Cory Pass-Mt. Edith Circuit

Statistics

Directions

Accessed from the Bow Valley Parkway. Continue on Bow Valley Parkway for 0.5 km to the Fireside Picnic Area access road. Follow the orad 1 km to the picnic area. The bridge spanning the creek to the picnic area is the starting point for the trail.

Details

This strenuous hike takes you up through a beautiful alpine forest. The rocky ascent is steep, but the scenic reward makes it all worthwhile. It is 5.8 km to Cory Pass and the pass can be a cold and very windy place. This the the high point on the trail which is situated between Mounts Cory and Edith.

To complete the circuit, descend the north side of the pass and make a loop around Mt. Edith via the Edith Pass high trail. The trail is faint in places.

Stephen K's comments

I hiked this circuit late October 2007. Our total trip time was 4 Hours with our Hiking time coming in at 3:18. Total Ascent for the whole circuit was 1105 Meters. Most of this is gained on the way up to Corey Pass, Approximately 900 Meters. There is still climbing to do as you make your way over to Edith Pass. There is on short section of tricky scrambling on the way up but otherwise its straight forward and straight up. There was a small amount of snow at the top of the pass and the trail around the back side had hard snow which made the going a little tricky. You don't need to be an Eagle Scout to find your way on this hike although you do need to pay attention. From the top of Corey pass looking north you will notice a trail at the bottom of the valley. This is not the trail you want to be on unless you want to have a long day. As you head down look to your right and you will see a trail that is much higher up, this is the trail you want. You will eventually find the trail disappears into a boulder field. There are small cairns to mark the way but you have to look for them. Again look to your right and you will see the trail to Edith pass heading up into the forest. The trail completing the circuit is fast going.

The scenery on this hike is fabulous. You have good views of the Bow Valley all the way up to Corey Pass. The Gargoyle Valley has spectacular Scenery as you are hemmed in by Mount Edith and Louis. I wouldn't do this trip if there was bad weather or low cloud cover, no views so whats the point.

I used Mapitfirst to plan my route. It calculated my hiking time at four hours, using a 5KM/HR walking speed adding 1 hour for every 1000 feet of climbing . I don't adjust the 5KM/Hr for descents (old Knees).

Trip Reports:

http://www.clubtread.com/sforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12968&SearchTerms=cory

Photographs

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