Mt Fairview Trip Report
Date: August 2001
Trailhead: Saddleback
Round Trip Distance: 6.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,300 feet (5,700' to 9,000')
Start Time: 6:00 a.m.
Finish Time: 9:30 a.m.
Directions to Saddleback trailhead: The trailhead is near the boathouse on the southeast corner of Lake Louise. The trail can also be reached from the west end of Chateau Lake Louise's upper parking lot. Follow the signs for the Saddleback trail.
Hike Description: This is a great hike, and I recommend it to anyone planning a hike in the Lake Louise area. Not only is it less crowded than the trails on the other side of the lake, but the view is spectacular when you reach the top.
I began at 6:00 a.m. because I was planning to do another hike with the kids later in the day. I was actually ready to go at about 5:45, but I didn't have a headlamp and had to wait until it was light enough to see the trail. The first part of the hike is through an evergreen forest. After spending the previous day hiking up a crowded trail to one of the teahouses on the other side of Lake Louise, I welcomed the quiet and solitude of this hike. I'll admit that I was a little nervous after seeing signs at the trailhead warning about bears in the area, but I quickly forgot about them when the sun came up over the mountains to the left. There are some good views of Mt. Fairview (see picture at left) from the lower portion of the trail. You can also see Saddle Mountain, which is the peak to the left of Fairview.
The trail becomes less steep as you emerge from the forest and approach the Saddleback. The Saddleback is the name for the low area between the summits of Saddle Mountain and Mt. Fairview. I could see where some hikers had left the Saddleback trail a little before its highest point and headed up to the summit of Fairview. I decided to stay on the Saddleback trail because I could see a junction a few hundred feet ahead at the crest of the trail. At the junction, I turned right and started up the steep trail to the summit. The first picture below shows the route that I took to Fairview's summit.
| Trail to Summit |
Fairview from Hotel |
Lake Louise |
Hotel From Summit |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I arrived at the summit around 7:45. There were great views of Lake Louise (see picture), the Plain of Six Glaciers, Haddo Peak, and many other mountains. I walked a short distance to the northeast to get a better view of the Chateau Lake Louise (picture above) and spent a total of about 30 minutes on the summit before heading back down the trail. I accidentally left the main trail just after leaving leaving the summit, but I just continued down the scree slope and joined the Saddleback trail a short distance from the main trail junction. It was actually kind of fun going down the scree slope; I felt like I was skiing instead of walking down the mountain. The rest of the hike was quick and easy, and I was back at the hotel by 9:30.
Home
Hiking
Pictures
Trains
Chess
I began at 6:00 a.m. because I was planning to do another hike with the kids later in the day. I was actually ready to go at about 5:45, but I didn't have a headlamp and had to wait until it was light enough to see the trail. The first part of the hike is through an evergreen forest. After spending the previous day hiking up a crowded trail to one of the teahouses on the other side of Lake Louise, I welcomed the quiet and solitude of this hike. I'll admit that I was a little nervous after seeing signs at the trailhead warning about bears in the area, but I quickly forgot about them when the sun came up over the mountains to the left. There are some good views of Mt. Fairview (see picture at left) from the lower portion of the trail. You can also see Saddle Mountain, which is the peak to the left of Fairview.
