Hawk Mountain Scramble

Lat/Lon: 53.01°N, 118.01°W
Hawk Mountain is a member of the Colin Range in Jasper National Park, one of four
connecting national parks that make up the central Canadian Rockies in
Alberta/British Columbia. The mountain was officially named in 1916….you guessed
it, because a hawk was seen near its summit by someone official. The first ascent
was by Joe Weiss.

The only published route up Hawk Mountain is the difficult scramble via its south
facing west ridge. The most recent edition of the Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies
guide book gives inappropriate times for this objective. I completed this route at a
marathon pace of 6.5 hours, never veering of course. For 90% of the objectives listed
in the book my completion time is well under the lowest estimated time given.
However, it states 5-8 hours for completion of this objective. You have a 1.5 hour
return approach before you gain any elevation. Hawk Mountain is a 5000’+ ascent
objective. Therefore, I can only assume a transposition error in the guide book. A
more realistic estimation of round trip completion would be 7-10 hours.

The approach starts at the popular sport climbing area below Morro Peak, 20kms
northeast of Jasper. On a clear day you should be treated to views of Mount Robson
and Mount Edith Cavell, but on my summit day, fires filled the scene with thick haze.
Even so, clean slabby limestone on Hawk Mountain’s spine and higher reaches
make this a three star route.

Getting There
Take Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) north of Jasper (toward Edmonton) for
approximately 20kms and park at the pull out on the right hand side just after
crossing the bridge over the Athabasca River.

Red Tape
You will be required to purchase a national park pass as you enter the park. This
pass is good for all four national parks. If you plan many visits to Canadian National
Parks within one year, you should purchase an annual pass. There are no permit
requirements to climb in Jasper National Park, but all camping is regulated. There is
also a backcountry permit required if you plan on spending a night in the backcountry
versus the town campsites. This can be obtained via the parks website which is
included in the camping section below. Park headquarters are located in Jasper and
you will drive through the manned kiosks as you enter the park.

This is active grizzly country, therefore, you should always have bear spray on your
person. I advise checking with Parks Canada for any area and/or trail closures.

When To Climb
As with most climbs in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June through
September. I climbed Hawk Mountain in August and the route was free of snow.
There are no published backcountry ski routes on Hawk Mountain, nor would it seem
conducive to ski the scramble route.

Camping
Camping near the area is plentiful and varied. I camped in town at the Wapiti
Campground. As the name implies, Elk are plentiful. The cost was in excess of $20
per night in 2005. You can go on line at Jasper National Park to pick a camp site and
obtain your camping permit. You will also be required to obtain your backcountry
permit which is separate, but can be obtained simultaneously if you plan on camping
at a backcountry site. Of course those with luxury on their mind can stay at the
Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, one of the finer mountain lodge resorts in the world.

Cocos is good for coffee and lunch but does not open that early. The Bearspaw
opens early and offers good coffee, quick breakfast and fresh baked goods. La
Fiesta (Spanish Tapas) is a solid place for dinner.

Mountain Conditions
The Jasper National Park website has weather, wildlife reports, trail closures, etc.
Outside of the parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also useful,
particularly for winter travel.

Route-South Face to West Ridge
This is a 5100’+/- ascent day and I recorded 5300’+ on my altimeter. Hike up the
steep dirt bank at the parking area and take the Overlander trail right as it contours
around Morro Peak to the southeast. You will pass a large stone trail marker on your
left as you leave the smaller sport climbing trails behind. After half an hour of brisk
hiking, pay attention for the first drainage you come to. There are two options used
for ascent and/or descent.   I ascended the right hand side of this drainage and
descended the left hand side. Stay right of the drainage as you weave your way
through burnt forest (downed trees) for about 800’ as you rise to a ridge above the
drainage that has now turned into a dramatic deep canyon (photo on main page).
You are at the western edge of Hawk Mountain’s west ridge. Turn right and stay
below the steep rock on your left as a decent trail (well marked in 2005) leads you
eventually into tree cover and the next drainage east. Continue to follow the trail as it
ascends steeply to the base of the first technical section.

This entire route was extremely well marked via cairns and flags in 2005. The trail
ends at a shallow chimney requiring one - two moves or you can easily ascend
some short slabs to your right.   Either option puts you on loose dirt and scree that
continue on steep terrain to the right of steep walls. You will weave through trees and
varying features for quite a distance on steep ground gaining approximately 600’
-800’. Eventually you shoot out onto a forested ridge that was marked with a large
cairn in 2005 that adorned decaying Ram horns. Now you are on the very spine of the
ridge leading east to the summit of Hawk Mountain. Turn right and proceed on a faint
trail. You will soon detour left and descend to maneuver around an obstacle. Once in
a while you will enjoy water worn limestone making the going fast and easy.
Eventually you come to an abrupt end to this right handed ridge and now have Hawk
Mountain’s summit block in clear view to the left.

Turn left and head back a bit as you descend into a treed ravine and up the other
side on some smooth slabs to gain the next ridge left. Once on track again, you can
stay center or right as you make your way up the ridge. I found good ground to the
right a bit. You will weave in and out a few places as you ascend certain obstacles
and eventually leave tree line completely. You ascend the first false summit to clearly
see another standing between you and the eventual summit block. This second to
last obstacle does not need to be conquered. Instead, traverse this peak on its right
flank aiming for the col below Hawk Mountain’s summit.

Once at the col, you can see some steeper rock to the left. I climbed this rock
with no worries, but the true scramble route bypasses this good rock utilizing
several connecting gullies further center-right.   This is one of those finishes that
you ascend, ascend and ascend only to see you have a little further to go.   In fact I
met a lone scrambler on the way down who thought the summit was right above us
when in fact he had over 1500’ left to go (no altimeter I guess).

The summit did have a log in 2005. Fires had started the morning of my ascent and
my views were drastically reduced as a result. Of course I could see Mount Colin
directly east, but could barely make out Mount Edith Cavell and definitely could not
see Mount Robson. I imagine the views are fairly outstanding normally. The landing
direction for Jasper’s small craft airport is just southwest of the summit and a small
air plane cruised by at eye level.

On descent, return the route. There were a couple of jigs on the way up, so you have
to pay attention.   Once all the way back to the 4000’ level and above the canyon,
you can take an optional descent that drops down into the drainage steeply
(needs to be dry) to some interesting water worn dry falls.   The first one I came
too had a makeshift ladder.   The second one did not, so I ascended the west bank
and caught a reasonable path down to a parallel trail above the Overlander Trail.
Stick to this trail and soon it will drop steeply onto the Overlander Trail.

The guide book gives Hawk Mountain a difficult rating for the chimney section (photo
above) which I found considerably less challenging then the final summit rock.
However, I found none of the crux spots overwhelming and in my opinion this
scramble resides on the easier side of difficult.

Essential Gear
Alpine Ax if Snow Conditions Prevail, Helmet, Adequate Water (the route is mostly
dry) and Bear Spray

Trip Report
I camped in Jasper with one of my daughters and her friend (Coco’s is the place for
coffee and lunch!). We did Indian Ridge which is a treat for novices and then I did
Hawk Mountain the next day. Except for the poor visibility (smoke haze) it was an
uneventful, but fulfilling scramble. Kane’s 5-8 hour estimate is way off if you are used
to utilizing his times as a mark. Add 2 hours to them. I imagine it was a transposition
error. This is a 5000+ ascent and descent day along with a 40 minute hike on the
trail just to get in the right position. Good footing on this one all around. Cheers!