Kananaskis Lookout

Elevation: 2130 m
Elevation Gain: 425 m
The Kananaskis Lookout sits atop an eastern outlier of Mount Pocaterra and has been an active fire lookout since 1952. Located near the continental divide, the lookout provides good views of Alberta’s Kananaskis and Smith-Dorrien Valleys and BC’s Elk Valley. The scenic hill is visited by hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers and snowshoers year-round. The nearby Kananaskis Lakes, River and Valley were named by John Palliser in 1858 for an Indigenous man who survived an axe blow.
My Ascents:
March 12 2021
Trailhead: Boulton Creek Day Use Parking
GPS Track: Kananaskis Lookout

As unseasonably warm weather annihilated the substantial snowbanks that guarded our Calgary home for 3 months, Brianne voiced a surprising lament; despite months of complaining about winter, she was now sad to see it coming to an abrupt end (Women?! Am, I right)! Knowing full-well that the mountains could provide the snow and cold that she suddenly coveted, we decided that an outing was overdue. With sunny skies forecast for Friday March 12, we therefore made the necessary arrangements and treated ourselves to a day off work and away from our kids!

Since Brianne loves cross-country skiing, we decided to explore Peter Lougheed Provincial Park’s world-class, formerly free, trail system. Naturally, we tackled the highest trail (up to the Kananaskis Lookout via “Whiskey Jack”) since it would provide the best views and the most fun on the way down. Sold on the potential for scenery and a lightning-fast trip down, we chose to overlook the grind that would constitute our trip up… 🤷

Pleasant views towards Gap Mountain distract from our huff-and-puff on the way up.

LEFT: You know cross-country ski trails are steep when they switchback (multiple times)!
RIGHT: After investing a couple of hours’ worth of sweat, our cardiovascular efforts paid off and the lookout structure came into view. The ski up wasn’t terribly exciting (as evidenced by the lack of photos!) but the company was good, the air was fresh and the spring sun was warm.

LEFT: The lookout’s mailbox-style register provides evidence of the current snow depth. Obviously, this is a good place to come if you’re looking to extend your winter a little bit! ❄️
RIGHT: The “Goat on a picnic table” happily peruses the lookout register on a sunny Friday afternoon. 🐐

The view west towards the Kananaskis Lakes proved to be perfectly panoramic! Click to see larger.

In fact, the view of the lakes was even good enough to get Brianne to put the lookout register down for a few minutes!

Mount Lyautey (center left) rises up above Upper Kananaskis Lake.

Mounts Putnik (left) and Beatty (right).

Mount Indefatigable’s South (center) and North (right) summits tower above Lower Kananaskis Lake.

Looking northwest beyond Gypsum Ridge (center left) up the Smith-Dorrien Valley. Cegnfs Peak (left) and Mount Kent (right) bookend the valley while Cone Mountain and Mount Turbulent are apparent in the distance.

A host of familiar peaks rise up on both sides of the Kananaskis Valley to the north. From left to right: Mount Inflexible, Mount Lawson, Little Lawson, Mount Bogart, Mount Kidd South, Mount Kidd, Opal Ridge, Grizzly Peak and King Creek Ridge.

The Opal Range makes for a formidable buttress on the Kananaskis Valley’s east aspect.

Vertical strata are hallmarks of Mounts Wintour (left), Brock (center) and Blane (right).

Nearby Gap Mountain has always looked like a tempting scramble to me. Perhaps I’ll wait until its slopes aren’t as littered with avalanches though!

Brianne catches her trespassing husband in the act (the views were better from the lookout’s deck)! The signs warned of electronic surveillance but I didn’t think that my own wife would be the one collecting the evidence…

Brianne enjoys her sunny picnic table while Mount Pocaterra blocks the view to the east.

A formidable group of peaks fills the panorama to the south of the lookout. Click to see larger.

Mount Aosta is a monstrous peak on the western side of the Elk Valley.

Mount Cadorna (center left) and Mount Swiderski (center right) are an impressive sight to the southwest beyond the unseen Elk Lakes. Along with Mount Battisti, these 3 peaks were originally referred to as the Three Giants of Nyahe ya Nibi (“the Heart of the Mountains”).

Looking west towards Mount Fox’s daunting east ridge scramble route.

Mounts Foch and Sarrail appear beyond the lookout’s clothesline. Definitely beats the view that I have when doing laundry!

After enjoying the sunny scenery, we snapped one last selfie and turned our attention to the day’s highlight: the lightning-fast descent!

Brianne white-knuckles her way down from the Kananaskis Lookout. While she normally flies downhill on her skinny skis, a fresh skiff of snow conspired to make her descent more “interesting” than usual.

Still smiling (even after a spill or two)!

After descending the steepest sections, we decided that it was too beautiful to take the fastest way down and extended our day with a pleasant ski down “Pocaterra.”

What goes down must come back up? Huh? Thanks to our trip down “Pocaterra,” we had to finish our day on “Wheeler” (which would be more accurately described by the name “Sucksville”).

LEFT: Since “Wheeler” was more of a skating rink than a ski trail, Brianne endured a walk of shame down this hill (instead of stylishly going a$$ over tea kettle like I did).
RIGHT: All’s well that ends well (and a day in the mountains that ends with a Snake Lake IPA can certainly be said to have ended well)!

After spending one final winter day together, Brianne and I headed back to Calgary, picked up the kids, and started to dream about the warmer, summer mountain adventures that we’ll soon enjoy!