Dist: 5.3km Elev: 570m Summit: 7152' Time: 3.5h Difficulty: 4/5
In the spirit of "use 'em or lose 'em" I took a mid-week personal leave day from work for a quick solo blitz up this small and unpopular Kananaskis summit. I think Limestone is often overlooked as it is surrounded by many higher and more impressive peaks but, having come to appreciate the unique and arguably more awe-inspiring perspective afforded by being eye-level with these giants instead of on top of them, I decided to give it a go.
Most of the route was through dense and viewless forest, thankfully following the recent tracks of another solo snowshoer. Once out of the trees the final few hundred meters required scrambling on some steep but solid rock to reach the summit. Views from this point on (when available) were indeed great but unfortunately the weather had other plans and I gained only glimpses amidst the heavy rolling clouds of what I'm confident would have otherwise been incredible scenery. Of course, the sky cleared up just as I was about halfway down and too far to seriously consider going back up.
Despite being somewhat disappointed by the uncooperative weather I still felt adequately compensated for my efforts and went home feeling refreshed and grateful for such easy access to this natural playground, especially on a work day!
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| Looking back at the first views from a short break in the trees. |
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| Looking forward. Limestone summit out of view in upper left. Kananaskis Valley below. |
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| Starting the scrambly parts. |
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| Summit "views" looking SE at The Wedge. |
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| Mt. Kidd dominates the view to the NW. |
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| Highway 40 below and other distant peaks to the west. |
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| Much improving views on my descent! |
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| One final look back at Limestone summit (top left) before heading back into the trees. |
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