East Ridge Of Panorama Ridge

BOU AVENUE
East Ridge Of Panorama Ridge

On 6 March 2021, Zosia Zgolak and I skied up East Ridge of Panorama Ridge (ERPR) in Alberta's Banff National Park. I had already done this popular ski tour in 2016, but this would be Zosia's first visit. My first trip was hardly an enjoyable experience with frigid temperatures and a wearisome descent--mostly a protracted snow-plow--of Taylor Lake trail. Although the weather would be much milder this time, I wondered if the return ski would be any less agonizing.

Starting from the trailhead (south side of Trans-Canada Highway 7.9 kilometres west of Castle junction or 18 kilometres east of Lake Louise), Zosia and I followed the well-packed and signed trail which climbs moderately but steadily for nearly seven kilometres to the eastern shore of Taylor Lake. As noted in my previous trip report, the trail is mostly forested until just before the lake, and although the ascent is easy enough, it can feel rather uninspiring at times. From the lakeshore, we followed fresh skin tracks into the forested slope to the north and eventually emerged into open meadows with views of our objective as well as the main rugged spine of Panorama Ridge. The skin tracks led us quite high up onto ERPR, but they inexplicably stopped short of the ridge top. Consequently, we (actually, Zosia) had to break trail for the last 160 metres of elevation gain, and although we initially floundered a bit in some deep pockets of snow, the rest of the ascent turned out to be quite straightforward.

Zosia and I stopped just long enough on the high point for a few requisite photographs before retreating a short distance to remove our climbing skins. Our descent of the ridge was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of skiing quality. While there were some slopes that were absolutely delightful to ski, there were also some sections where the snow felt a little "grabby". Lower down, we loosely followed previous skiers' tracks back to the open meadows, but instead of returning to Taylor Lake, we took a bypass route along a gully which eventually intersects the main trail about 400 metres east of the lake. The ensuing descent of the luge track that is Taylor Lake trail was more fun and less painful than I remembered, but we both took plenty of short breaks on the way down to alleviate some of the burning sensations in our legs due to prolonged snow-plowing.

Although my overall impression of this second visit to ERPR is one of mild disappointment because the skiing could have been so much better, I still think that this is an outstanding ski tour that is relatively safe and offers spectacular scenery. I suspect that I will come back again in the future, and hopefully, my third time's a charm granting effort-less skiing from top to bottom.

She went left!
At the trailhead, Zosia has a tough time deciding which gate to go through.

I will never ever hike or snowshoe this trail!
The forested trail to Taylor Lake is well-packed but exceedingly long.

Roughly the halfway point of the ascent! Zosia arrives at frozen Taylor Lake.

I will never ever climb up this cliff face! Across the lake is the impressive northern aspect of Mount Bell's northeast ridge.

It's farther away than it looks... Zosia gets her first glimpse of East Ridge of Panorama Ridge (right of centre).

Awesome ski terrain here. Zosia follows the skin track up increasingly steep slopes.

I still can't believe the previous skiers didn't bother to go all the way to the top! With the skin track petering out, Zosia is forced to break her own trail up the ridge.

Almost there! The trees really thin out near the top of the ridge.

Yay! Zosia raises her arms in triumph on the high point of East Ridge of Panorama Ridge (2559 metres*).
*The elevation reading on my previous trip was 2558 metres.

Two thumbs up for this ski ascent! Sonny and Zosia pose together on the high point.

Simply sublime!

Zosia heads back the way she came along the ridge crest with Mount Bell in the background.

	The main spine of Panorama Ridge is visible to the west.
	Protruding rocks and wind-affected snow make for some less-than-stellar ski conditions on the ridge top.
	Zosia is in fine form as she cruises down the slope.
	Sonny makes a few turns while descending the ridge. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia hurtles down the Taylor Lake trail which feels like a long and never-ending luge track.
	Total Distance: 20.1 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 7 hours 29 minutes Net Elevation Gain: 1094 metres GPX Data

	At the trailhead, Zosia has a tough time deciding which gate to go through.
	The forested trail to Taylor Lake is well-packed but exceedingly long.
	Zosia arrives at frozen Taylor Lake.
	Across the lake is the impressive northern aspect of Mount Bell's northeast ridge.
	Zosia gets her first glimpse of East Ridge of Panorama Ridge (right of centre).
	Zosia follows the skin track up increasingly steep slopes.
	With the skin track petering out, Zosia is forced to break her own trail up the ridge.
	The trees really thin out near the top of the ridge.
	Zosia raises her arms in triumph on the high point of East Ridge of Panorama Ridge (2559 metres). The elevation reading on my previous trip was 2558 metres.
	Sonny and Zosia pose together on the high point.