These scrambles are taken from Alan Kane's Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies.

For most trips, I've included photos along with GPS readings for elevation, height gain, total distance and time. Time is from car to car, including breaks and time spent on the summit. When weather allowed I've added summit panoramas.

Like Kane's book, elevation gain depicts the difference between the lowest point and highest point on the route. It does not include ups and downs.

For accurate distances, I edit GPS routes to eliminate extraneous travel, for instance, wandering around a summit or backtracking to pick up my camera. Even standing still, a GPS receiver may create stray points which I delete.

Scrambling Background

I scrambled up my first mountain in 1976. At that time I had just started hiking and backpacking. One day while hiking in Lake Louise a mountain caught my eye; I climbed it the next day. Being my first ascent, I was ill-equipped and naive. But I was blessed with good weather and dry conditions throughout. It was Mount Temple.

Almost two decades past before I took scrambling seriously. After climbing Mount Temple, I first pursued road biking and then mountain biking. I did the odd hike, easy scramble or backpack trip, but during those years cycling was my passion.

Then in 2000, when I turned 50, I met a guy who introduced me to scrambling. At that time I was ready for a change. I had become jaded with hiking and cycling and I was thirsty for new scenery and challenges. Still, I was slow to catch on and wean myself off of mountain biking, but starting in 2001, my outdoor focus has been hiking and scrambling.

Bob Spirko