Heart Mountain - Canmore Bow Valley Route up the North West ridge of Heart Mountain, Heart Creek is in the valley to the right Emily showing the way at the moderate rock step Use of hands on some portions of the upper slopes Made it! A cool day for Emily and Al but the java tasted good! Heart Mountain – Canmore Bow Valley Scramble: Class 2 – Steep Hiking, Some Use of Hands Altitude: 2,135m (7,003 ft) Elevation Gain: 875m (2,870 ft) Ascent Time: 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 Hours Best Season to Scramble: May to October Highlights This scramble because of its easterly location escapes much of the snowy weather that Banff and Lake Louise get. Although its right next to the TransCanada highway and you can hear some road noise, the terrain covered to the summit is varied and interesting. Getting There Head west out of Calgary on the TransCanada highway # 1 to the Lac Des Arc overpass (approx 71.7km from the Canada Olympic Park intersection to the Lac Des Arc overpass). Take the overpass, cross over to the south side of the highway then follow it to the left up a short hill to the Heart Creek parking lot. Washroom in the parking lot with trail over to Heart Creek and mountain behind it. Take this trail for approx 10 minutes to the start of the steep hike up the ridge of Heart Mountain Route Description From the east side of Heart Creek take the steep ridge trail route up the Heart Mountain. About two thirds of the way up you need to ascend a moderate step with a reddish orange diamond in the rock wall marking the spot. See also photo for this scramble. There is also some use of hands further up the slope. The general rule is keep to the left on the ridge as you go up. When you top out, most people stop here, have their snacks and enjoy the view, however the true summit albeit only marginally higher is still another 20 minutes farther back along a ridge walk. There is also a semi-circle ridge traverse to the east from the summit, which comes out approx. one km east of Heart Creek. I’ve done this but found it a bit of a plod.