Turn north onto Shunda Creek Road from Highway 11 about 300 metres west of the junction to Nordegg.  Drive for 2.2 kilometres and take the right fork (left fork leads to Shunda Creek Hostel).  About 340 metres past this junction, keep straight (the road to the right leads to Coliseum Mountain trailhead) and continue for another 5 kilometres to the trailhead at a locked gate.

Complicating matters somewhat on this day was the fact that the access road was not plowed beyond the junction with the road leading to Coliseum Mountain.  This would add nearly 5 kilometres to our approach albeit on a gently graded road.  While Zosia and I opted to use light touring skis on this trip, Asieh and Ali would stick with snowshoes.  The rest would also use snowshoes for the ascent, but Houmaro and Dorota also humped two pairs of cross-country skis each with intentions of using them with Kiara and Jordan for the descent.  As it turned out, there was really no need for snowshoes at all since the snow on the road was already mostly packed down by previous snowmobile traffic.

Given the diversity of experience within our large group, it was inevitable that we would split up during the ascent.  Knowing that they would be walking both up and down the mountain, Asieh and Ali surged ahead, and Kiara stuck fairly close behind them.  Zosia was the fastest and could have skied circles around all of us, and it made the most sense for her to accompany the forward group.  I hung back with the remainder of the group to give them morale support and to ensure there were no problems.

As expected, the ascent of the access road was very straightforward with no route-finding difficulties.  The first 5 kilometres to the locked gate felt rather long, but at least the climb was gentle.  Between the locked gate and the plateau north of the summit, the road climbs much more steeply, and because I had forgotten to bring climbing skins, I had to pick up my skis and walk the majority of this section (Zosia had no trouble ascending with her skins).  Asieh, Ali and Zosia reached the summit of Shunda Mountain well ahead of the rest of us, and due to the cold weather, they rightly decided to not wait for everyone to join them before starting their descent (Zosia would be the first back to our cars after a round-trip time of a little over 4 hours).  While I pushed ahead a little on the steep section to reach the plateau and put my skis back on, Kiara actually backtracked a bit to accompany her family the rest of the way up the mountain.  Slowly but surely, Houmaro, Jordan, Kiara, Dorota and I made it up to the summit about 4 hours after starting out.

After a short break on top, we retraced our steps back to the plateau before everyone switched to cross-country skis.  Very quickly, Kiara opted to put her snowshoes back on because she did not feel comfortable descending on skis.  I offered to carry Kiara's skis back for her and promptly strapped them to my backpack while she resumed walking down the road.  Meanwhile, Jordan and Dorota had no issues with their skis and soon glided out of sight.  Houmaro was eager to descend on his skis as well, but he struggled a fair bit before I finally convinced him to put his snowshoes back on and walk down at least to the locked gate.  Even with metal edges on my skis, I found the descent of the steep road to be quite challenging, and I wiped out a couple of times myself before opting to walk as well.  When Houmaro and I returned to the locked gate, we both put our skis back on and generally had no more issues gliding back to our cars where everyone else was already waiting for us.

In retrospect, I am happy that everyone made it to the top and back down safely whether it be by walking or skiing.  Taken out of their comfort zone, Houmaro, Kiara and Jordan should be especially proud of their accomplishment of tagging a named summit in winter conditions.  Dorota deserves some sort of medal for looking after everyone in her adopted family, providing lots of encouragement, and doing so much with bare fingers in sub-zero temperatures.  Thanks go out to Asieh and Ali for their excellent company as usual and for making all of us breakfast the previous morning at Shunda Creek Hostel.  Last but not least, special thanks go to my indefatigable girlfriend, Zosia, for organizing another enjoyable weekend in the mountains and for putting up with my impulsive, last-second changes to all her best-laid plans.

	This is a photo of Shunda Mountain taken the previous day from the town of Nordegg.
	The access road to Shunda Mountain is not plowed in winter which necessitates a much longer approach best done on skis.
	Sonny follows Kiara up the access road with Shunda Mountain visible in the distance. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Although Shunda Mountain looks close here, there is still a long way to go as the road winds around to the back (north) side before climbing up.
	Houmaro carries two pairs of cross-country skis while snowshoeing up the road behind Dorota and Jordan.
	The road turns right at this large glade on the east side of the mountain.
	The road begins to climb more steeply past the gate at the summer trailhead.
	Houmaro pulls Jordan along with his ski poles while Dorota brings up the rear of the convoy. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	The road finally breaks out of the trees not far below the summit.

Views of the Bighorn Range to the west open up as Houmaro and the rest trudge up the last bit of road to the top.

 

	The top of Shunda Mountain is adorned with a building (Baldy Lookout) and several antennas.
	Kiara, Houmaro, Dorota and Jordan triumphantly reach the summit of Shunda Mountain (2091 metres).
	It is Sonny's turn to tag the summit.

Coliseum Mountain and the Brazeau Range stretch away to the southeast.

 

	The most obvious feature on the southwest horizon is Abraham Lake.
	On descent, some are electing to keep on snowshoeing while others are planning to use cross-country skis.
	Dorota, Houmaro and Jordan begin skiing down the road.
	After walking down most of the steeper sections of the road, Houmaro resumes skiing below the summer trailhead.
	Coliseum Mountain looks resplendent late in the day.
	Sonny and Houmaro are the last of the group to make it back to their cars.  There is a good chance that Houmaro is the first person from Côte d'Ivoire to ascend and ski down Shunda Mountain! Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Total Distance:  16.0 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  6 hours 50 minutes Net Elevation Gain:  708 metres GPX Data