and there, then the trees gradually disappear and the ridge opens up with great vistas of higher mountains all around. To the west are the craggy and imposing Kananaskis Peak and Old Baldy Mountain, while to the east you can see Porcupine Ridge with Tiara Peak at its eastern end, plus Baldy Peak and Midnight Peak further in the distance to the north. Even the distinctive cliffs of Mount Yamnuska north of highway 1 can be seen from here. 


The trail is easy to follow and never difficult, except in the very last portion where you near the summit mass. Here the ridge crest narrows with significant exposure on either side. In summer, this part can be bypassed on the west side, but today with so much snow around neither option looked safe. With beautiful views of the summit tower above us we took a good break here and then decided to turn around. We ran into at least 10 other groups on our way back. On any given summer weekend this ridge is teeming with hikers so this is a great winter or shoulder season trip when it’s not quite as busy. Definitely a hike I will do again! 

 

Elevation:

2319 m (true summit)

Elevation gain:

1180 m (to true summit and back)

Time:

8.0 h

Distance:

14 km

Difficulty level:

Easy to below the summit tower, moderate to true summit in dry conditions

Reference:

Own routefinding

Personal rating:

4 (out of 5)

DOWNLOAD ROUTE (GPX FILE)

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One of the first view points in the mostly wooded part of the ridge.
Looking north towards Barrier Lake, Yates Mountain (R) and Mount Yamnuska with its distinctive cliffs.
Close-up of Yamnuska.
Mount Lorette (L) and Mary Barclay’s Mountain (R).
To the west are higher and more daunting looking mountains: Old Baldy Mountain (L) and Kananaskis Peak (R).
A glance up Porcupine Creek, with the true summit of Wasootch Ridge coming into view on far right. It’s easy to see how the steep slopes around the summit tower can be dangerous when covered in snow.
More views open up along the ridge.
Looking back to the north.
Wasootch Ridge summit tower.
This is Tiara Peak to the east.
The terrain is easy almost all of the way.
Approaching another one of the many minor high points along the ridge.
Now we’re in full-on winter conditions!
Beautiful snow landscape.
Some parties descend west to Wasootch Creek below and hike back in the creek bed, but it’s a pretty rubbly hike as there’s no trail down there.
Looking NW towards Mount Lorette.
You’re almost never alone on this ridge!
A sudden change in terrain just before the summit tower. Steep slabs, exposure, and a narrow ridge interrupted by notches.
Fun hands-on scrambling on a narrow crest.
It’s an abrupt change from easy hiking to more challenging scrambling.
One of the more tricky downclimbs on the ridge crest.
We push on for a little bit, but soon turn around.
The snow cover makes progress here considerably more risky.
Heading back.
A relaxing descent concludes a thoroughly enjoyable shoulder-season trip.

In this section

Kananaskis Allsmoke Mountain Ben’s Hill Blue Ridge Bluerock Mountain Bull Creek Hills Cat Creek Hills & Stony Ridge Channel Ridge Commonwealth Peak Compression Ridge Cox Hill Coyote Hills Cummings Ridge East End of Rundle Etherington-Baril Ridge (Three Cairns) Forgetmenot Ridge & Mountain Gilligan Peak Glasgow North & Garriochmill Peak Green Mountain Gunnery Mountain Ha Ling Peak & Miner’s Peak Hailstone Butte, Sentinel Peak & Iron Creek Mountain Heart Mountain Hell’s Ridge Highwood Peak Hill of the Flowers Holy Cross Mountain Hood, Mount Horton Hill & Horton Ridge Iyarhe Ipan, Swany’s Ridge & Quirk Ridge Jumpingpound Mountain Kidd South, Mount Link Hill & Vents Ridge Little Lougheed Lookout Range to Mount Burke Lusk Ridge Mesa Butte Missinglink Mountain Mist Mountain Mist Ridge Moose Mountain Mount Barwell Mount Bogart Mount Bryant Mount Burns East Peak Mount Denny & Mount Potts Mount Dyson Mount Evan-Thomas Mount French & Mount Jellicoe Mount Head Mount Howard Mount James Walker Mount Lorette & Skogan Peak Mount Lougheed I Mount Mann Mount McPhail Mount Muir Mount Quirk Mount Remus Mustang Hills Odlum Ridge Old Baldy Mountain Opal Ridge South Opal Ridge Traverse Packenham Junior Pasque Mountain Pigeon Mountain Pocaterra Ridge Powderface Ridge Powderface Ridge (south route) Prairie Mountain Raspberry Ridge Red Peak Red Ridge Running Rain Peak & Mount Odlum Serendipity Peak & Patterson’s Peak Seventy Buck & Eagle Hill Ship’s Prow Mountain Shunga-la-she & Jägermeister Peak Snow Peak Storelk Mountain Strawberry Hills The Orphan Tower, The Volcano Ridge Wasootch Peak Traverse Wasootch Ridge Windtower Windy Point Ridge & Gleason Ridge Yates Mountain Zephyr Creek Hills

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