Massive Mountain

BOU AVENUE
Massive Mountain

On 27 September 2026, Ali Shariat, Zosia Zgolak and I climbed officially-named Massive Mountain located in its namesake range in Alberta's Banff National Park. The Massive Range is better known for its higher peaks such as Pilot Mountain and Mount Bourgeau, and ironically, Massive Mountain is the shortest peak in the range. Despite its close proximity to the Trans-Canada Highway and a lack of any technical difficulties, the mountain has not proven to be a popular objective probably because most approaches entail significant amounts of bushwhacking. Perhaps it is not surprising then that some of the earlier published reports--Josée Ménard and Fabrice Carrara in 2012, and Vern Dewit and Wietse Bylsma in 2013--were snowshoe or ski ascents. For our outing though, we would rely more heavily on hiking GPS tracks supplied by Brandon Boulier, Marta Wojnarowska and AllTrails. Wojnarowska's 2021 party also completed a traverse of the peak which held a lot of appeal to us at least on paper.

Starting from Redearth Creek Trailhead (51.22016, -115.80384), Ali, Zosia and I went through a gate near the vault toilet and turned left to follow an old trail heading eastward through the forest. The trail ultimately got swallowed up by the forest, and after some fruitless searching, we simply kept on the same bearing and plowed through uninspiring if not miserable terrain. After about an hour of rather morose bushwhacking, we perked up when we intersected an obvious rocky drainage. Most of the drainage is surprisingly free of deadfall, and we were able to follow it fairly easily all the way up the valley between Pilot Mountain and Massive Mountain. Where the drainage peters out, we weaved through a short stretch of trees to reach a vast meadow with views of Pilot Mountain's impressive east face. At the back of the meadow, we re-entered forest and soon picked up a beaten path which conveniently led us to the last trees below a steep headwall. Climbing the headwall was a bit unnerving since the slope was mostly frozen and not easy to gain purchase. Fortunately, none of us had any catastrophic slips, and we breathed a huge sigh of relief upon reaching the ridge crest above. Turning northward, we crossed a forested dip in the ridge before easily climbing to the spacious summit of Massive Mountain.

When we resumed hiking, Ali, Zosia and I opted to traverse the summit ridge just as Wojnarowska's party did. This was initially easy, but as we dropped off the north end of the summit ridge, the terrain became alarmingly steep. We first detoured to skier's right to stumble down a slope of horribly loose rubble, but even as we re-entered forest, the steepness was sustained with numerous short but down-sloping drop-offs. A slip would not have been deadly, but we nevertheless descended with extra caution in an effort to avoid twisting an ankle or suffering a painful bruise. Eventually, the steepness eased, and we settled into quite a lengthy downhill bushwhack. Although this part of the descent was not particularly difficult, we still had to be vigilant about route-finding as the terrain tended to push us further to skier's right away from the access drainage. Worst of all, tramping through seemingly unending forest with zero views was monotonous and mentally wearisome. Just as it was early in the trip, finding the drainage again was a great relief for us. This time, we followed the drainage downstream all the way to the highway and then hiked alongside a wildlife fence back to the trailhead. This was dead simple, and if I were to repeat this trip, this would be a much preferable way to access the drainage (as Dewit and Bylsma did for their ski ascent).

	After the disappearance of the trail they started on, Ali and Zosia continue off-trail through the forest.
	Ali and Zosia hike upstream along the access drainage.
	In the upper valley, Ali and Zosia pass below the impressive east face of Pilot Mountain.
	The route enters this meadow and goes up a headwall behind the trees ahead of Zosia and Ali.
	Zosia encounters golden larches on her way up the headwall.
	Zosia carefully ascends the final slope before the ridge crest. Because the slope is mostly frozen, the footing is unnervingly precarious.
	Ali and Zosia gain the ridge crest at the top of the headwall.
	Ali and Zosia head north along the ridge crest toward the top of Massive Mountain.
	Ali and Zosia find an easy way around some cliff bands along the ridge.

Sadly, there's no butt plug in this ammo box! Did someone take it?

Ali, Zosia and Sonny stand on the summit of Massive Mountain (2442 metres).

	Here is a look back south at the headwall (lower left of centre) which is the point of access for the summit ridge. Dominating the right horizon is Mount Brett.
	To the northwest is iconic Castle Mountain (left).
	The prominent peak immediately to the southeast is surprisingly unnamed. Visible at distant far right is Mount Bourgeau.
	Ali stands on the next high point to the north along the summit ridge.

Ali saw a goat here!

Ali and Zosia pass more golden larches as they make their way to the north end of the summit ridge.

	Some impressive cliffs guard the north end of the summit ridge.
	Re-entering the forest, Zosia and Ali still have to be careful with their footing on the very steep slope.
	Near the access drainage, Sonny marvels at this tree which is covered with gold dust lichen. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Near the highway, the access drainage ends at an old road which has been thoroughly deactivated.
	The sign warns that the wildlife fence along the highway is electrified (it is not). Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance: 13.0 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 9 hours 1 minute Cumulative Elevation Gain: 1012 metres GPX Data