Pigeon Mountain
Dry when completed. Possible when snowy but watch out for the avalanche slopes. No difficulties, this is a great fitness hike/run, but it is quite long. There are nice views of the Lougheeds and Mount Allan and Collembola, as well as an interesting grassy meadow section.
Pigeon Mountain was named after a flock of pigeons that was seen by it in 1858. Surprisingly, they weren’t really pigeons, since pigeons are not native to the area and had not been introduced yet. It is a mystery what the birds were, but it is safe to say that they were not pigeons. Perhaps this means the name of the mountain should be changed to Bird mountain? Or Mysterious Bird Mountain? Anyways, it is an official summit and presents a long grind with no technical difficulties, which would make it a great shoulder season outing or family trip. It isn’t a very high peak by any means, but does see its fair share of visitors, so expect to see a few people on the trail. Pigeon Mountain isn’t nearly as crowded as nearby Ha Ling, but the few people on the trail will help scare the bears away if there are any. There are technically two routes up this mountain, one being the trail and the second being a bushwalk from the top of the old ski hill (Bob Spirko used this as a descent route in winter).
Park at what I like to call the Pigeon parking lot, which is just past the Banff Mountain Gate Resort. It is a bit weird to find, so the directions above are quite handy. The parking lot is about a 50 minute drive from the Calgary city limits. It is also important to note that the mountain is closed from December 1st to June 15th to protect the critical winter range for Elk and Bighorn sheep, so please be mindful of this.
Begin on the trail and soon take the left turn on to the Skogan Pass Trail/Track, it should be quite a wide trail. This trail brings you up a fair amount of elevation at a decent incline. After 2.8km, take a left turn on the Pigeon Mountain trail. This part gains you a ton of elevation and is very steep, so prepare for the grind. It brings you up and through the grassy meadow, with a small flat section at the top that is great for a stop break. Then, the steep trail continues and rolls through the grassy hills, gaining elevation until reaching the ridge. From here, continue on the trail on the ridge and eventually reach a rocky section. Continue on the trail until the summit. Descend the same way. Note that the Gaia GPS map also includes an optional ascent of the South Peak of Pigeon Mountain.
Since this peak is just a hike and my mom wanted to gain fitness, it was perfect for the day. I could bag a peak and she could get a good workout in, plus we’d get some family time, which is always great. There wasn’t much planning involved other than the regular hiking stuff (water, poles, bear spray, etc.).
We set off at 9:30am to get this one done, which was about the right time to make it back home for dinner.
It’s safe to say that the first part of the hike is incredibly boring. Right up until we went off of the Skogan Pass Trail it was pretty much just grinding with no views. You actually gain quite a bit of elevation as you’re going up there too which doesn’t make it the most pleasant. After seeing some trail runners, we turned off to the actual Pigeon Mountain Trail and if you thought that the first part was a grind, you will be incredibly pleased to see a way steeper trail ahead. My mom took a while up this part, but it was nice because this is where the views start to open up, so I wasn’t really short of something to do. After we got to the top of the first grassy grind, we stopped for a snack and then continued up through the rolling meadow.
The trail brings you through a unique, hilly meadow, so it is an interesting way to gain elevation. Mount Collembola at center, with Mount Allan to its right and the last two Lougheeds further right. Fisher Peak is actually visible at far left (it always is who am I kidding).
A nice perspective of the terrain. The views of the Lougheeds and Allan and Collembola are a treat with the light dusting of snow. It provides a nice contrast to the rock (another reason to complete this hike in the shoulder season).
Looking back at my mom making her way up the somewhat rocky trail.
Once again, amazing. We were almost at the ridge at this point and I was definitely feeling the elevation gain.
On the ridge now and looking back at the south peak at right.
Looking back once again. Mount McGillivray is at the left and I think Skogan Peak is just right of center.
From here, it is just a walk and the terrain gets a bit rockier, but the trail stays in decent shape. There are a couple false summits and then before you know it you’re on the summit. It was actually quite rewarding (honestly every summit is, no matter what or where it is).
This summit pano shows the terrain got more rocky. The view was surprising. Rundle and Cascade stand out if you zoom in to the far right, both are great scrambles.
Looking the other way to Lac des Arcs. You’ll know you’re at the summit when you see the big cairn!
Looking to the Skogan area. This also shows the terrain and path to the summit. My mom took her time to navigate the rocks, but she made it perfectly fine.
The Three Sisters (center) look different from this angle, but they are still impressive.
Rundle at center with Grotto at right.
The mine looks quite small from all the way up here, but the size of that hillside that they’ve taken down is impressive.
We didn’t linger quite super long at the summit since it wasn’t the absolute warmest. We talked to a group that had bushwacked up from the ski hill (and said it was horrible), so I don’t think I’ll ever be experimenting with that route.
Beginning down the grassy ridge. The south summit was my next objective.
Looking back at the summit.
I then scrambled up to the south summit to have a look around while my parents waited for me. I’d say this part is easy scrambling if you want to do the side trip, but quite steep and definitely an upgrade in difficulty from the trail to Pigeon Mountain.
Looking at the true summit from the south summit. It was actually a fair grind up to this one. I almost wanted to count it as a separate peak.
This thing looks like a weather station or cell tower, but I’m not sure exactly what it is. There’s a mellow, grassy ridge that extends far below, which was cool to see. I also got a bit of a better view of the Kananaskis peaks from here which was cool.
I ran down the scree and then we began descending the way that we had come up. I couldn't get enough of the hilly meadow
And that was my last picture from this trip. The rest of the descent was uneventful as we lost all the elevation and followed the trail back to the car.
This one was actually quite the hike and definitely physically exhausted all of us. I would’ve wanted to do it even later in the season, but it was perfectly fine on this very nice October day. Overall, a great but tough hike with surprisingly good views and not really much else to say.