Lat/Lon: 51.3528°N, 115.9833°W Television Peak is located between the Castle Mountain massif and Protection Mountain in Banff National Park, one of four connecting national parks in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It was aptly named for the television repeater station on its summit.
The only published route is the extended scramble from Stuart Knob to the south, although some parties do ascend and descend its western flank from Protection Mountain Campground. It is not a popular objective. The published route is a two peak day covering a serious amount of ground. The closest I have ever come to a mountain lion encounter was on the eastern col of this peak. There are not published alpine ski routes on Television Peak. The views are typical for the area, including Mount Bell, Mount Temple, Storm Mountain, Copper Mountain, Pilot Mountain and Mount Ishbel.
Getting There The Trans-Canada dissects Banff National Park east to west as you come in from Calgary. Drive to Castle Junction 31kms west of Banff via either the Trans-Canada Highway or Bow Valley Parkway (more Elk to be spotted along the Parkway). From Trans-Canada, take the Castle Junction exit and proceed east under a bridge (huge nest on the bridge houses an Osprey who has raised young every year I have lived here) and turn right at the stop sign and pull into the Rockbound Lake trailhead on your left. From Bow Valley Parkway, Rockbound Lake trail head will be on your right before the Castle Junction gas station.
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. I advise checking with Parks Canada for any area and/or trail closures.
When To Climb As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June through September. I chose to climb Stuart Knob along with Television Peak in October and snow was plentiful. There are no published backcountry ski routes for Stuart Knob however the majority of the scramble route is conducive to back country skiing.
Camping If you do Stuart Knob and Television Peak as a full traverse, there is actually a campground at the beginning and one at the end. You basically start at the Castle Mountain Campground and end at the Protection Mountain Campground. You can go on line at Banff National Park to pick your camp site and obtain your camping permit. Two other options are the Johnston Canyon Resort and Campground several kilometers south on the Bow Valley Parkway and the Castle Mountain Hostel located at Castle junction. You will also be required to obtain your backcountry permit, if you are going to use a backcountry site, which is separate, but can be obtained simultaneously.
Mountain Conditions The Banff 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. Canadian Alpine Accident Reports is also extremely relevant.
Route This is a 6400’+/- (total) ascent day. It only makes sense for those serious in the sport to combine Stuart Knob and Television Peak for a long traverse. However, the descent on Television Peak at the end of the day borders on difficult status relative to route finding and down climbing confidence. The traverse will also place you 13kms north on the Bow Valley Parkway from whence you began.
From the parking area, proceed up Rockbound Lake Trail to its terminus at Rockbound Lake (9kms). You will bypass Tower Lake on your left. This whole area becomes an incredible setting below the Castle Mountain massif.
Flank the lake to the east and ascend the tree covered east side below Helena Ridge. There was a cairn as well as a decent trail to follow up this steep terrain in 2004. Once on a horizontal ledge, start your trek northward and up onto a rocky plateau above the lake at 8000'+. I enjoyed the company of three large rams in this isolated terrain. Continue due north for the left corner of Stuart Knob which is a far north extension of the Castle massif itself. Angle your way below Stuart Knob up towards the left corner of the summit block and start ascending the west ridge. The west ridge is enjoyable hands on climbing however beware of ice during colder conditions. It is a wind blown summit block with no surrounding peaks offering protection. There was a register in 2004 and the 360 degree exposed view is tremendous. It took me a fast 4.5 hours to reach this summit.
Proceed north along a broad ridge up and over the first hump and then angle westward for a notch in the northeastern corniced ridge of Television Peak. You will notice the repeater station towers of the summit reflecting the sun (on a sunny day). By angling westward early, you can avoid the elevation gain and loss of the last bump on the north extending ridge between the two mountains. You will find the hiking along the black shale pleasant going. Traverse over to the notch (where I crossed paths with a mountain lion) and ascend leftward along the summit ridge to Television Peak. This will be a 1000' hump. Beware of the cornices early or late in the season. This is a northeastern ridge and thus I was post holing much of the way in October.
On the summit, you will find an equipment bunker, not unlike Mount Stephen's weather station, kept warm and water stored for emergencies. This is a broad summit with a summit register and views abound at approximately 10,000' including, but not limited to Mount Bell, Mount Temple, Storm Mountain, Copper Mountain, Pilot Mountain and Mount Ishbel.
Now comes the crux of the traverse- route finding and down climbing 5000' on the southwestern side of Television Peak. Although the original look or two can appear harrowing, I rather enjoyed this challenge, particularly the quality of rock I encountered. I kept southwest, moving to my left, down climbing some solid rock until I dropped into a drainage gully that led into tree line practically all the way down the mountain. I broke my hand in this drainage on a ridiculous fall, but otherwise, this is a pleasant descent. Follow your compass due west and you will emerge from the jungle at Protection Mountain Campground some 13 km from the Rockbound Lake trail head. I suggest that you park your bike here to begin with or take your chances with thumbing it or enjoy the long walk back under clear skis and a full moon as I did. It took me over nine hours (fast paced) to complete the traverse, not including the 13kms back via the road.
Essential Gear Compass, Bear Spray, Helmet, Alpine Ax, Gaiters, Significant Water, Solid Wind Layer (Stuart Knob is exposed) and Possibly a Bike depending on your plan
Trip Report The family, including horse and dog, followed me in to Tower Lake. I proceeded on without them via a clear and crisp October day with not another soul in sight. It is incredible above Rockbound Lake. I enjoyed the company of three large rams. This is very unique, open and exposed terrain. I crossed a mountain lion’s path at the col below the northeastern ridge of Television Peak, broke my hand on a stupid fall on descent and ended up hiking out in the pitch dark. Make sure to allot enough daylight for this one. Wife picked me up after I humped back down the road a ways.
CLICK TO ENLARGE PHOTOS 1. Television Peak from summit of Stuart Knob 2. Crux down climbing of Television Peak 3. Summit Photo 4. View from ascending the northeast ridge
