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November 19, 2022 In Outdoor Edventures

West Wind Pass

Where:

  • West Wind Pass

 

When:

  • November 19, 2022

 

Who:

  • Ed, Dave, Craig, Oak, Rod, Erin

 

Trailhead:

  • 18 km from Canmore, heading south on the Spray Lakes Road
  • park on the right-hand side of the road, then cross the road
  • a few minutes up the trail, it crosses the High Rockies biking trail, so be sure to look for the sign that points to the trail up West Wind Pass

 

Degree of difficulty:

  • 425 meters of elevation gain
  • 5 km out and back
  • the hike took us just over 2 hours
  • the trail is a steady climb all the way to the pass
  • we started with snowshoes on but took them off a half km up the trail as it was packed down

 

 

Interesting notes:

  • it was a sunny, reasonably warm day until we broke into the open at the summit, where the windchill was about minus 40C
  • we typically have our lunch at the pass but chose to descend quickly before we got frostbite
  • there are great views at the top from the saddle looking south to Spray Lakes and north to the Bow Valley
  • you can turn right at the top and make your way up Windtower Mountain, but that is more of a long summer outing
  • shortly after we started the drive home, we had to spend a half hour digging and pushing a young Czech couple’s car out of the ditch

 

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