The trail for Fairview Mountain starts at the parking lot at the Lake Louise Chateau. From the parking lot walk towards the canoe rental kiosk and take a left on the asphalt trail. This is the start of the Fairview Lookout, Fairview Mountain and The Saddleback Trails. Keep going straight at any junctions that you encounter.
The trail to the Saddleback is 3.5 km and has an elevation gain of 600 m. After 0.8 km there is a junction that takes you to Fairview Lookout (right trail), The Saddleback and Fairview Mountain (center trail), and a trail that leads to the Paradise Valley Trail (left trail).
The trail goes through some avalanche paths, forested areas and open meadows. About 3 km later with many switchbacks and elevation gain you will have climbed the Saddleback. From here you can go left onto the Sheol Valley Trail or right to Fairview Mountain.
The trail to Fairview Mountain is not clearly defined. The trail is full of switchbacks up a steep slope made up of loose scree. The 1.5 km trail gains an elevation of 444 m. At the summit, you will be 1 km above Lake Louise and have great views of Mt. Temple and Mt Victoria.
Word of caution: This mountain is also nicknamed "Overtime Mountain". Many people try to scramble down the northeast side as a shortcut on the way back. This is a sure way to spend the night on a ridge and be billed for a rescue the next morning.
In winter please check the Avaluator
(Online Trip Planner) rating is: Complex.
See more trip planner route details here.
Current conditions:
Directions:
Walk from the parking lot at Lake Louise Chateau towards the canoe kiosk. Hang a left on the trail you meet.
ByPosted By: Xenko
- Wed Aug 13 10:01:47 EDT 2008
UpsideGreat views from the top.
DownsideNone.
CommentA great hike with a great view of the valley, Lake Louise, Mount Temple and Mount Victoria. I found the path pretty easy to find while going up, maybe it has just been used a lot more recently (if you zoom in on the Google map you can even see the trail in the satellite images). About the only thing to be wary of is your fitness level. It is a fairly strenuous hike, although there were many many people doing it that day. 2 people in my group had some feelings of nausea as they approached the top (likely a bit of altitude sickness coupled with the physical exertion).
If you start early in the day, you can summit by noon and have lunch at the top (we had the summit to ourselves for about 30 minutes). A lot of groups that day appeared to have lunch at the saddle back, and then summit in the afternoon, so there were many people going up as we were going down.
ByPosted By: Michel
- Sun Jun 10 11:10:13 EDT 2007
UpsideThe view to lake Louise and the Glaciers is just incredible.n't say you've seen Lake Louise unless you got way up.
DownsideThe trail down was not easy to find we ended up going down the scree.
CommentIt was one of our best ascent of the trip in the Lake Louise area. A little crowded but lot of ambiance.
Posted By: Xenko
Posted By: Michel
