Helpful Guidebooks

Some local guidebooks are excellent; others I wish I'd never bought. Here's a quick list of those that I refer to frequently when deciding what to do at the weekend. I have many more, but I've restricted the list to just those to which I refer most frequently. I recommend checking out the publisher's page at Rocky Mountain Books, where you will find many of the suggested books, plus more.

Hiking and Scrambling

Kananaskis Trail Guides

First up, the most comprehensive series of printed guidebooks that the local area is ever likely to see. Gillean Daffern has produced numerous guidebooks for Kananskis Country. While she doesn't claim the crown of having hiked every trail and should-be-a-trail in the area, she must be close! I use four of her books; a selective guide to 37 of the best local hikes, and three of the five "definitive" guides. I'd buy the other two, but really, how many bath-time reads does a hiker need?

GD is also a primary contributor to the Kananaskis Trails blog, which is worth browsing for news and updates concerning K Country trails.

Scrambling Guides

The books listed above include some scrambles, but two guidebooks focus on them more intently. Alan Kane's Scrambling in the Canadian Rockies is a touchstone for local scramblers. It features scrambles across a range of difficulties, located between Waterton and Jasper. Kane uses a three-tier grading system. Easy scrambles start with steep hikes such as Ha Ling; moderates tend to include anything from a single exposed step to a prolonged section of easy but exposed scrambling (e.g. Mt. Rae). I have yet to try a difficult one. The book also contains useful advice on how to avoid death by scrambling.

Andrew Nugara's More Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies is complementary to Kane's. In some areas it overlaps and infills Kane's selection, but it also includes entirely new groups of mountains.


Guides to local paddling, biking, and climbing will follow soon.