It had been about five years since I summited Mount Yamnuska so there was no argument from me when Barb suggested the trek last week.
Next thing I know I am leading our foursome – Barb, Sue and Kate – up the popular mountain.
Alberta Parks had closed the trail in 2021 for trail upgrades to existing trails, construction for new sections and the decommissioning of non-sanctioned routes. It re-opened in 2022. In recent years, there have been several injuries and deaths on Yamnuska.
That said hikers, scramblers and climbers just love this mountain.
Two sections are considered particularly challenging – a chimney (above) and a short 50-metre chain section (below). Both can be avoided if you hike up the new West Col trail and tag the Yamnuska summit in an out and back. But if you are out of shape, whiny and inexperienced, this is probably not the hike for you.
I was the only one in our foursome who had done the entire scramblers route from the parking lot to the summit. Barb had got to the chain section and turned around with a group.
We were all excited to reach the summit via the scrambling route and descend the new West Col trail. I was happy to avoid the scree section because of my wonky ankle. (I also heard the new scree section is crap.)
We took the scramblers route up through the chimney before climbing around the rocky slabs and the scree. I went through the chain section first before watching the others follow behind.
From the chain section, we scrambled and climbed to the windless summit. The views were outstanding but I think the highlight for me was guiding my friends through the infamous chain section and witnessing their triumph.
Because you never truly know how anyone is going to react until they face a challenge head-on. Thankfully everyone handled it like a pro. And it was smooth sailing to the summit and down the West Col trail through the trees (a really nice runnable descent).
