BOU AVENUE
Pyramid Mountain
After arriving at the Greenwood Lodge in Jasper, Alberta rather late the previous night, I got up reasonably early on 7 July 2007 to bike up the twelve-kilometre long Pyramid Fire Road and scramble up Pyramid Mountain.  Having previously skied partway up the road, I knew I was in for a tough grind on my bike (about 820 metres elevation gain to end of road).  I simply kicked my bike into the lowest gear and slowly crawled up the road.  I took frequent breaks and was not too proud to push my bike when I got tired of pedaling.  When I eventually reached a large clearing at the end of the road, I ditched my bike and had a snack before proceeding up the north ridge of Pyramid Mountain.  The route is fairly obvious, and although I took my sweet time getting up the mountain (I even had a long nap at one point), I encountered no difficulties.  Instead of retracing my steps on descent, I glissaded the snowy northeast face and followed a snow-filled basin practically all the way back to the clearing.  The bike ride back to the trail head was a blast and capped off probably one of the easiest and fastest mountain descents I have ever experienced.  My round-trip time was 8 hours and 10 minutes.
Doesn't that snow slope look enticing? This is Pyramid Mountain as seen from a break in the trees along Pyramid Fire Road.
It took me 2 hours and 36 minutes to get here by bike. The Pyramid Fire Road ends at a large clearing northeast of Pyramid Mountain.
It's a bit of a mess now, but hopefully the area will eventually be rehabilitated. This is looking back at the large clearing from the lower slopes of Pyramid Mountain's north ridge.  On the horizon are Hawk Mountain and Mount Colin.
Nice spot for camping and exploring. This small tarn lies in a picturesque basin to the east of Pyramid Mountain.
I kept eyeing that snow slope all the way up! Sonny hikes along the north ridge of Pyramid Mountain.
Looks like a good scramble... Mount Kinross is the peak across the valley to the west.
The scrambling is more interesting than I was expecting. The blocky terrain typifies the north ridge of Pyramid Mountain.
I'm about 12 minutes from the summit here. As Sonny climbs higher, the scenery to the north begins to improve.
Exactly 6 hours from car to summit. Sonny stands on the 2762-metre summit of Pyramid Mountain.  To the left of the cairn is Mount Edith Cavell.
Lots of mosquitoes down there too! Most eye-catching from the summit are the numerous lakes surrounding the town of Jasper to the southeast.
The trail head is somewhere just to the left of the small peninsula jutting out into Pyramid Lake. Here is a closer view of some of the lakes:  Lake Edith (top left), Lake Annette (top centre), Katrine Lake (small and green), and Pyramid Lake (bottom).
Note the small tarn at the bottom. This is the view to the west from the summit.
Roche Miette was a bloody long day trip from Calgary for me!  A couple of the more prominent landmarks to the northeast include Jasper Lake and Roche Miette.
I would go there the next day. Also to the northeast is Cinquefoil Mountain.
Can't get enough of those lakes! Lake Annette sports some interesting hues.
In case you were wondering, that's the Athabaska River down there. The Colin Range dominates the view to the east.
Makes me wanna go climb Mount Kosciuszko and print "Canada" in rocks up on that summit! Someone from Down Under left their mark on the concrete pad at the summit.
If you look closely, you can see my glissade tracks. Sonny quickly makes his way down the northeast face of Pyramid Mountain.
38 minutes from summit to bike; 34 minutes to the trail head from here! Sonny heads back to the trail head on his bike.