Heart Mountain and Grant MacEwan Peak

I decided to climb Heart Mountain next because it is close to Bow Valley Campground where we were camped for the week and also because I was summiting alone. Dan is still recovering from his fall on Plutonian Shores (see Rock Climbing - Multi Pitch Climbing). I had climbed Heart Mountain before so I knew the route. I didn’t want to deal with any route finding challenges on my own.

I had in mind to check out the Horseshoe. This is the name of a route that continues from the top of Heart Mountain back to Grant MacEwan Peak, up over that peak and along a ridge that curves around back towards the highway. I’ve never been up there before.  I thought that if it looked ok, I’d hike it but if it looked too sketchy, I would turn around and come back down Heart.

For now, I’ve given up on increasing the difficulty of the routes. I don’t want to take on more risk while Dan can’t join me and I have to go out alone. Being out alone is an added risk in itself. Until Dan can join me, I’ll do peaks I’ve done in previous years, like Heart Mountain and Mount Yamnuska (which may be next!).