Boundary Peak

BOU AVENUE
Boundary Peak

On 5 July 2021, Andrea Battistel, Zosia Zgolak and I scrambled up unofficially-named Boundary Peak situated on the border between Jasper and Banff National Parks. Overshadowed by surrounding higher mountains, Boundary Peak has understandably been ignored by serious mountaineers, but ever since So Nakagawa's 2011 trip report, the peak has gained a lot of appeal for scramblers seeking an easy ascent with amazing views. However, with an unsettled weather forecast, we chose this objective based more on location since Zosia and I were coming from Jonas Creek Campground while Andrea was driving from Calgary that morning.

Starting at the parking lot located across Highway 93 from the Columbia Icefield Centre (102 kilometres south of Jasper or 50 kilometres north of Saskatchewan Crossing), Andrea, Zosia and I walked along the paved road to the staging area for the snow coaches that run tourists up onto the Athabasca Glacier. Just before the staging area, a stake marks the start of a steep trail running uphill to the left. We left the road here and gained elevation quickly up the trail. The trail braids in a few places higher up and ultimately peters out, but the route is still pretty obvious. We stuck as closely as possible to a ridge which led us onto a small plateau with jaw-dropping views of Mount Athabasca. From there, we could see another trail going straight up the west face of Boundary Peak. This trail is actually more of a loose scree run, and ascending it was a tedious chore. After a seemingly endless uphill grind, we finally crested the summit ridge, and a short scramble had us standing atop Boundary Peak. Despite low clouds overhanging the area throughout much of our ascent, the skies cleared up enough to grant us rewarding summit views, and we enjoyed a very comfortable extended break on top.

For our descent, Andrea, Zosia and I retraced our steps down the west face, and the loose scree run worked wonderfully going downhill. Instead of going back across the small plateau, we veered to skier's right into a shallow draw and took advantage of a few snow patches to easily get down to a big grassy meadow. More easy hiking led us back to our up-track, and we had no trouble descending to the paved road and walking back to the parking lot.

	Zosia and Andrea hike the paved road to the snow coach staging area. Boundary Peak is hidden somewhere in the clouds.
	Andrea and Zosia arrive at the snow coach staging area.
	The trail to Boundary Peak starts at a wooden stake just before the staging area.

Shrinking daily.

The clouds clear a bit to reveal Athabasca Glacier.

	Vegetation slowly peters out higher up the trail.
	Clouds nearly obscure Wilcox Peak across the valley.
	The top of Boundary Peak is barely visible through the mist at left. Zosia and Andrea would first climb up the ridge on the right.
	Andrea and Zosia scramble up the ridge. The top of Boundary Peak is now clearly visible at centre.

Very cool!

Crossing a small plateau, Andrea and Zosia are treated to an unobstructed view of Mount Athabasca's glaciated north face.

	From the plateau, a trail can be seen running straight up Boundary Peak.
	Zosia approaches the bottom of the final slope before the summit.

Another Kane classic!

Nigel Peak stands out from the clouds across the valley.

	The treadmill rubble on the final slope is tedious to ascend.
	Andrea and Zosia finally gain the summit ridge.
	Sonny, Zosia and Andrea relax on the summit of Boundary Peak (2870 metres).
	Hilda Peak to the southeast is a real eye-catcher.
	Mount Athabasca dominates the view to the south.
	Snow Dome (centre) and Mount Kitchener (right) are visible in the distance to the west.
	Andrea and Zosia carefully descend a lot of loose rubble.
	Some lingering snow patches make the descent much easier.

You get jaw-dropping scenery the whole trip!

Zosia and Andrea follow an alternate route through a meadow.

	A hoary marmot entertains Zosia and Andrea.
	The marmot retreats to its hiding place under a rock but still pokes its head out to see what is happening outside.
	Zosia and Andrea get another glimpse of Athabasca Glacier on their way down.
	This cross fox lurks in the meadows near the paved road. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Instead of following the paved road all the way back to the parking lot, Zosia and Andrea cut through a flowery meadow. Columbia Icefield Centre is visible across the highway.
	Total Distance: 8.0 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 5 hours 38 minutes Net Elevation Gain: 898 metres GPX Data