BOU AVENUE
Mockingbird Hill Lookout
Taking advantage of a great weather
forecast, Zosia Zgolak and I skied up Mockingbird Hill Lookout in the
Waiparous Creek area northwest of Cochrane, Alberta on 16 April 2020.
Having already skied up to the lookout in
2004 using
cross-country skis and remembering my fair share of embarrassing wipeouts
on the way down, I opted this time to use AT gear.
Turn north onto Highway 40 from Highway 1A about 13 kilometres west of
Cochrane or 15 kilometres east of Morley. Drive roughly northwest
for 40 kilometres to the junction with Waiparous Valley Road. Turn
left and drive for 2.8 kilometres to a prominent fork. Stay right
and drive for another kilometre to the start of the access road to
Mockingbird Hill Lookout. Park where appropriate without blocking
the access road.
Waiparous Valley Road was still quite snowy on this day, and I was a bit
nervous about getting my car stuck. Fortunately, there happened to
be a pick-up truck just ahead of us, and I was able to follow behind in
its tire tracks without any issues. Near the start of the lookout
access road, I managed to turn my car around and park far enough to the
side of the main road so as not to block any traffic potentially (but
unlikely) driving through. The occupants from the truck had also
parked just off the main road and were planning to hike/snowshoe up to
the lookout.
Other than a couple of annoying gates along
the way, the access road is quite straightforward to ascend, and Zosia
and I had no problems skinning all the way up to the lookout. As
promised, the weather was fantastic, and we took an extended break at the
top to enjoy the far-reaching views and warm sunshine. The only
disappointing aspect of the day was our descent. Warm temperatures
made for some wet and sticky snow, and while the skiing was not
technically difficult, maintaining our balance required extra effort and
felt more exhausting than it should have. In any case, we both
still made it down without any spills, and after packing up our gear, we
managed to drive back out to the main highway without any issues.
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Zosia begins skiing up the access road
to Mockingbird Hill Lookout. |
 |
The ski up the access road is straightforward. |
 |
Unlike Sonny's first trip here in 2004, there is now a convenient opening
in the fence guarding the top of the lookout. |
 |
Zosia and Sonny give thumbs up on the helipad near the top of Mockingbird
Hill Lookout (1905 metres). |
The lookout building is unmanned on this day.
Notable peaks to the southwest include
Orient Point
(far left edge),
Black Rock Mountain (left), Mount Costigan (left of centre) and
Devils Head
(right of centre).
