Moose Mountain North Ridge

BOU AVENUE
Moose Mountain North Ridge

When Zosia Zgolak and I ascended Moose Mountain North Peak in Alberta's Kananaskis Country Public Land Use Zone a little more than a year ago, we skipped a nearby outlier which Gillean Daffern refers to as the "north- north summit" in her Kananaskis Country Trail Guide. One of the reasons we skipped the outlier was because we were already fatigued after a lengthy approach via Jumpingpound Mountain's east ridge, but another reason had to do with the gas well road that reaches all the way to the col just below the outlier. While Daffern describes a hiking route that approaches the outlier via a valley to the east, we were curious to see if it would be possible to turn the trip into a bike'n'hike by cycling the gas well road. We decided to give it a try on 10 October 2022, and for simplicity, I am calling this outlier "Moose Mountain North Ridge".

Turn south onto an unsigned gravel road from Highway 68, 18.0 kilometres east of the junction with Highway 40 or 19.0 kilometres south and west of the junction with Trans-Canada Highway. Drive 1.2 kilometres and keep right at a split. Drive another 300 metres and park off to the side of the road just before a bridge over Jumpingpound Creek.

Crossing the bridge, Zosia and I rode our bicycles along the road for another 700 metres to an intersection with Tom Snow Trail and a locked gate in front of a second bridge. We continued straight past the gate and bridge and enjoyed relatively easy riding for the next 7.6 kilometres before reaching a split in the road. Taking the left-hand road, we began climbing steadily--walking and pushing our bicycles often--for the next 3.9 kilometres to reach some sort of large gas processing facility. Going past another gate here, we skirted around the western edge of the facility and picked up the continuation of the road climbing away to the south. We eventually ditched our bicycles along this last stretch of road and walked the remaining short distance to a gas well site at the aforementioned col. In contrast to the long and somewhat grueling bike approach, the hike to the top of Moose Mountain North Ridge was comparatively trivial. We had no issues ascending the open slopes east of the col and veering northward to reach the high point.

After taking a well-deserved break on the high point of Moose Mountain North Ridge, Zosia and I descended to the gas well site at the col and walked back along the road to where we ditched our bicycles. The return ride was fast to say the least. We braked a lot especially on the steep downhill from the large gas processing facility to the split in the road. Fortunately, we did not have any wipeouts, and we stopped often to let our rims cool a bit. With the exception of one annoying uphill section, the ride from the split back to our starting point was gentler and much more enjoyable.

	Zosia begins cycling from the bridge over Jumpingpound Creek.
	Behind the striking aspen trees are Moose Mountain's primary summit (far left), North Peak (left of centre), and North Ridge (right).
	Zosia comes up behind some cattle on the road.
	Zosia skirts around the west side of a large gas processing facility (mostly out of the photo to the left). The road continues on the far side and climbs up the ridge in the distance.
	Zosia pushes her bicycle up a steep section of road.
	After ditching her bicycle, Zosia walks the remainder of the road to the gas well site ahead. In the background are Moose Mountain North Peak (left) and the primary summit.

I think this pad is big enough for tanker trucks to do donuts!

Moose Mountain North Ridge is behind Zosia as she arrives at the gas well site.

	Ascending Moose Mountain North Ridge entails nothing more than easy off-trail hiking.
	Moose Mountain West Peak can be seen just over the shoulder of the North Peak (left) as Zosia continues her ascent of North Ridge.
	Zosia approaches the top of Moose Mountain North Ridge.
	Sonny and Zosia stand on the high point of Moose Mountain North Ridge (2254 metres).
	In this view to the west, the green bump at centre is Jumpingpound Mountain.
	Zosia returns to the gas well site at the end of the road.
	After retrieving her bicycle, Zosia begins rolling downhill on the road.
	Zosia is going so fast that she has to constantly apply her brakes.
	Zosia passes some more aspen trees on her way down another steep section of road. At left is Cox Hill.
	The last part of the ride out is easy and enjoyable.
	Total Distance: 32.5 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 5 hours 58 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1112 metres GPX Data