Marble Mountain

BOU AVENUE
Marble Mountain

In anticipation of some inclement weather, Zosia Zgolak and I chose to do a short hike up Marble Mountain located west of Sundre, Alberta on 8 April 2021. One of a handful of officially-named summits in the vicinity, Marble Mountain is probably the most worthwhile of the bunch, and a somewhat meandering ascent route has been published in AllTrails. Vern Dewit and Wiestse Bylsma also ascended this mountain via a more direct route less than three weeks earlier, but at the time, we were not aware of their trip.

From the junction with Highway 22 at the west end of Sundre, drive westward on SR 584 for 42 kilometres to a T-intersection with the Forestry Trunk Road (SR 734). Turn right and drive north for 8.0 kilometres to an unsigned junction with Tepee Pole Creek road. Turn left and drive 3.7 kilometres to another unsigned junction with a logging road branching off to right. Park here. In dry conditions, all roads should be suitable for 2WD vehicles.

From where we parked, Zosia and I started hiking west along the logging road for about a kilometre to reach a four-way junction in the middle of a large cut block. Turning right, we followed an obvious cut line running straight to the northeast and up the south side of Marble Mountain. This cut line is steep in places with lots of ups and downs, and although it was easy enough to follow, I questioned whether this was the most efficient route up the mountain. About 1.2 kilometres after turning onto the cut line, we passed a flagged trail on the right which looked promising as a possible alternate descent route. Ignoring the trail for the time being, we continued along the cut line for another 300 metres to where a trail turns northward and climbs up the remainder of the mountain's south ridge. The open summit grants far-reaching views in all directions, but with clouds obscuring more interesting mountains to the west, we could only see mostly surrounding clear-cuts.

For our descent, Zosia and I retraced our steps to the aforementioned flagged trail and opted to follow it down the south side of Marble Mountain. Other than a brief curve to the east, the trail pretty much plunges straight down to Tepee Pole Creek road. This is the very same route that Dewit and Bylsma ascended, and although the trail is steep, it is not as long-winded or annoyingly undulating as the one described by AllTrails. Our descent was quick with no nonsense, but just before reaching the road, we turned west to follow a power line right-of-way for a short distance back to our starting point.

Zosia starts hiking along a logging road branching off from Tepee Pole Creek road.

Well, I guess we won't get lost on the cut line, but there must be a better route than this one!

In a large cut block, Zosia turns off the logging road and heads for an obvious cut line. Marble Mountain is visible at centre.

	It is a steep grind going up the cut line.
	The cut line undulates a few times and entails some annoying elevation losses.
	Fresh snow plasters the trees in the forest.
	Zosia climbs a trail going up the south ridge.
	Zosia breaks out of the forest near the summit.
	Sonny and Zosia stand on the summit of Marble Mountain (1833 metres).
	Limestone Mountain is visible at right on the western horizon.
	The only noteworthy peak to the north is Corkscrew Mountain (centre just behind the ridge with the clear-cut).
	Zosia leaves the summit and begins her descent.
	Instead of returning along the cut line, Zosia opts to follow another trail heading south.
	The trail to the south is mostly straight and steep.
	Zosia follows a power line for a short distance back to the starting point.
	Total Distance: 5.4 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 2 hours 43 minutes Net Elevation Gain: 377 metres GPX Data