Blue Mtn | Screwdriver Ridge

Panorama from Blue Mountain

Blue Mountain and Screwdriver Ridge
Castle Wilderness, Alberta
August 1, 2023
Distance: 8.9 km
Cumulative Elevation Gain: 562 m

One can't help but be intrigued by Blue Mountain, a monticule that Dave McMurray calls his favourite foothill in Castle Wilderness. Such is his fondness, he has climbed it four times, including three times in a loop that added Screwdriver Ridge. The loop climbs the south ridge of Blue, crosses over to Screwdriver and then descends the south ridge of Screwdriver. A 2.4 km walk on a gravel road completes the circle.

I suggested this trip to Doug Robson who had reached out to me for a hike. Doug is attracted to mountains big and small. He told me the Blue-Screwdriver loop was perfect for him, a warmup to Mount Sarbach which he climbed two days later. He invited his hiking partner Harry Raymaakers to join us. Both are avid peakbaggers, climbing twice a week.

We took Dave's loop and made it leaner, knocking off 2 km. Instead of dropping down to cross the valley between the two peaks, we traversed the connecting ridge. And instead of following the south ridge of Screwdriver to the road, we took a shortcut trail. The trail reaches the road at a cattle guard. This is no coincidence for after the cattle guard, private land lines the road (see Dave's webpage).

Our trip began at the end of the south ridge of Blue Mountain. We parked at a pullout and walked a short distance to the start of a cutline. According to Dave, the fence running up the cutline sets a boundary: left is private land, but hikers can cross the leased public land on the right. We followed the cutline to the ridgetop. Soon we were hiking up a meadowy ridge with few trees to interfere with the view.

The ridge morphs into a sharp, rocky ridge, a welcomed variation from our plod across grass. After this, the rest of our ascent was a mix of meadows and rocks as the ridge zigs left then right before reaching the summit.

After taking a break, we put Screwdriver Ridge in our sights. We followed the undulating connecting ridge up and down, across meadows, through forests and over deadfall. All of which was forgettable except for the sharp climb to the summit ridge. That left a lasting impression in our minds, not to mention in our legs. Once on the ridge, we strolled to the grassy summit.

After recognizing several surrounding peaks, we headed down the broad, meadowy south ridge, so pleasant it invites dawdling. Partway, we looked for and found the shortcut trail. We followed the one-kilometre trail through meadows and past cows to the road. We walked to our car less than 2 km away.

Thanks to Dave McMurray for researching the complicated issue of public land use and for creating a loop that added a hitherto unnamed ridge and coining it Screwdriver. And thanks to my engaging companions Doug and Harry who brought along a dollop of levity to make this a fun mountain adventure.

KML and GPX Tracks

Looking up the cutline we hiked up