The Fortress Scramble

Lat/Lon: 50.82°N, 115.23°W
The Fortress is located in the center of the Kananaskis Range in Kananaskis
Provincial Park (central Canadian Rockies) along with other popular scrambles,
Mount Engadine to the northwest and Mount Chester to the southwest. The Fortress
was officially named in 1957 due to its appearance when viewed from the north on
Highway 40. The Fortress should not be confused with the close by Fortress
Mountain Ski Resort or the actual Fortress Mountain on the Continental Divide
south of Jasper.

The only published route(s) up the Fortress are the two variations of the easy
scramble route.   I have climbed both routes, the Chester Lake approach and the
Headwall Lakes approach, one in early snow conditions and the other dry.   My
preference is combining the two by ascending via Headwall Lakes and descending
through Chester Lake. Both routes are scenic and pleasant outings. The summit
affords great views of the three jewels of Kananaskis, Mount Assiniboine, Mount
Joffre and Mount Sir Douglas. Skiing up Fortress is an option, but not published. Of
course avalanche conditions can be as tedious back here as anywhere in the
parks.

Getting There
From the Canmore Nordic Center, drive 40 km south on the Spray Lakes/Smith
Dorrien Road (gravel). Turn left at the sign for the Chester Day Use area. You are
guaranteed mountain sheep on the Spray Lakes Road and once in a blue moon, a
moose or two. Watch for hazardous rock fall on the switchbacks above Canmore. At
times this road will be closed due to rock and/or mud slides.

Red Tape
There are no permit requirements to enter, climb and/or park in Kananaskis
Provincial Park. This is active grizzly country however. Take bear spray. There are no
park headquarters on this road.   Kananaskis Park headquarters are located on
Highway 40 east of Canmore. Any recent notices will be posted on the bulletin board
at that location. If they are open, check in with the ranger staff, they have tons of beta
and are always friendly.

When To Climb
As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June
through September. I climbed The Fortress in June and October of different years. I
put up with a ton of snow in June and none in October. There are no published
backcountry ski routes on The Fortress, although it is suitable for skiing.

Camping
The closest camping is located back at the north end of Spray Lakes Reservoir
across the damn at random campsites located on the west shore of the lake. You
cannot camp outside of the marked specific camping areas in Kananaskis.   Refer to
the Kananaskis Provincial Park website for more information regarding camping
and/or lodging. A premium accommodation is the Engadine Lodge which is only
several kilometers north on Spray Lake Road.

Mountain Conditions
The Kananaskis Provincial Park website is a very thorough park website, including
trail conditions or closures, wildlife notices, weather conditions, avalanche
conditions, camping permits, whitewater conditions, etc. It is an excellent source if
you are going to spend any time here and comparable to any National Park website I
have used. Outside of the parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also
useful, particularly for winter travel.

Route
This is a 3600’+/- ascent day.   I have climbed this mountain twice.   The first trip was
a dry ascent in October via the Headwall Lakes approach, which is longer, but more
interesting by far. On this trip, we descended via the other route, Chester Lake
making a circuit for the day. The second trip was in early June and we had actually
set out for another objective (Galatea), but the avalanche conditions were
horrendous and we backed into this objective via the Chester Lake approach and
dealt with considerable snow en route.

Park at the Chester Lake parking lot at 6200'.   Go up the south side of the parking
area on a ski trail that is marked blue, but turns to yellow, and takes you across
Headwall Creek. Continue on the trail gaining some elevation and in about five
minutes from the creek you will notice a marked single track trail on the left. This trail
takes you all the way around the south side of Chester and to the upper Headwall
Lake. The far end of the lake makes an excellent soft spot to have lunch and stare
back across at the Haig Glacier peaks including Mount Sir Douglas.

Continue up to the col between Mount Chester and The Fortress on your left. There
can be a significant cornice on this col.   Ascend the large talus to the right hand
side of the col. This steep grind will leave you at about 8800'. Turn right (north) and
finish your last 1000' on a faint trail through scree and talus to the summit of The
Fortress. At the very top, you have one hands on step around to the west side, with
several options to make it more interesting if you so desire. The views are
surprisingly great from this summit. You seem to be perfectly located between Mt.
Joffre and Mt. Assiniboine, starring right at Mt. Birdwood and the many peaks of the
Haig Glacier region (“Heights of the Lower Rockies”). Of course Mount Chester is a
stone's throw away as well. The east side of The Fortress is steep with
tremendous exposure.

Return to the col and descend west via the Chester Lake area. After you descend
from the col, just stay low and to the middle of the moraine area until you actually
reach a trail that takes you to Chester Lake.

Essential Gear- Alpine Ax and Helmet if snow conditions prevail. Bear Spray, Gaiters.

Trip Report
In June 2004 Michael Thompson and I went in to attempt Mt. Galatea. The entire
south face was still completely loaded with snow and ice. We then skirted around the
backside of Gusty Peak only to find point avalanches unloading on its route. We
continued to posthole in alpine conditions up to the col between The Fortress and
Mount Chester and did The Fortress summit as our third option. There was a
significant cornice on this col.

Lesson learned is that the Spray Lakes Reservoir area peaks can hold some snow
late into the season, when conditions are wet in the valley. The summit this day was
spectacular, zero wind, with Mt. Joffre, Mount Sir Douglas and Mt. Assiniboine offering
a triangular mountain landscape second to none. Tremendous late snow conditions
existed on all of those peaks in 2004 and again in 2005. We glissaded down nasty
wet snow on our return.

BJ and Stacy joined me on this pleasant scramble and we made a fun circuit out of it
in October, 2003 via Headwall Lakes. I recommend this one as an easy day out.
Cheers!