Climbing Routes on Mt. Edith Cavell
There are many routes on Mt. Edith Cavell, and new variations and lines are added all the time, most probably unpublished. The routes consist of mainly scrambling up technical fifth class rock, ice and snow, with ropes used for safety and unplanned retreat. While the climbing is rated 5.8 at the highest level of difficulty, it’s the poor condition the peak is often in that forces climbers to rope up. Many climbers have lost their lives on this peak, notably Eckhard Grassman, a pioneer hard man of Canadian alpine climbing with many winter and first ascents to his credit, who died in 1979 in a 600-foot roped fall caused by rockfall on the North Face.
West Ridge (Normal Route) II
The West Ridge is the easiest route up the mountain and a commonly used descent route. While mainly a scramble, some routefinding is necessary, ice ax and crampons are a must for the summit ridge and the route is a very long day trip from car to car. Many parties have become lost on the mountain during bad weather and whiteouts, often losing their way and ending up off route by descending from the main summit ridge before the proper turnout, becoming cliffed out, then having to re-climb to the summit ridge and descend further down.
Photos by Randy Colwell
There are many routes on Mt. Edith Cavell, and new variations and lines are added all the time, most probably unpublished. The routes consist of mainly scrambling up technical fifth class rock, ice and snow, with ropes used for safety and unplanned retreat. While the climbing is rated 5.8 at the highest level of difficulty, it’s the poor condition the peak is often in that forces climbers to rope up. Many climbers have lost their lives on this peak, notably Eckhard Grassman, a pioneer hard man of Canadian alpine climbing with many winter and first ascents to his credit, who died in 1979 in a 600-foot roped fall caused by rockfall on the North Face.
The West Ridge is the easiest route up the mountain and a commonly used descent route. While mainly a scramble, some routefinding is necessary, ice ax and crampons are a must for the summit ridge and the route is a very long day trip from car to car. Many parties have become lost on the mountain during bad weather and whiteouts, often losing their way and ending up off route by descending from the main summit ridge before the proper turnout, becoming cliffed out, then having to re-climb to the summit ridge and descend further down.
Photos by Randy Colwell
The East Ridge is one of the classic alpine climbs of the Canadian Rockies and the most popular and recommended route on Mt. Edith Cavell. It is necessary to take crampons and ice axe even though it may look free of ice and snow from below. There are patches of ice you have to climb across. It can be done in a long day from car to car. This is mainly a fifth class scramble up good solid quartzite rock with a multitude of good holds and features. However, the exposure, icy conditions in places and the possibility of having to downclimb the route will generally cause most parties to use a rope, if not at least carry one. Many fatalities have occurred on the East Ridge from natural and human-triggered avalanches and falls. Beware.
This is the longest and most involved route on the face. It offers the most technical climbing and bypasses the unstable ice and seracs of the hanging Angel Glacier, which regularly calves off, sending huge, devastating ice avalanches scouring down the lower North Face.
This route follows the line up a prominent rib between the upper part of the East Summit route and the original North Face route. Rockfall and icefall on this route is common almost any time when the mountain is not in condition.
This is the original Chouinard route on the face and still the most popular of the North Face lines. Originally, the approach route was to the left of the Angel Glacier, but the icefall danger to climbers was so great that another variation was begun to the upper glacier that most climbers now use. The route up the face above follows the prominent rock buttress directly to the summit snow slopes near the ridge crest and offers good climbing on excellent quartzite.
Named for the late Bugs McKeith, a pioneer of Canadian alpine and ice climbing who perished on Mt. Assiniboine, this route follows the same approach as for the North Face, Main Summit route. Above the Angel Glacier the route follows a rocky spur below the prominent rib right of the original North Face route.
Conditions and Weather in Jasper National Park
Rescue Dynamics offers current climbing conditions , as well as weather reports and a host of other mountaineering related services. Current climbing conditions can sometimes also be obtained by calling Park Wardens in Jasper National Park at (780) 852-6155 or (780) 852-6181 at the Sunwapta Station. Park Wardens climb often in this area during training, while performing rescue operations as well as for personal recreation, and they often have recent and accurate information with regards to climbing conditions in the Columbia Icefield area.
Photo by Ian Bergeron
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Red Tape, Fees and Legalese in Jasper National Park
Campers who use the backcountry trails in Jasper National Park can now reserve a campsite up to three months in advance. Parks Canada has implemented this system of advanced registration to allow campers to plan their backcountry trips with greater ease. Although reservations are not mandatory, it is a wise choice to use this system to avoid overbooking, as some trails are subject to quotas.
Backcountry camping requires a permit as well at $8/night (maximum of $30) plus $10 reservation fee. All fees CDN$. Youths under 16 travel for free. All fees are to be paid in advance. Annual wilderness passes are available for $42 and are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. Contact the Jasper Parks Visitor Centre for more information on this at (780) 852-6176 or see the Jasper National Park Home Page (which contains links to fees, trail reports, and avalanche reports) .
Up-to-date Park fees and camping fees can be found at Parks Canada Fee Page - Jasper National Park. A National Park Pass is required if you will be stopping anywhere in Jasper National Park. They can be purchased at any entry point to Jasper or Banff National Park, or at any Ranger Station, $8 per person or $16 per vehicle. Open fires are not allowed anywhere in Jasper National Park, except in restricted locations at approved campsites. Technically, overnight camping or bivouacs in the backcountry require a backcountry permit which costs $8 and can be purchased at any Park Warden office. Camping on the mountain is permitted if you have a backcountry permit.
Photo by Joel Schenk
Campers who use the backcountry trails in Jasper National Park can now reserve a campsite up to three months in advance. Parks Canada has implemented this system of advanced registration to allow campers to plan their backcountry trips with greater ease. Although reservations are not mandatory, it is a wise choice to use this system to avoid overbooking, as some trails are subject to quotas.
Backcountry camping requires a permit as well at $8/night (maximum of $30) plus $10 reservation fee. All fees CDN$. Youths under 16 travel for free. All fees are to be paid in advance. Annual wilderness passes are available for $42 and are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. Contact the Jasper Parks Visitor Centre for more information on this at (780) 852-6176 or see the Jasper National Park Home Page (which contains links to fees, trail reports, and avalanche reports) .
Up-to-date Park fees and camping fees can be found at Parks Canada Fee Page - Jasper National Park. A National Park Pass is required if you will be stopping anywhere in Jasper National Park. They can be purchased at any entry point to Jasper or Banff National Park, or at any Ranger Station, $8 per person or $16 per vehicle. Open fires are not allowed anywhere in Jasper National Park, except in restricted locations at approved campsites. Technically, overnight camping or bivouacs in the backcountry require a backcountry permit which costs $8 and can be purchased at any Park Warden office. Camping on the mountain is permitted if you have a backcountry permit.
Photo by Joel Schenk
Royal Canadian Mountain Police (780) 852-4848.
P.O. Box 1800 600 Pyramid Lake Road, Jasper, AB.
Jasper Hospital (780) 852-3344
518 Robson St. Jasper, AB.
Fire & Ambulance (780) 852-3100
Jasper Firehall, Patricia St. Jasper, AB.
Park Warden Office (780) 852-6155 / 56
Maligne Rd. Jasper, AB. (km 2)
Sunwapta Park Warden Station (780 )852-6181
Mile 45, Highway 93 (Icefield Parkway)
Pobotkan Creek Warden Station (780) 852-5383
Highway 93 (Icefield Parkway)
Search and Rescue (780) 852-3100
Emergency calls can be directed to the Jasper Park Warden at
(780) 852-3100 or by calling the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) at (780) 852-4848
Camping and Backpacking in Jasper National Park
There are campgrounds located in the area, but many are often full to capacity during the summer months, and especially on long weekends. The closest campground to the mountain is Wabasso Campground. Travellers would be advised to check a map of Alberta for the locations of various campgrounds in the area. Overnight fees of $18 a night are typical. Many campgrounds feature showers and power hookups. Open fires are sometimes not allowed due to forest fire hazard conditions; the area has been hit by several large forest fires in recent years.
There is a backpacking information page available, just click on this link: Backpacking Jasper National Park. Another good site with information on hiking, trekking, scrambling and backpacking in the Canadian Rockies isThe Canadian Rockies.com .
Hostels
For those who don't want to camp or bivouac, there is an excellent option to distant and expensive mountain park hotels.Hostelling International runs a chain of excellent, low-cost hostels which provide accomodations at several convenient locations close to popular climbing and touring sites. These hostels are clean, well-kept and managed by full-time custodians. The hostels are extremely economical in comparison to the costs of mountain park resorts and area hotels, as well as being surrounded by some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world. Mt. Edith Cavell towers over the little hostel set in a narrow valley below this spectacular setting. It’s an ideal base from which to explore the Angel Glacier, Cavell Meadows and Basin or Tonquin Valley. This is a rustic hostel - no running water, no showers, and no flush toilets. The Mt. Edith Cavell Hostel does have purified water for cooking, a propane refrigerator, stoves and lights. A direct telephone call to the hostel for bookings can be made at 1-877-852-0781.
Check-in at hostels starts at 3:00 p.m. and check-out is by 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Self-cook kitchens are the rule, featuring gas and wood stoves, outdoor water pumps (well water) and cleaning up after yourself is a rule as well. The facilities range in description from "rustic", with bunkhouse-style sleeping quarters, to "very comfortable", with private family rooms (Lake Louise). Hostels close to Mt. Edith Cavell (besides the Mt. Edith Cavell trailhead hostel, within walking distance), are located at Athabasca Falls and the town of Jasper. Reservations should be made well in advance. Payment by cash or credit card (Visa) is accepted, upon checking in. The organization is not able to make same day arrival reservations - walk in basis only. At all rustic hostels in Jasper National Park twenty-four hours individual cancellation notice is required or your credit card will be charged. Due to its wilderness location, accessibility for the physically disabled at the Mt. Edith Cavell Hostel is challenging. Please call for further details.
Lodging
The nearby town of Jasper has many inns, motels and hotels, which can be found at Jasper Hotels. While usually expensive, they provide a base for those who don’t feel like roughing it, or simply want a break from the rigors of camping, hiking and climbing, and want to have a hot shower, a good meal and a good night’s sleep out of the weather.
There are campgrounds located in the area, but many are often full to capacity during the summer months, and especially on long weekends. The closest campground to the mountain is Wabasso Campground. Travellers would be advised to check a map of Alberta for the locations of various campgrounds in the area. Overnight fees of $18 a night are typical. Many campgrounds feature showers and power hookups. Open fires are sometimes not allowed due to forest fire hazard conditions; the area has been hit by several large forest fires in recent years.
There is a backpacking information page available, just click on this link: Backpacking Jasper National Park. Another good site with information on hiking, trekking, scrambling and backpacking in the Canadian Rockies is
Hostels
For those who don't want to camp or bivouac, there is an excellent option to distant and expensive mountain park hotels.
Check-in at hostels starts at 3:00 p.m. and check-out is by 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Self-cook kitchens are the rule, featuring gas and wood stoves, outdoor water pumps (well water) and cleaning up after yourself is a rule as well. The facilities range in description from "rustic", with bunkhouse-style sleeping quarters, to "very comfortable", with private family rooms (Lake Louise). Hostels close to Mt. Edith Cavell (besides the Mt. Edith Cavell trailhead hostel, within walking distance), are located at Athabasca Falls and the town of Jasper. Reservations should be made well in advance. Payment by cash or credit card (Visa) is accepted, upon checking in. The organization is not able to make same day arrival reservations - walk in basis only. At all rustic hostels in Jasper National Park twenty-four hours individual cancellation notice is required or your credit card will be charged. Due to its wilderness location, accessibility for the physically disabled at the Mt. Edith Cavell Hostel is challenging. Please call for further details.
Lodging
The nearby town of Jasper has many inns, motels and hotels, which can be found at Jasper Hotels. While usually expensive, they provide a base for those who don’t feel like roughing it, or simply want a break from the rigors of camping, hiking and climbing, and want to have a hot shower, a good meal and a good night’s sleep out of the weather.
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