Cory's Pass.

First things first. Whatever you do, DO NOT do this hike hungover. For some unknown reason I decided to have a few beers the night prior. This not only made me not sleep but also incredibly hungover. Thank god I wasn't the only one that was feeling that way.

This hike starts super close to Banff township. Located just off the 1A highway just off to the right heading towards Johnston Canyon down the Fireside recreation site. For almost 2 years I didn't know that this little campfire site existed! It has a large stone fire place and tables sitting along a creek.

From the fire place follow the well defined pathway to the right. This meanders through the forest for some time gradually moving upwards towards the Birch trees. These look so gorgeous with the white bark glowing and lush green leaves. Eventually you make it to a fork in the road. To the right leads towards Edith's Pass and to the left goes straight up towards Cory's Pass. Literally straight up. The elevation that you gain in the first 1.5km is close to 400m and for a hungover Daena thats a hell of a lot. To say

I was struggling would be an understatement.

Criss-crossing up the mountain side over looking the highway you are in open fields and then into the forest once again. This continues going up and up and up. Eventually you reach the ridge. At this point don't forget to turn around and take in the views of Vermillion Lakes and Sulphur Mountain. It'll make that uphill battle worth it. From here the incline is minimal compared to what you've just done.

As you walk on along the ridge up and down you'll get to a point where there is a sheer drop. To the right of you is a sign directing hikers to go down. Clamber down the rock here veering to the right as you do so before popping back down on the left at the base of the cliff. Whatever you do, do not try to find your own route down this drop as the fall to the base would be rather lengthy. From this point the path leads all the way up to the pass. This part of the trail is hugging the side of Mt Edith with Mt Cory straight ahead.

Elena & I

At the pass you can decided to keep going up to the right up to the summit of Mount Edith- or alternatively to a look out just on the ridge of Mount Edith over-looking the pass. Of course I was not in my best shape and was dying of hunger so decided to opt to the green meadows on the left side of the pass over looking the valley towards Banff. At the pass there is Gargoyle Valley. These intricately formed pinnacles sit at the base of Mount Cory in the pass. The Pass only lasts a around 20 metres before opening up wide into a valley with amazing views of Mount Leroy and the backside of Mount Edith (see first photo).

Gargoyle Valley, Pinnacles on the left.

Having done a few scrambles and scree runs this descent was easy for me even in my poor state. (I may have feel once or twice however- mainly due to stupidity). The first o or so metres are the hardest as the gradient that you are descending down is high but it quickly levels out to a more friendly descent on down packed rock. The base of the valley turns into an enormous rock garden with trees scattered in between- aka Edith's Pass Following the path to the right before darting into the forest.

The first while you are in dense forest on a narrow path- this made myself and Elena very much on edge and cautious for bears. This continues for a while popping out into avalanche shoots and back into the woods a few times. Here there is little to no elevation gain and is a nice rest on the legs. Winding down through the woods the trees start to separate so you are out of dense forest and like us will feel a little more at ease. The last thing we wanted to deal with was a bear as both of us were spent. This path gradually makes it was down through the forest folllowing along side a creek. There will be a fork in the road- and if wanting to go back to your car take the right path. This eventually winds up back at the original fork that you came to on the ascent. Take the left path back down to your car.

Over all this took us around 4 1/2 hours (not including lunch break). Considering my state of being I was happy with that considering it was a 13km hike round trip. If you are after a short sharp hike in close proximity to Banff this one is your guy!