Mount Robson

Mount Robson reaches three thousand nine hundred and fifty-four metres, the highest point in the Canadian Rockies, and it rises about three thousand metres straight from the valley floor in one face, which is an unusual amount of relief and part of why it generates its own weather. The summit is hidden by cloud most days, and locals treat a clear view as worth stopping for. The Berg Lake Trail, twenty-three kilometres to a lake where ice calves off the Berg Glacier into the water, is one of the best-known backpacking routes in Canada; it was severely damaged by flooding in 2021 and has reopened in stages.

History

The Texqa'kallt, a Secwepemc people, call the mountain Yexyexéscen, striped rock, and its English name probably honours Colin Robertson of the fur trade companies. James McEvoy surveyed it in 1893 and found it the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies; George Kinney claimed the summit with the outfitter Donald "Curly" Phillips in August 1909 on his twelfth attempt, though he is now thought to have been turned back at the final ice dome, and the first documented ascent was made in 1913, led by the guide Conrad Kain, on an Alpine Club of Canada expedition that came by the newly completed Grand Trunk Pacific railway (Wikipedia, Mount Robson).

What's there

• The three-thousand-metre face - the mountain rising in one sweep from the valley.
• Berg Lake - a lake with ice calving directly off a glacier into it.
• The visitor centre view - the standard viewpoint from the highway.
• The Valley of a Thousand Falls - waterfalls on the trail up to the lake.

When to go

July to September; the Berg Lake Trail is snow-free only in summer and permits are required and competitive. Mornings offer the best chance of a clear summit before cloud builds.

Before you go

The summit is hidden by cloud on most days, so many visitors never see it. The Berg Lake Trail suffered major flood damage in 2021 and sections have had multi-year closures; check status before planning.

Nearby

Jasper lies east in Alberta; Valemount is south.

Key facts