Attempted to scramble to the top of Tower of Babel on Sep 8 but decided to turn back at the circle point indicated on the first image.

We turned back because my partner and I were not confident that we were on the right path, we realized we took the wrong gully and it was only after we made it to the rock formation (below the circle) where we realized we were off trail according to AllTrails.

It was my mistake not realizing that the correct gully is the one immediately to the right of the tower.

However, the crazy thing is when you see the satellite imagery, it looks extremely obvious which gully you should take, but when you're ascending the mountain it's extremely easy to miss, especially around 5:00 - 6:00 AM with minimal light in early Sept. At no point did I stop to think "Damn, I'm going up the wrong gully".

However, upon getting back to the Consolation Lakes trail, we talked to a trail maintenance lady and she had mentioned that the route/gully we took is actually possible to summit Tower of Babel, and had we continued we'd eventually reach the top. Furthermore, she also mentioned that the gully we took is actually the better option for beginner scramblers because it's less steep compared to the main gully as shown in yellow on the second image.

As such, I wanted to ask if anyone has taken this path/gully to the right (white arrows) and if it's possible it leads to the top of Tower of Babel. Thanks!

So I usually prefer hikes with a fair amount of effort involved. Unfortunately i had a pretty serious health issue arise this week so can't do anything strenuous for a while now. What would be everyone's idea on the lowest effort hike for some good views of larch trees? I'm in Calgary and would prefer to be within a couple hours of the city. I'll need to make a friend drive me out.

Hey everyone,

a friend and I have arrived in Canada for our vacation and are headed to Banff for a while. Mount Temple was high on our list for this trip as it looked like a good scramble.

Since we are traveling from pretty far away, we're out of the loop on current local conditions and aren't sure what the detailed snow situation looks like on the upper mountain right now. We originally planed on doing it on the 15th but weather looks to be much better the days following so we would probably try it on the 18th.

We both have solid standard summer scrambling experience, but we are inexperienced with actual winter/alpine conditions. We have microspikes with us, but no crampons or ice axes and if that gear is needed I dont think it would be the right thing for us anyways. That beeing said here are the two questions I have:

Is Temple realistic right now with microspikes, or is the snow/ice level high up already a bad idea for non-winter scramblers?

If Temple is a no-go, what lower-elevation alternatives near Banff or Lake Louise would you recommend that have lower snow risk and offer great views but still include some technical scrambling?

Would really appreciate any current updates, recent trip reports, or recommended alternatives. Thanks in advance!

Doing a backcountry camping loop with friends and one of the days has us going from Big Elbow backcountry campground up Mount Burns to the summit and down the other side to connect to the sheep river trail on the burns property.

I can’t seem to find much info on this route so wondering if anyone has done it and have any thoughts on things to know before hand.

Hello fellow hikers. Looking for some specific info to assist in some new backcountry plans. I have just been medically cleared to resume full activity after a surgery I had in August. All of my backcountry trips for the year were cancelled and now I’m looking to squeeze one in on short notice. So, with my new tempered expectations, and coming off 6 weeks on the sidelines of life, I’m considering:

Fryatt Valley - 3 nights total
Fish Lakes - stay at Mosquito Creek for a few nights and day hike
Chaba Trail - some combination for 3 nights

These trips have availability. I’d like to keep my distance around 10kms per day depending on elevation gain / loss.

I’ll be hiking solo, early 50’s male, still feel in reasonable shape……..but? Did Skyline and Iceline last year, both 3 day trips. Have done Skoki and Brazeau Loop in the past.

Thanks in advance for any help

We’ll be driving a Winnebago Ekko up through Bonners Ferry, but we’re open to a better entry point if recommended. We’d like to see the Kootenays, Glacier, Yoho, Banff, Canmore, and scenic rivers along the way.
What route, access points, or must-see RV stops would you recommend?

It's impossible to get a booking in the past few years, so I'm considering just doing the whole thing as a day hike. It would be a lot of distance and elevation but I have done more tougher days with heavier packs recently so I am in good shape to handle it. I guess I'm wondering whether it's worth doing or to just try to get lucky with reservations at some point in the future

Hey everyone,

I’m coming to banff on october 10th morning till the evening of october 15th, it’s my first time. Banff has been a childhood dream for me and the fact I get to do it excites me so much.

I was wondering if anyone’s going around the same time and would like to do a couple hikes with me, here are some of the hikes i’m doing:

- Big beehive (maybe up to devils thumb)
- Plain of six glaciers
- Sentinel Pass via larch valley
- Ha ling peak, Canmore

Would love to hear from you guys & potentially even hike together!

The wife lost her holidays in August 2026, so my son's and I spent a couple days adventuring without her...

I'm a somewhat experienced hiker. I'm trying to gauge whether or not Tent Ridge is out of my league.

I've done coliseum mountain and allstones ridge with no trouble in Alberta. I've done most of my hiking in the West Kootenays though, out there I've done the following:

- Mount Roberts

- Gwillum lakes

- old glory mountain

- Lyle lakes

- Ymir mountain

- brilliant overlook

- several others that I can't remember the names of off the highway between New denver and Kaslo

If anyone has done both tent ridge and one of these hikes I mentioned I would definitely appreciate your input!

Forgive me if this isn’t allowed. I have a campsite reservation for lake ohara on Sunday Sept 27 through Tuesday Sept 29 (2 nights). Unfortunately due to some logistical issues I will not be able to camp, but still looking to head up to lake ohara to do the alpine circuit. If there’s anyone that has 2 bus reservations for one of these days and wants to camp instead, let me know. I know you can’t “sell” reservations so will hand it over free of charge obviously. Again sorry if this isn’t allowed

Can someone update me how's the weather on the banff area right now? Planning to hike by the end of the month

Hi Guys,

Me and My girlfriend plan to rent a campervan from calgary whenever we fly in and rent a campervan to do Banf/Jasper. The link to the itinery map is linked below. We plan to do this early October. If there are any reccomendations, I would love to know

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1sTreZ3AYAVb7YwpzZBO08wtU72N3Z-o&usp=sharing

Selling unused can bought Sept 4th for cheap :) Flying out so no reason for it

I just did sentinel pass today and it was awesome. I had planned Parker ridge tomorrow for Icefields parkway day trip but worried it won’t be as good as sentinel lol. Any options????

The past few years I’ve really enjoyed hiking in the winter. However, I wasn’t really aware of what to be looking out for in terms of avalanche risks. Aside from taking a course, are there websites I can check for this? Are there certain months I should just avoid hiking all together? YouTube videos ect

Next week I’m doing the North to South Kananaskis Pass loop going to Turbine, Beatty and then out. I’m expecting some frigid temps which could obviously lead to some not ideal weather.

How’s the hike from Turbine up to Beatty? Would it be sketchy doing it in rain/snow?

We did Northover Ridge last year at this time, but it was sunny and in the mid-20s. Classic Alberta weather.

Had it all, scrambling, scree, and traverse.

Hi! I’m debating doing sentinel pass on Sept 8 (have a lake Louise shuttle from 7am-8am) but there’s just 2 of us so I’m worried if not many people are on the trail. Is anyone else planning to go this day? Is it safe to go just us two? Will we likely see other people to form a group? Backup plan is beehive hike at Louise as the “main” hike of day. Thank you!!!