Bald Eagle Peak (formerly Squaw's Tit)

Overview

Squaw's Tit was officially renamed Bald Eagle Peak (Anû Kathâ Îpa) as of August 2021.  Bald Eagle Peak is a local Canmore, Alberta climb located 4000’ above the Bow River Valley just east of the Banff National Park gates. It is 2 km northwest of the much more popular scramble, Lady MacDonald, both belonging to the Fairholme Range in Kananaskis Provincial Park. Squaws Tit’s name is unofficial as you might imagine, but its summit does in fact resemble a woman’s breast. It is one of the most prominent landmarks surrounding Canmore. Despite its minor stature, the ascent of Bald Eagle Peak offers exposed scrambling towards the summit and can be quite the serious challenge if laden with snow. The only published route is the difficult scramble up the northeast ridge exposing a solid view of Mt. Assiniboine to the south.

This is one of the best scramble experiences in the Canmore area. The southwest approach offers an excellent ridge to gain. You have exposure at the top combined with route finding at the bottom. Everything one wants in a scramble.

Getting There

The Trans-Canada Highway runs through Canmore as you travel from Calgary in the east to Banff in the west. Harvie Heights is a small hamlet, practically a suburb of Canmore 2 km to the west that borders Banff National Park. The Harvie Heights exit will be your last exit off of Trans-Canada before you hit the park gates. Take the shoulder road into Harvie Heights and zig zag your way up the hill to any of the upper trailheads in the subdivision.

Red Tape

Bald Eagle Peak is not in Banff National Park. There are no permit requirements to enter, climb and/or park in Kananaskis Provincial Park. This is active grizzly country, therefore, you should always have bear spray on your person. We had a grizzly fatality in Canmore in 2005 on the benchlands that you will be accessing via your ascent. I do advise checking with the park website link provided above for possible trail closures.

When To Climb

As with most scrambles in the Canadian Rockies, the driest time is from June through September. I have climbed Bald Eagle Peak twice, in April and May. This early in the season, you can expect some ice and snow on the north side of the summit block which is your ascent route. These early conditions will no doubt make this a more difficult climb. There are no published backcountry ski routes on Bald Eagle Peak, nor would it be conducive to ski to the summit.

Camping

The closest camp site would be back in Canmore at the town campsite at the information center off of the same exit for Harvie Heights. The Alpine Club of Canada’s national office is located in Canmore and also serves as a hostel, a recently renovated one at that. You cannot camp outside of the marked specific camping areas in Kananaskis Provincial Park. Refer to the Kananaskis Provincial Park website for more information regarding backcountry camping.

Mountain Conditions

The Kananaskis Provincial Park website is a very thorough park website, including trail conditions and/or closures, wildlife notices, weather conditions, avalanche conditions, camping permits, whitewater conditions, etc. It is an excellent source if you are going to spend any time here and comparable to any National Park website I have used. Outside of the parks web site, Canadian Avalanche Association is also useful, particularly for winter travel.

External Links

• 100’s of Canadian Rockies multi-pitch rock climbs, ice climbs, alpine climbs and scrambles, just scroll down to routes
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