甜蜜足迹: Mt McNab

TRIP 270

Sunday, 01/07/2018, Mt McNab – Hwy 546, Sheep River PP, Kananaskis, AB

· Round Trip Distance: 7.1km; Elevation: 1693m; Elevation Gain/Loss: Net - 330m, Accumulated - 470m; Time: RT – 3:55hrs (9:55-13:50), ascent to summit – 1:45hrs, from summit to lower west peak – 0:20hrs, descent from west peak – 1:25hrs; An easy snowshoeing trip with limited views

· Books: ‘Gillean Daffern’s Kananaskis Country Trail Guide—Volume 4’ by Gillean Daffern

http://bobspirko.ca/Snowshoe/MtMcNab/MtMcNab.html

http://mattclay.zenfolio.com/mount_mcnab

https://stevensong.com/canadian-rockies/kananaskis/mount-mcnab/

· Located in the Sheep River Valley north of Coal Creek. Kananaskis Park, Alberta. Latitude 50; 37; 50 Longitude 114; 33; 30, Topo map 82J/10.

· Named in 1951. McNab, Sandy (Sandy McNab was a long time resident of the Turner Valley/Black Diamond area.) Official name. (from peakfinder.com)

Drive

From Calgary, drive south on Hwy 2/Deerfoot Trail, take the exit for Okotoks driving south on Hwy2A for 10.9km, turn right/west onto Hwy7 towards Black Diamond and Turner Valley. After passing through these two towns, continue driving on Hwy 546 then Sheep River Road to Sandy McNab campground before the winter gate, turn left driving south to the end, then turn left into the parking lot. Driving time would be around 1:30 hours.

Hike

I caught a nasty cold right after the trip to Monarch Ramparts and, before fully recovering, had another similar one after attending a dinner party at Christmas Eve. These two times of cold and the extreme cold weather during Christmas had been keeping us away from the mountains for nearly a month since last hike, so I thought we need a warm up before committing ourselves into something serious. Mt McNab in the front ranges would be suitable according to its short distance and relatively small elevation gain.

After strapping the snowshoes on, we followed the trail down to the frozen Sheep River which would be the major concern in summer. Carefully we crossed the river to the other side, and then followed a snowshoe track southwestward towards the base of Mt McNab’s eastern ridge. We was led off trail a bit by the track, but corrected quickly. Once on the treed ascent ridge, the route became straightforward. We followed the ridge line all the way to the treed summit and then, without a stop, continued to the lower west peak hopping a view. We did get a better view on the west peak, but not by much. However, we didn’t choose it for great views anyway.

We only stayed a short time for food on the west peak, and then headed back to the car. Before driving back home, we went check on one of the cross country skiing trails - Long Prairie Loop - in Sandy McNab area and got more exercises by trying to control our balance on the icy, tricky, thin track.

My Track