2007-07-31 Mt. Rae

Mt. Rae can be found in the Highwood Pass section of the Kananaskis Parks, and at 3218m high it is a formidable mountain. My interest in scrambling it really came about for two reasons:

1) It’s in the Highwood area that is closed for half of the year and I rarely go there
2) I’ve never done it, so why not!

Mt. Rae really challenged me, it challenged my route finding skills, it challenged my confidence and it challenged my determination; I have to say, it is one of the most technical peaks I’ve done so far.
I arrived at the Highwood Meadows parking lot at 8.30am, and was happy to note I was the first one there. The whole drive out I was in excellent spirits, happy to be going scrambling and really just happy to be in the mountains and doing something that I love.

The only one in the parking lot

The first section is really straightforward; a well beaten path carries you up through the forest to the Ptarmigan Cirque a beautiful and lush alpine meadow.

Path in to Ptarmigan Cirque

Looking back the way I came

After that the description says to “churn your way up the scree at the rear of the cirque on the left hand side” and churn it is! It is also really slabby and has a lot of loose scree on the top, so be careful!

It looks like a rather impenetrable ridge, but if you stick to the left side you’ll eventually make it up the steep and unstable slope.

Scree and ridge, about as bad as it looks

Once you’ve gained the ridge there is a great rock for sitting and contemplating, which is exactly what Kane recommends, and exactly what I did. From there you can see the next section of the route up the mountain, and it’s a little deceiving. There are a number of pinnacles all along the initial ridge with the largest blocking the ridge furthest up. From below this largest pinnacle looks like the summit, but it definitely is not!

Looking forward at the pinnacles (right) and path (left)

There is a whole network of trails on the backside of Rae, which is steep, scree-y and has a long run-out to rather deep gully. This network seems intent on carrying the scrambler up to the ridge which does provide some amazing views, but some very bad scrambling. Any number of times I found myself up on the ridge, feeling very exposed on all sides and a tricky move my only option; I didn’t like it. There were many times when I ended up in a tight spot with my heart pounding, breathing strained and only force of will keeping the pure gut-wrenching terror in check.

Looking back down the path

In the end I made it to the summit, but it involved a lot of back tracking, a lot of adrenaline and a lot of careful stepping along the way. One thing that really would have helped me was staying low and to the left on the backside of Rae rather than giving in to the temptation of the ridge. If you’re planning on scrambling this route I’d really recommend staying low and staying alert, this is a fairly technical scramble on loose scree with a long run out; if you aren’t confident with your scrambling skills you’d probably be wise to stay away.

Resting near the top

Some amazing rainbow-clouds I saw.. pictures prove I’m not crazy!

In the end, I found my physical skills tested along with my decision making abilities and mettle to continue. I’m glad I did scrambled this peak, but I was so focused on traveling that I hardly had time to enjoy it.

Stats
Elevation: 1000m (but it really feels like it should be more!)
Distance: 7km

Fun Fact: Highwood Pass is the highest drivable pass in Canada!