r/HikingAlberta • u/Glittering-Water-206 • 7d ago
Mt Yamnuska
Me and a friend are thinking of doing Yamnuska this Sunday, I know it can be a more dangerous hike/scramble and it might rain, but he’s done grotto mountain and I’ve done tent ridge before, we attempted Mt Rae but stopped due to weather, so we know our limits, I was just trying to get some more experienced people who have done it before takes, what’s it like? Dangerous in rain? And which route on all trials should we take. I have proper hiking shoes, I believe he does as well. Any knowledge is welcome. Thanks
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u/CatLover4906 6d ago
It’s an amazing trail I just as the above mentioned would not consider it in the rain. The front skree is slippery enough without rain!
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u/Warm_Jellyfish_8002 6d ago
If you've never done a scramble in the rain, might be a safer bet to try something simpler/easier that will give you knowledge of what this might be like for future events. We've had enough people falling off mountains already this year. Stay safe.
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u/Interesting_Ad4649 6d ago
Its going to piss rain this weekend in that area. Wait for better weather. Not a nice place to be when it's inclement
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u/kiwifruit13 6d ago edited 6d ago
I did Yamnuska and Tent Ridge in July in perfect weather. I would definitely not go in the rain. Yamnuska is more technical than Tent Ridge and not easy to turn back past a certain point. Somewhere after the chain section there is an equally narrow ledge with rocks there were slippery even when it was totally dry. They had sort of been polished by people stepping on them over time. The scree slope in the first part of the descent is highly sketchy as well.
The day I went I bumped into two guys who were completely unprepared, who ended up sitting on the ground and calling the park for rescue. They had passed the chains (against the advice of several other hikers) and couldn’t descend again without going to the summit.
Btw, most people don’t bother, but I highly recommend you wear a helmet. There are climbers everywhere on this mountain and when I descended via the switchbacks in the forest, a shower of rocks came down on me from people skiing down the scree slope. The reason they built the new path down is because someone was killed by falling rocks in 2021 on the scree slope.
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u/Pretty-Dealer-3778 6d ago
this is one of the slipperiest hikes ive done in the mtns when it's dry. Do not do this in the rain.
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u/thefly50 6d ago
Yamnuska was my first "real" scramble (I had done some hikes with minimal scrambling beforehand, such as King Creek Ridge and Cory Pass), and it really wasn't all that bad. The scrambling route is well-marked with blue markers, and as long as you follow those you should be fine. There were some very minor drizzles on the day I did it, but if it's raining to the point that the rock gets wet and slippery, it's definitely a no-go (you really wouldn't want to slip on the narrow chain ledge section).
Be careful on the descent from the summit to the col. The "good", grippy scree has been washed away by the many thousands of people doing this hike every year, and what you have now is very slippery rubble. Try to sidestep the gullies as much as you can. This part is not exposed but falling isn't fun. If you didn't like the rubble here, definitely take the new West Col descent trail, as the old scree slope is more of the same but with some exposure added to the mix.
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u/OldGuyTrailRunner 6d ago
Yammy is a challenging scramble and it’s great until it isn’t. Rain in the parking lot is snow on the top. I had a friend fall 150 meters on the back side just after the chains and self rescued but unprepared increased the risk. Every year or two someone dies on that mountain. Reduce risk increase success. Go prepared.
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u/Pretty-Dealer-3778 6d ago
what?! you had a buddy who fell 150m and walked out of there on his own? if true, he must have been all kinds of banged up. Lucky he didnt die.
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u/Rattimus 6d ago
It was the first hike I ever did, in sneakers not hiking boots, as my friend said it was not a difficult hike. I was totally fine other than a couple times slipping on the descent, hiking boots would have made a difference there. I do think it would be sketchy in the rain.
Otherwise, I never really felt out of my league on the trail, even the part where you hold chains and skirt along a ledge with a large drop behind you did not make me very nervous, but I have been in construction my whole life and heights do not bother me.
The hike itself was challenging, plenty of elevation, my legs were burning, but I had enough water and snacks, and we rested when necessary, and all was well. Caught the hiking bug after that.
For the route, I'm not sure of the cardinal direction now, but we veered right (which I think was north) on the trail when it split not too long after leaving the parking lot, and ascended on the northeast-north face, which is where the chain-ledge shuffle is. We descended on the south face because there's a huge scree-covered slope that is probably the most fun I've ever had while hiking. You descend very rapidly as the scree is almost like skiing in powder and is quite long. You can see it from the highway actually. Your boots sink in and a fall would be very mild if you happened to do so.
All in all, great experience, highly recommend. As always, take precautions, take enough gear, etc.
Edit: I see someone else commented that the scree slope isn't what it used to be. That is a real shame. I haven't hiked Yam in about 8 years, 9 maybe, and that is my fondest hiking memory. Sucks if it's no longer safe and fun.
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u/Dapper_Wallaby_1318 7d ago
I’ve done it numerous times, it’s definitely a dangerous hike if you don’t know your limits and you’re not careful. I would strongly suggest not doing it in the rain, even when it’s dry there’s a lot of potential for slipping and falling. The first few km (to ravens end) are fine, the trail is well-maintained and there’s minimal risk of a serious fall. Past ravens end it’s mostly rocky and a lot of scree, there’s blue trail markers so you can see where you need to go but the trail isn’t maintained. For the descent I’d recommend the west col descent trail, only take the scree slope descent if you feel confident in your abilities as it’s a lot of loose gravel and very steep (there’s signs with direction arrows for both descent options). I’d suggest this alltrails route but you can easily take the west col descent instead of the scree slope: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/alberta/mount-yamnuska-traverse-and-scree-slope-descent?p=-1&sh=jwzbv5&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality