Mount Rowe

Elevation: 2452 m
Elevation Gain: 860 m
Mount Rowe straddles the Continental Divide immediately to the north of Akamina Pass. The peak and the lakes nestled within its subalpine cirques take their name from Lieutenant Frederick Valentine Rowe. Rowe was the International Boundary Commission’s surveying officer. This Commission was responsible for delineating the Canada-US border from Lake of the Woods to the Continental Divide. As the Commission’s task neared completion, its members named a number of geographic features for themselves and their colleagues. Interestingly, Lieutenant Rowe was so-honored despite the fact that he never saw the Rocky Mountains (having been thrown violently from his horse well to the east in Manitoba).
My Ascents:
January 7 2023
Trailhead: Little Prairie Trailhead
GPS Track: Mount Rowe

In September 2021, I enjoyed a magical family hike to Upper Rowe Lakes with my girls. Indeed, that day remains one of my favorites of all-time in the Rockies! Not only was the trip magical because my, then, 4 and 5-year-old daughters managed to hike the whole way up and down on their own but it was just one of those perfect days. 🌞 We were blessed with unusually warm autumn weather and golden larches set the landscape ablaze with their vibrant needles. Whether it was the warm sun or the spectacular colors, an infectious happiness filled the air that day!

That day was so magical that I barely noticed when it went by without a summit. 🤯 Mount Rowe can easily be scrambled from Upper Rowe Lakes and I was briefly tempted by it but elected to enjoy the lakes with my family 🥰 instead of obsessing about the nearby peak. I’ve ruined a lot of perfectly lovely hikes in the past by turning them into unpleasant scrambles!😂 Thankfully, I was wise enough not to do so on this one occasion.

Of course, passing up the chance to summit Mount Rowe back then didn’t mean that I’d never get to it! So, when Matt Clay mentioned a potential winter route that he’d noticed on Rowe’s south slopes in March 2021, we both filed Rowe away as a future snowshoe destination. With schedules, weather and avalanche conditions aligning early in 2023, we quickly settled on Rowe as our target for an overdue outing.

Then, disaster struck. After avoiding various illnesses throughout the holidays, I succumbed to a nasty bug 🤒 🤢 that kept me in bed while Matt C. and his wife summitted Rowe in perfect winter conditions. As though the chills and aches that I was suffering weren’t bad enough, I was also afflicted with an acute case of FOMO! When I was able to function a few days later, I therefore decided to try for Rowe again. After a barrage of e-mails, I managed to find 3 like-minded partners: Grant (aka “Granticulus”), his friend Mihail and my old friend Cory. While this group probably wouldn’t be as magical as the company that I enjoyed at Rowe Lakes years earlier, they would, no doubt, prove to be more capable trail-breakers! 🙃

After leaving Calgary at 5:45 am 🥱, Cory and I spent a very dark commute catching up – it had, apparently, been 8 years since we last got out together! In Waterton, we met Grant and Mihail at the Little Prairie trailhead (beyond which winter plowing stops on the Akamina Parkway). Setting off just before sunrise, we enjoyed easy travel along the unplowed road (which serves as a cross-country ski/snowshoe trail during winter months).

One of the perks of being proverbial early birds: watching a spectacular sunrise from high up in the mountains (photo courtesy Mihail Iancovoi).

Setting off along the Akamina Parkway, Grant, Mihail and Cory cast glances west towards our objective while attempting to make time on the maintained winter trail to Cameron Lake.

About halfway to Cameron Lake (the Akamina Parkway’s terminus), we reached our exit: the signed trail up towards Akamina Pass.

Mihail and Cory start up toward the pass through the matchstick forest that remains after 2017’s Kenow wildfire. In a stroke of good luck, it seems that Parks Canada maintains this trail as far as Akamina Pass so we were able to continue easily without snowshoes to that point! 🥳

LEFT and RIGHT: A bridge over a small creek provides pleasant winter scenery up and down-valley.

Upon reaching the pass and crossing into BC, Matt Clay’s ascent route on Rowe’s south slopes finally came into full view. From here, we’d leave the official trail and follow a gently rising diagonal traverse to meet up with the left-hand skyline ridge (Rowe’s most gentle aspect). Other routes up Rowe are clearly possible, however, this one is, no doubt, the safest in winter.

Upon stepping off the groomed trail, we all immediately sank past our knees 🤦‍♂️; Therefore, snowshoes were quickly donned and would remain on until we reached the wind-scoured summit ridge some hours later.

The Kenow blaze devastated the Waterton area but it had the after-effect of providing grand vistas (like this one into Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park) from subalpine elevations.

Cory, Grant and Mihail continue our rising diagonal traverse towards Rowe’s southwest ridge as the terrain steepens. Although it had been somewhat erased by wind, we were generally able to follow Matt Clay’s ‘shoe track from the previous week, alleviating some route-finding and post-holing (for those of us who proved to be lighter than Matt Clay is).

Gaining elevation, the charred trees eventually grew smaller and the view west into BC improved concomitantly.

LEFT: While Rowe’s south slopes proved to be delightful dust-on-crust snowshoeing for most of us, Cory, regrettably, suffered more than his share thanks to a nagging knee injury that didn’t respond well to post-holing. Fortunately, there was no quit in him and he continued up while the rest of our group enjoyed the spectacular scenery.
RIGHT: Nearing the summit ridge, Cameron Lake came into view beneath the low-hanging, cool January sun. 🌣

As the terrain flattened near the ridgetop, we were greeted by a lovely subalpine forest full of little Christmas trees (which were somehow spared while everything else in the valley was razed).

Some fascinating pinecones amidst the Christmas trees. Upon first glance, our oxygen-deprived brains thought these grew upwards but I now suspect that some creature simply enjoyed snacking on their mid-sections! 😂 Photo courtesy Mihail Iancovoi.

LEFT: Cory “enjoys” the final, forested steps to the summit ridge.
RIGHT: From the corniced ridge, Rowe’s summit finally came into view about half a kilometer to the east.

Our position atop the summit ridge also provided the day’s first views down the other side towards those magical Rowe Lakes (which dwell in perpetual shadow this time of the year).

Ditching our ‘shoes, we enjoyed easy (but chilly) travel along the wind-scoured ridge. While our ascent had been unseasonably warm, the summit ridge proved a frigid place on this day! 🥶

The speedsters 🏃‍♂️ of our group, Mihail and Grant, take the final steps towards Rowe’s wind-blasted summit.

A spectacular, almost magical, winter scene from the summit of Mount Rowe! Above Cameron Lake, a rocky rampart separated Canada from the nearby United States. Clouds which covered the latter, poured over steep cliff faces before largely dissipating in the sunnier Canadian airspace. Click to see larger.

Looking east towards Buchanan Peak (left) and cloud-capped Mount Carthew (center).

The area’s highest peak, Mount Cleveland, makes a brief appearance amidst swirling clouds over Mount Carthew’s shoulder.

Cameron Creek follows a torturous path in the singed valley below.

A plume of clouds pours forth from the summit of Chapman Peak some 10 km south in Montana’s Glacier National Park.

Undoubtedly, Mount Rowe offers one of the finest views towards Cameron Lake. Above the lake, Mount Custer serves to keep the American clouds at bay.

The fine view towards Cameron lake (marred only by yours truly 🙃).

🎵 Clouds to the south of me, scree slopes to the right; here I am, stuck on the summit of Rowe… 🎵 Click to see larger.

Nearby Akamina Ridge spent the afternoon alternately appearing and disappearing amidst the dancing cloud cover.

A closer look at the wintry basins that are home to frozen Forum Lake (center) and Wall Lake (right). In the foreground, a small cabin is also visible amidst the matchstick forest.

To the west, long connecting ridges join Rowe with Mount Festubert (cloud-capped at center) and Mount Hawkins (center right) – click to see larger. Although there were only 4 hours of daylight left to get down, Grant decided it would be a shame to come this far and not summit 6.7 km-distant Festubert as well. From Rowe’s summit, he therefore bid us adieu and set off on a misadventure of his own. Although he reported much suffering and finished around 11 pm, he was apparently “glad for the experience.” 🤨 For our part, the rest of us enjoyed a cold but lovely stay on Rowe before descending and returning to Calgary in time for dinner. 😊

Looking west towards Starvation and Miskwasini Peaks (left) and Mount Kenow (right) in Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park.

Mount Rowe’s long winter shadow stretches over its namesake, and erstwhile magical, Upper Lakes to the north. Click to see larger.

LEFT: As my daughter Mera says: “H – is for happy” 😊 (and it was impossible not to be while staring down at the Upper Row Lakes and fondly recalling my time there with my family)!
RIGHT: Further proof of the esteem that I hold for our family hike to Rowe Lakes: nearly a year and half later, my phone’s wallpaper is still from that colorful, magical day!

Looking along the spine of Mount Rowe’s northeast ridge towards Mount Crandell (distant center right) and the prairies beyond it. To the left of the Rowe’s ridge, sun-splashed Mount Lineham rises up above the frozen Upper Rowe Lakes.

A telephoto towards aptly titled Ruby Ridge (left), an outlier of Mount Crandell (right) and the more distant flatlands.

While my soul could have stayed atop Mount Rowe for hours, soaking in the cloud scenery and basking in magical memories, my flesh (specifically my fingers and face) eventually froze 🥶 in the characteristic Waterton wind. After dawdling atop the peak for longer than any of our party, I reluctantly packed up and began my descent (following in Mihail and Cory’s footsteps).

Following our curving ascent track, we retraced our steps down Rowe’s southwest ridge, enjoying improving views and temperatures!

LEFT: Cory delicately descends in an attempt to keep his ailing knee from going completely out.
RIGHT: Mihail paused often to wait for the slow pokes and generally appeared to enjoy a leisurely, sun-filled descent.

Eventually, we made our way back to Akamina Pass, somewhat wearied by the day’s exertion (and wondering how/why Grant was still post-holing high above 🤷‍♂️). From the pass, a snowshoe-less 3-km hike along the, now, busy Akamina Parkway was all that separated us from our cars and the celebratory beverages therein. 🍻 It seems that this area is magical in both autumn and winter. I guess I’ll have to come back to check it out in spring and summer now too! 😂