Canmore

Heart Mountain Loop

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Looking north-east towards Mount Fable and Mount Yamnuska from Heart Mountain. Photo: Canmore Runner

Heart Mountain Loop. A steep, unrelenting, hands on scramble, followed by an undulating and spectacular ridge run as you gradually make your way up to and beyond the summit of Heart Mountain. And then a steep, technical, rocky descent that eventually gives way to an equally steep but more forgiving single track through the trees that gradually flattens out as you head back to the trail head. It’s only around 10.4km but that comes with more than 1,000m of elevation. It’s quite the workout. Continue reading →

Yamnuska Loop

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Taking in the view en route to the summit. Photo: Kimberley Al

Thank you Yamnuska. It was epic. It’s only about a 10km loop but you pack of lot into those 10km: a challenging but largely run-able climb that gains around 994m in elevation; easy-going forest trails that deliver you to the exposed and more technical backside of the mountain before reaching the summit with its breathtaking panoramic views. From there, a scorching, scree-skiing descent leads you around the frontside of the mountain and back into the trees before returning to the trailhead. It’s a blast. Continue reading →

Lady Mac – Part One – the Helipad

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The Three Sisters from Mount Lady MacDonald – Photo: Canmore Runner

One down (well, almost), three to go (sort of).

Mount Lady MacDonald, elevation 2,606m and one of the four peaks that make up the Canmore Quad, the others being Mount Grotto, Ha Ling, and the East End of Rundle. An 8km out-and-back and really quite challenging. It put the whole prospect of attempting the Canmore Quad at some point in the future in a new, more frightening, perspective. Continue reading →

Grizzly Time!

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Photo: Canmore Runner

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada. In keeping with tradition, this was marked by the consumption of vast the amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie throughout the land; and by some 1,400 runners from all over Canada and beyond descending on the Canmore Nordic Centre for a truly awesome day of racing at the Grizzly 50k Ultra Marathon and Relay – a day of broken records, personal bests and individual triumphs.  Continue reading →

Rundle Traverse – Not for the Faint Hearted or Those Without Rope

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Mount Rundle, looking west.

I don’t consider myself faint hearted but i’m not sure i’ll be doing the Rundle Traverse anytime soon. Unlike local runner Simon Donato and Ryan Atkins that is, who last week completed the 23km run along the eleven peaks of Mount Rundle, with some 3,100 metres of elevation gain in 10 hours 25 minutes – beating Dow Williams’ FKT by 2.5 hours. Continue reading →

Having a Blast at Rundle’s Revenge

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You may remember from the “The Racing Post” (or as I call it, the “tempting fate post” as no sooner had I clicked “publish” than I was sidelined by injury for three weeks) that i’d set my sights on three key races for this season – Rundle’s Revenge, TrailStoke and the Grizzly Ultra.

The first of these, Rundle’s Revenge, took place last weekend at Canmore Nordic Centre under sunny skies with temperatures in the low 30s. Continue reading →

Montane Traverse

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The Montane Traverse Trail, on the east side of the Bow Valley, is another spectacular run. Starting at the Cougar Creek trailhead, it climbs steadily and steeply in parts in the first 2 kilometres. But after that, the trail stretches out into a rollercoaster of a ride along largely technical single track with tree roots, twists and turns, and the occasional rocky creek bed to navigate. Continue reading →