Grotto Mountain

Dist: 12.1km    Elev: 1430m    Summit: 8928'    Time: 6h    Difficulty: 4/5

Despite the mountain forecast of cool weather and afternoon snow flurries, Byron and I stuck to our plan of summiting something "big". Neither of us had done Grotto mountain despite seeing it every time we frequent the Canmore area, and the numbers were big enough to satisfy Byron's hunger for elevation so we decided to give it a go.

We parked in the Canmore ACC parking lot, and the the trail was consistently steep all the way to the ridgecrest some 1200m above. We encountered increasingly deep snow after crossing the treeline and came across a few sections along the unbroken ridge trail where we seriously considered turning back due to unfamiliar terrain and delicate spring snow conditions. However, with enough trial-and-error (and naive optimism) we managed to push all the way to the snowy summit!

The forcasted snow rolled in almost exactly as we arrived at the top, so we took a couple quick pictures and decided to get ourselves off the big rock before pushing our luck any further. We returned the same way we came, passing two small groups of hikers that were following our tracks and still committed to reaching the end.

This was a big day for an early season hike, and both Byron and I's soft winter bodies reminded us the whole way down that we were in need of some further conditioning. Nonetheless, it always feels good to be outside and bag an ambitious summit this time of year. Looking forward to another summer in the mountains!

The climb begins. Grotto summit top center.

The Three Sisters emerge from the mist.

Leaving the trees.

The snowy scree slopes offered big views of the Bow Valley. Lady MacDonald to the right.

Byron and Canmore below.

Many large cornices along the ridge required careful navigation.

On the ridge. Grotto summit can be seen in the distance.

Looking back at the ground we have covered.

Byron's eyes on the prize.

Clouds resting in a neighboring valley.

 

One final push.

Summit view of Canmore.

Our return route as the forecasted weather arrives.

Big day with my biggest buddy!