Mount St. Piran Scramble

Lat/Lon: 51.41°N, 116.25°W
Mount St. Piran is the easiest scramble in Banff National Park located 3000’ above
Lake Louise. The trail to Mount St. Piran actually starts at the famed Chateau Lake
Louise (hotel). St. Piran was named in 1894 after the Patron Saint of Cornwall.
Edward Whymper, the first climber to summit the Matterhorn, bagged St. Piron and
wrote that he rather enjoyed the views and recommended building a trail to its
summit. In reality, St. Piron is just a hike, but the views are rewarding (Hector Lake,
Bath Glacier, Mt. Lefroy, Mt.Temple, Mt. Niblock and Mt. Whyte to name a few). The
biggest highlight was a golden eagle flying a meter above the slope six feet in
front of me at 8000’.

The only published routes or routes of any consequence are various scrambles. I
combined St. Piran with a day of sport climbing at Louise Falls.

Getting There
The Trans-Canada Highway dissects Banff National Park east to west as you come
in from Calgary. Travel to the Lake Louise exit and turn left through town and follow
this road to its end at the Lake Louise parking area.

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 Banff 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
Banff 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. We just had a grizzly fatality in Canmore, June, 2005. However, a portion of
this trail is well traveled by tourists. I do advise checking with Parks Canada for
possible trail closures.

When To Climb
As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June
through September. I climbed Mount St. Piran in August. There are no published
backcountry ski routes on the mountain, nor would it be conducive to ski.

Camping
The closest camp site would be back in town at the Lake Louise Campground. You
can go on line at Banff 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. The Lake Louise Alpine Center Hostel is a great place to eat and
has been recently renovated, but is more expensive than your average hostel. Of
course those with the big bucks can campout at the Chateau itself.

Mountain Conditions
Banff National Park’s 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
This is a 2800’+/- ascent day. Take the Lakeshore trail past the Chateau to the Lake
Agnes trail that splits off to the right.

Hike 3.3 km past Mirror Lake and take a right on the Little Beehive trail. Then shortly
take a left onto the St. Piran trail prior to arriving at the Little Beehive. This single
track winds its way up to the summit. The crux? Don’t get trampled by tourists on the
way up Lake Agnes trail.

Dow’s version: I obviously chose a unique route. This is a hike really, so I used it as
a multi task day. I took several family members to Louise Falls to rock climb easy
5.6's. When they were ready from some refreshment at the Plains of the Six Glaciers
Teahouse, I took off up from the Louise Falls climbing area and bushwhacked my
way 1000’ straight up and over a couple of small rock bands and topped out onto
the Highline trail below Big Beehive. I then proceeded northeast past the bewildered
guests at the Lake Agnes Tea house and onto Little Beehive trail. I left the marked
trail as soon as I saw the east face of St. Piran and made a true scramble ascent
versus utilizing the trail. In retrospect, I normally am very respectful of existing trails,
but had no beta with me at the time and did not realize a trail took you to the summit.
I did notice that the Pikas on this route were friendlier than most, leading me to
believe I was not the only person making tracks up the east face.

Essential Gear- Normal hiking paraphernalia.