Pigeon Mountain

BOU AVENUE
Pigeon Mountain

On 22 June 2024, Zosia Zgolak and I organized a group hike up Pigeon Mountain near Dead Man's Flats, Alberta. Joining us were Diane Altwasser, Andrea Battistel, Asieh Ghodratabadi, Pat Salt, Ali Shariat, Aga Sokolowska and Karen Woo. A straightforward ascent route is described in Gillean Daffern's Kananaskis Country Trail Guide, but we also benefitted from some excellent trip reports by Bob Spirko and Cornelius Rott. Although most, if not all, of us had already previously ascended the north (true) summit, my plan to include the lower south summit and the short-cut descent used by Spirko and Rott was a good excuse for a return visit. As a side note, many of the online trip reports (mine included) for Pigeon Mountain describe ascents that were done during winter and spring, but the area is now subject to an annual closure from December 1 to June 15 in order to protect important wildlife winter habitats.

Rendezvousing at the trailhead (51.02694, -115.24774) near Banff Gate Mountain Resort, the nine of us started by hiking past the gated road at the south end of the parking lot. A little more than a hundred metres later, we turned left to follow a power line right-of-way which is also the route to Skogan Pass. Somewhere along the right-of-way, we ran into a mature black bear, but it quickly retreated into the forest after we vocally made our presence known. After following the power line right-of-way for about 4.6 kilometres, we turned off onto the signed Pigeon Mountain trail and began a steep uphill grind through forest and then open grassy slopes. A significant cliff band guards the west side of the south summit, but it can be circumvented either to the north or south. We elected to stay on the trail longer heading northward until we could easily scramble up loose scree slopes to reach the south summit. After taking a short break there, we carefully descended the north side of the south summit. There are some steep drop-offs here, but we managed to get down without any mishaps. The ensuing traverse along the connecting ridge to the north summit was pleasant and uncomplicated. We took another break at the north summit before continuing northward along the ridge to an outlier at the north end of Pigeon Mountain.

Like Spirko and Rott, we opted to try Daffern's suggested direct descent to the now-defunct Pigeon Mountain ski hill. From the outlier, we dropped down open west-facing slopes and soon re-entered forest. On the way down, we came across the perplexing campsite mentioned by Rott, and we even found another one further down the slope. Overall, the descent through the trees, though long, was far easier than expected. Other than the odd large deadfall, the bush was mostly light, and some beaten paths and flagging were also evident. Near the top of the ski hill, we stumbled across a well-maintained trail which appears on most online maps running more or less parallel to the power line right-of-way. I think this is a mountain biking trail, but I have yet to discover any references for it. In any case, a short connector trail led us to the top of the ski hill where we paused briefly before plunging straight down the old lift line to the edge of Banff Gate Mountain Resort. Turning left, we walked past some cabins to the south end of the resort and quickly picked up a convenient trail leading us back to the nearby trailhead.

	A black bear runs across the road to the trailhead. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The group turns off onto the trail to Skogan Pass under a power line right-of-way.
	The group turns off onto the trail to Pigeon Mountain.
	The group emerges from the forest onto open grassy slopes. At right is the south summit of Pigeon Mountain.
	Snowy Mount Allan and the four peaks of Mount Lougheed look brilliant to the southwest.
	The south summit is partially guarded by a modest cliff band.
	The group abandons the trail here to ascend scree slopes below the south summit.
	The scree slopes below the south summit are somewhat loose, but the footing is generally not bad.
	According to Gillean Daffern, the building near the top of the south summit is a telemetry station which is probably used for weather measurements.

Already a worthy hiking objective even without the north summit!

From L to R, Aga, Zosia, Asieh, Ali, Andrea, Karen, Pat and Diane stand on the south summit of Pigeon Mountain (2365 metres).

	A male (right) wood tick chases a female on Sonny's hand.
	To the east is Mount McGillivray.

Amazing view that deserves another look!

Here is another look at Mount Collembola, Mount Allan, and the four peaks of Mount Lougheed from the south summit.

	The group descends the south summit and heads for the north summit.
	Here is a look back at the south summit from the connecting ridge to the north summit.
	Aga weaves through some rock outcrops on her way to the north summit.
	A snow cornice persists on the final section of ridge before the north summit.
	The group reaches the north (true) summit of Pigeon Mountain (2418 metres).
	Here is a look back to the southeast from the north summit. Mount McGillivray is the last peak on the left while the snowy mountain in sunshine just left of centre is Skogan Peak.

The cement plant in Exshaw looks like a futuristic space port!

The Fairholme Range and Lac des Arcs dominate the view to the north.

	The group continues northward along the ridge toward an outlier at right. The town of Canmore can be seen in the distant valley.
	The group congregates on Pigeon Mountain's northern outlier (2330 metres).
	The outlier grants this view of Gap Lake at the foot of Grotto Mountain.
	Leaving the outlier, the group begins to descend in earnest to the west.
	The group takes advantage of open slopes to quickly descend to tree line in hopes of ending up at Banff Gate Mountain Resort which is visible far below and right of centre.
	Andrea is a bit perplexed about why someone would build a makeshift camp this far up the north end of Pigeon Mountain. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia, Andrea and Aga examine a second campsite in the forest.
	Aside from the odd large piece of deadfall, the bushwhack on descent is generally light and easy.
	The group reaches the remnants of a lift station at the top of the now-defunct Pigeon Mountain ski hill (1653 metres).
	The former ski hill's lift line is probably the most direct and efficient route to descend to the bottom.
	Sonny arrives at Banff Gate Mountain Resort and looks for a way to reach the trailhead parking lot. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance: 12.7 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 7 hours 34 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1021 metres GPX Data