Mount Hector | 11000ers of the Canadian Rockies

Mount Hector
3394m, 11135ft
April 18 2025

Mount Hector lies just north of Lake Louise and has been one of the easier 11000ers on the list for a while, but over the years the rocky summit block has become more and more challenging as the ice around it melts. While getting to below the summit block is a nice ski tour with a bit of boot packing on an early steep section of the approach or a long hike on foot in dry months, reaching the summit is now not quite so simple. As Mount Hector's glacier recedes, what was once a simple walk up has turned to a mixed climb to get through the rocky cliff band that now exists. In the not so distant future the summit block of Hector could become even more difficult and it'll be interesting to see how the upper mountain evolves in the coming years.

Ascending Mount Hector on skis, roped up for glacier travel with Hector Lake visible far below to the right under clear blue skies

I had a couple plans up in the air for a solid weather window on April 18th 2025 but when one of them fell through my Dad and I were gunning for Mount Hector! Hector in April is a dreamy ski and we were looking forward to getting some great turns in. This was my second time doing Hector so routefinding wasn't an issue, not that it would be even if it was your first time, it's a simple ascent in the grand scheme of 11000ers and especially in the spring is about as straightforward as they get. The first time I did Hector was a couple months before Mount Forbes but given that it's a short and very enjoyable trip I was more than happy to repeat it and cut a couple months of my total list time.

My Dad and I had a more relaxed start time of 8am and by that point the small pulloff lot beside the highway was full and there was a skin track set all the way up the mountain for us. Roping up on Mount Hector's glacier at this time of year is a bit of a formality especially when a heavily used skin track is set ahead of you but there most definitely are crevasses that you pass over regardless of the line that you take so better safe than sorry!

It took us 5 hours to reach the high point on Mount Hector just below the summit block and another 10 minutes for me to reach the summit, though the beauty of these ski ascents is of course the descent. From just below the summit block back to the car took us 70 minutes so doing Mount Hector at a time of year when the glacier is well snow covered is a no brainer. We were able to ski all the way out to the car, some sporty sections included, and this made for one of the more enjoyable 11000er ski descents in my recent memory!

links: STRAVA | GAIA
elapsed time: 7hrs
DIFFICULTY: mountaineering - glacier travel, 5th class

Brian gearing up for the on foot section

Above the initial cliffband, navigating around
the second difficulty

The second difficulty, you could come up this
way but it was hard packed so we would've
needed to switch to crampons

Somewhat exposed traverse line over the chute

Continuing upward, we followed the skin tracks right above the small rocky outcrop

Clear views towards Bow Peak and the peaks surrounding the Wapta Icefield

Not far past here we roped up for glacier travel

They're a ways off the skin track but there are definitely some big crevasses up here!

A close-up of the summit, busy day on Hector!

Looking back, almost higher than Little Hector

Last steps to the high point of the glacier

My Dad was pretty tired by the time we were below the summit block and he hadn't mixed climbed before so he wasn't interested in going for the summit. I considered bringing the rope up with me since there's a bolt above the cliff band that I could use to rappel but since I had tackled the summit block before free solo I decided to just climb and downclimb it. It's not an extremely technical climb to get up the cliffband but the first section is a bit awkward depending on the line you take and there is some exposure so it definitely requires care.

After hanging out at the summit for a few minutes I made my way back down and had to be careful descending the cliff band but after that it was a cruisy ski all the way back to the car. In the section we boot packed on the way up my Dad and I had to be a bit careful with our line choice since there are some rocks and cliff features in the area but we managed to keep the skis on all the way to the road, it doesn't get much better than that!

An impressive cliff off the south side of Hector's “consolation summit”

Left to right, Forbes, The Lyells, Columbia, and a couple of the Twins!

Temple, Deltaform, Lefroy, Hungabee, Victoria, and The Goodsirs

And Sir Douglas, Joffre, and Assiniboine

Quite the drop off! Wish I had gone up the
“consolation summit” to see the impressive cliffs
off the main summit from another angle

And 15 minutes later this is how far we had descended!

Skiing down the chute! Definitely a bit awkward but if there's enough snow it goes!

It's hard not to enjoy a short and sweet mountain trip like Mount Hector especially in the nice conditions we had and it made for an excellent first ever day on the backcountry skis for my Dad! Following this trip I was keeping a close eye on the Columbia Icefield forecast as I was keen to check off a few more of its objectives after the Snow Dome and Kitchener trip from a couple weeks prior, and as luck would have it a window showed up a week later and I was gearing up for one last April mountain outing.