Date: November 12, 2023
Location/Route Map: Canmore
Elevation: 2605 m
Elevation Gain: 1240 m
Distance: 10 km
Rating: Class 4 - Difficult
Notes: There may be a popular trail easily leading most of the way up this mountain, but don't underestimate the seriously exposed summit ridge! Especially when there's snow on it...
GPS Track: Download
Lady Mac is a classic Canmore scramble. Rising directly above the town, this mountain is frequently ascended by locals and tourists alike, but only a handful of those who make it to the summit ridge actually venture to the highest point. While the majority of the ascent follows an obvious trail, ending with an easy scree trudge up to the ridge, the finale is exhilarating to say the least, and the final ~ 300 m "knife-edge" ridgewalk is not for the faint of heart! Exactly 7 years ago on this day (no, I didn't plan it that way and only realised after the fact!) a young and inexperienced Paul and his family hiked to the south end of Lady Mac's summit ridge but didn't dare continue any further. Ever since that day I've longed to return to claim this mountain's true summit and by the time I did, it would be my only remaining scramble in the Canmore section of Alan Kane's famous "Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies" guidebook!
Piling into Braydan's truck at 5 am on Sunday morning, Braydan, Rhys, Nikki, and I left Edmonton for a long drive down Highway 2. We'd caught wind that it had snowed in Canmore overnight (even though it wasn't forecast for it) and I was getting a little bit nervous as we cruised down the highway towards a very white-looking wall of front range peaks...
One of the reasons why it's taken me so long (7 whole years!) to give Lady Mac a "take two" is because of the ongoing construction in Cougar Creek. Ever since the 2013 floods there have been on and off closures of the Lady Mac Trail (which starts its approach alongside said creek), as they implement preventative measures against future flooding. The end date has been pushed back multiple times and it seems like people are starting to get just a little bit fed up! Leading up to this trip, when trying to figure out if the trail was open again, I came across a multitude of comments ranging from:
"THIS TRAIL IS CLOSED"
to
"Just walk around all the barriers. A new trail is starting to form"
Naturally, I felt more inclined to believe the latter of these two "opinions" 😂.
I was surprised to find a substantial parking lot at the trailhead (I vaguely recall parking in residential on my first attempt) and by 09:30 our group of four was leaving footprints in the couple centimeters of freshly fallen snow as we started out along Cougar Creek. Before long we were encountering our first set of barricades and simply detoured around them to climber's left until we could continue uphill. It was obvious that we weren't very welcome here, and even after getting around one barricade, there's another...and another, but eventually we hit a steep, grassy hillside, climbed straight up it, and rejoined the Lady MacDonald Trail, free of all the construction nonsense.
Honestly, I completely understand why so many people are detouring around all the barricades. With all the signs stating that "THE MOUNT LADY MACDONALD TRAIL IS CLOSED" you'd think that the trail travels right down the middle of the construction zone or something...but in reality it traverses around the edge of the construction boundary and is leaving the creek and starting up Lady Mac before it even has a chance to interfere with anything their doing there! Anyway, you're probably here to read about scrambling Lady Mac and not listen to some random dude rant about construction, so on with the report already! LOL 😂
We were absolutely loving the beautiful November weather as we gained elevation up the obvious trail and enjoyed familiar views down to the town of Canmore whenever we stopped to catch our breath. Higher up, the trail starts to steepen, and after carefully "tiptoeing" our way up the slick, snow-covered trail for far too long, Rhys and I finally gave in and put on microspikes (something that Nikki and Braydan intelligently did much earlier on...), boosting the confidence in our footing tenfold and it wasn't long before the views really started to open up as we gained Lady Mac's lower south ridge.
As we neared the treeline, we encountered a family of mountain sheep that were reluctant to let us pass, but eventually I was able to convince them that we came in peace and we were granted access to the upper reaches of the mountain. Leaving the shelter of the trees behind and entering the alpine, we were reminded of what time of year it really was and quickly bunded up with all the warm layers we brought along as we approached the final climb. Most of the elevation is already gained at this point and it's now only about a 150 m trudge up to the summit ridge. Unfortunately a lingering foot injury was giving Nikki some trouble and she decided to call it a day and head back down while Braydan, Rhys and I pressed on. We easily scrambled up the loose scree/snow slopes to the ridge (I vaguely remember there being some sort of scree trail here, but with the patches of snow it wasn't obvious, so we just headed straight up), and I was soon having a moment of déjà vu like it was only yesterday that I was gazing along that knife-edge ridge, both intrigued and terrified but ultimately not yet ready for the challenge.
The ridge looked a heckuva lot more daunting than the last time I saw it, with a minor cornice forming over the sheer east face and fresh snow filling any cracks on the slabby west face, but for some reason I wasn't fazed by it this time and immediately led the way along the ridge without giving it a second thought.
The fresh snow really gave this already difficult scramble an "alpine climb" sort of feel and this exposed traverse required even more caution than it usually would as we constantly found ourselves testing for solid rock beneath the snow.
The first section of the ridge is narrow and exposed (just like the rest of it!), but I didn't find this part to be too technically difficult thanks to an abundance of solid holds. We soon arrived at the first dip in the ridge and promptly descended (and ascended) a briefly wider section, before it was right back to business! This dip is where Kane suggests that you can gain the ridge after bypassing the intitial section on scree and slabs on the west face, but personally I don't really see the point in this...The ridge only gets harder, and if you don't feel comfortable with this first section you definitely won't be lovin' life on the crux!
Speaking of the crux, after another stretch of narrow, exposed ridgewalking we were staring across one final dip between us and the summit, but unlike the previous dip, this time the ridge narrows even more than it already was with small holds, slabby rock, and serious exposure! (Oh, and snow...there was also snow.)
While at the time I didn't know where the "offical crux" was, as I downclimbed this section I immediately noted that this was definitely the trickiest part of the traverse and waited just across the dip to make sure Braydan and Rhys safely made it across. Braydan started down, but only made it about halfway before deciding he'd reached his limit and found himself quickly backpeddling up to "easier" terrain where Rhys decided to call it a day as well. Massive respect to these two fellas for knowing their limits and not taking risks they're not comfortable with! I know how hard it is to come so close to attaining a summit only to end your day just shy of your objective. It takes serious self control to hold yourself back and I really appreciate these guys for not feeling pressured to continue just because I was.
I quickly made the final climb to the summit solo, and let out a cheer, seven years in the making, as I topped out on the summit! I took a few minutes just to soak it all in before scratching my name down in the register and quickly snapping a few photos, not wanting to keep my crew waiting in the cold for too long.
Downclimbing the last step back to the dip was the hardest part of the traverse for me, thanks to the slabby nature of the rock, limited holds, slippery snow, and the added awkwardness that comes with having bulkier mitts and microspikes on. Knowing that any slip was completely out of the question, I took my time carefully descending back to the low point before easily scrambling back up to Braydan on the opposite side (up is always easier than down on these more technical parts!). Rhys had already started his traverse back along the ridge and Braydan and I were soon following, balancing our way back along the "mountain tightrope".
Upon arriving back to easy terrain on the south end of the ridge, we encountered another hiker who had had quite his fill just reaching this point. (I wonder if he'll be back in seven years to get 'er done 😉.) After chatting briefly, we made a speedy descent, jogging down the loose scree slopes and were soon enjoying a beautiful "spring" day once again as we hiked down a now muddy Lady Mac Trail in the warm afternoon sun.
Lady Mac is definitely a mountain I'll remember! Being a redemption scramble, my finale of the Kane Canmore section, and my 99th summit of the year, standing on top of this mountain was a pretty sweet feeling. If you're comfortable with difficult, exposed scrambling I'm sure you'll find the finale to be a joy of a ridgewalk and personally puts Mount Lady MacDonald in my top three Kane Canmore scrambles along with Big Sister and Mount Fable.
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