Passport to the Peaks: Grande Cache, Alberta, Canada: High Peaks Program

Grande Cache is situated in the Foothills up against the Front Ranges of the Rocky Mountains. It serves as an excellent access point to a panorama of mountains. Each mountain offers its own challenges and rewarding vistas. These hikes rival those in the National Parks yet offer true, less traveled wilderness to the adventurer. Indeed, to our collective knowledge, some of the mountains, to this point, have never been summited! Nevertheless, we believe that all of them offer non technical routes for hikers to achieve the summit. The Passport to the Peaks program celebrates the beauty of the area by identifying the ring of mountains that surround the town.

Each mountain is rated as either Bronze, Silver or Gold depending upon the level of difficulty. The Bronze Mountains are typically daytrips with simple wayfinding. The Silver Mountains involve either multiday adventures, more advanced route finding or require a significant river crossing. The Gold Mountains are much more remote, undeveloped and challenging. On each summit is a Cairn Box with an embossing Summit Stamp mounted inside, particular to that mountain. This stamp will serve testimony to your having achieved the summit. It will also serve also as a souvenir to remind you of your triumph and the vista at which you marveled.

The journey starts at the Grande Cache Tourist Information Centre. There, pick up the Passport to the Peaks at nominal cost. This full colour guide, has a daysheet for each mountain printed on tearproof waterproof paper. Each daysheet gives a map and description of the route and has a blank gold, silver or bronze seal emblazened upon it.

From the Tourist Information Centre, make your way downtown to the Summit Console: a spot wherein you can stand and see each of the peaks along with a description. Choose the summit you wish to challenge and remove the daysheet from the Passport to the Peaks.

Put your skill and determination to the test and make your ascent. Once at the summit, take in the view! Then find the Cairn Box, open it up and stamp the seal of your daysheet.

Once you have achieved one summit, you will have caught the fever and want to bag them all. Once you have collected all of the Bronze Summit Stamps in your Passport to the Peaks, return to the Tourism Centre and present your book. For a nominal fee, you will be presented with a Bronze Peak Pin, your name will be engraved for all posterity on the Bronze Peak Plaque on display in the Tourism Centre and your name will be added to the Mountaineers' Roll of Honour on our website. Similar recognition will be bestowed upon you once you have completed all of the Silver and Gold summits respectively, along with the satisfaction of gaining a more elite rank of Mountaineer.

The Bronze Mountains will be inaugerated into the program in 2001; Silver Mountains in 2003 and Gold Mountains in 2005.

The Peaks

BRONZE

B1 Grande Mountain 6520'

B2 Flood Mountain 6000'

B3 Mount Louie 6075'

B4 Mount Stearn 6625'

B5 Ambler Mountain 6275'

B6 Mount Hamell 6986'

SILVER

S1 Hayden Ridge 6625'

S2 Mount Russell 7725'

S3
Mount Mawdsley 7025'

S4 Mount Braithwaite 7750'

S5 Lightning Ridge 8150'

S6 Volcano Peak 7025'

S7 Cairn Mountain (part of Caw Ridge) 7075'

GOLD

G1 Pehonanseh 7525'

G2 Silvertip 8583'

G3 unnamed (UTM 392/5945) 7650'

G4 Square Mountain 6800'

G5 Kakusska 7775'

G6 unnamed (UTM 372/5950, part of Persimmon Range) 8075'

G7 Mount Kvass 7200'

G8 Twin Peaks of Mount DeVeber (southwest peak) 8850'

A Cairnbox