Posted on

The Palisade Lookout

Summary

  • Area: Jasper
  • Trip Date: 2023 Mar 25
  • Trip Duration: 6 hrs 15 min
  • Elevation Gain: 910 m
  • Total Distance: 21.5 km
  • Difficulty: Hiking (Summer) or Snowshoeing/Skiing (Winter)
  • Accompanied By: Dan
  • Beta: A Peakbagger’s Guide To The Canadian Rockies – North
  • Notes: This trip report is to the lookout only, not the highest point of ridge. The fire road is track-set for cross-country skiing in winter. Please don’t walk or snow-shoe on groomed ski trails.

Trip Report

In Winter the Pyramid Fire Road is track-set for cross-country skiing. For the unfamiliar, these tracks are set by equipment and look like two parallel ski tracks (For the classic skiers) next to a wider section of corduroy (For the skate skiers). If you are not on skis, this track is not for you. Walking and snow shoeing destroys the tracks and makes the cross-country skiers very sad. Signage directs hikers and snow-shoers to an adjacent path.

We set out on our classic skis, then switched to snow-shoes beyond the groomed tracks. Wider touring skis would have been most suitable for this trip and would have eliminated the need to transition to snow shoes once the groomed track ended. This trip report goes as far as Palisades Lookout. A keen peak-bagger can continue on to the high point of the ridge with relative ease, if it strikes their fancy. The view doesn’t change between the lookout and the high point, however.

Pyramid Fire Road begins at the end of Pyramid Lake Road, a few hundred meters past the resort. There is an outhouse and enough parking for about a dozen vehicles. The fire road is closed-off from vehicle traffic and track-set for both classic and skate skiing. Abundant signage explains that the tracks are for skiing and directs hikers to an adjacent path. It didn’t look like the hiking trail saw as much traffic.
Conditions were icy and very poor for skiing for most of the 2022/2023 season. The fire road has a constant incline and we eventually grew weary of bunny hopping our way up, switching to walking duck-foot here. The ski out was certainly fast though!
The officially maintained cross-country ski trails end at the end of the fire road, but it looked like someone had set tracks on touring skis. We switched to snow shoes here, making sure to leave the ski tracks intact for other skiers to follow. The cleared trail was wide enough for me to break a parallel trail with my snow-shoes.
The sun made a brief appearance!
The sun soon disappeared again, as did the ski tracks. I easily picked out the direction of the wide, flat path, breaking trail in my snow shoes.
Just before the lookout, a short, steep dirt slope led up to where the ridge continues for another 2 km. We did not take this route. The high point is barely higher than the lookout (by about 60 m), and the conditions on this day left us feeling unmotivated to continue. So, we took in the “views” from the lookout and called it a day. I caught a glimpse of Hawk Mountain as I neared the lookout, but clouds obscured all views before I could even reach for my camera! On a clear day, this would be a pleasant winter trip.

On the return trip we passed a peak-bagger intent on summiting The Palisade who unfortunately did not even have snow shoes. He was a few hundred meters past the end of the groomed ski trail and was already loosing his footing in thigh-deep snow. I indicated that I had broken trail as far as the lookout only, and wished him the best of luck beyond that. He did not look happy.

Overall, The Palisade is a pleasant enough day out. I wouldn’t mind coming back with wider touring skis to bag the high point. Next time I will be sure to wait for clear skies.

Leave a comment