Hector Point

April 4, 2026, Banff National Park

Summit
2469 m unofficial
Gain
700 m
Distance
7.5 km
Round trip
4 hr
Technical
OT4
Activity
snowshoe
Fun factor
3 of 5
With
Hanneke Nap-Dewit
Quick 'n dirty
Class 2 - you fall, you tripped on a shoe lace.
Difficulty
There are no technical difficulties to the summit of Hector Point.
Route
GPS trackMap

Hanneke and I spent my birthday weekend in Banff for a few days of relaxing, good food and exercise. After a very busy day at the Sunshine Ski Resort on Friday, we decided to avoid people on my birthday.

I’d noticed a nice snowshoe route along the series of bumps stretching south of Mount Hector along the Icefields Parkway and decided that since I’d already bagged every other high point on this massif, I might as well tag the lowest one too.

Hector Point Route Map. It doesn’t get much more straightforward than this.
Hector Point Route Map. It doesn’t get much more straightforward than this.

In 2006 I dragged Wietse, who was still a relative mountain newbie, up Little Hector (+ Andromache). In 2009 I tagged the main peak on skis. In 2019 I skied up Hector South Ridge while Hann snowshoed it. Last but not least, I skied and scrambled up Hector South Peak in 2022 with Wietse and Sara.

The day was forecast to be warm and I worried that snowshoeing could be challenging in sticky snow, but we decided it was worth a shot anyway and proceeded with the short drive from Banff to the parkway.

As we drove I developed one of my classic migraines. ⚡I usually start with auras in my vision, shimmering lines that obscure my vision and drive me nuts. Not to mention they make driving very challenging.

I’ve had enough of these over the years that I no longer panic. I decided that as long as we could drive to the start of the hike the vision stuff would calm down eventually and I could deal with the headache as we hiked. I’m lucky that the headaches are usually only a 4/10 on the pain scale.

As we drove the parkway I was concerned about finding a safe place to park. This area of Banff has received a ton of snow this winter and the shoulders were still packed with mounds of snow, partially obscuring the shoulders. I managed to find a spot about 150 meters past the ascent line, just squeezing over enough to be legally parked.

Finding a safe place to park along the highway was the crux.
Finding a safe place to park along the highway was the crux.

We ‘shoed along the ditch back to the ascent line (I had a track from Devan Peterson I was roughly following) before delivering into light forest and starting the ascent.

Needless to say the route is about as straightforward as these things get. This would be an ideal snowshoe for families or folks who haven’t done many trips. Essentially the line is straight up from the highway, avoiding as many dips and trees as possible.

The forest was lighter than I expected but I spent too much time trying to stick right to Devan’s track. There is no need to overthink things - just go UP.

A lovely little clearing part way up the slope.* *Hector Point is visible at upper right. We’ll stick left to a col before hiking the north ridge to the summit.
A lovely little clearing part way up the slope.* *Hector Point is visible at upper right. We’ll stick left to a col before hiking the north ridge to the summit.
A lovely little clearing part way up the slope.* *Hector Point is visible at upper right. We’ll stick left to a col before hiking the north ridge to the summit.
A lovely little clearing part way up the slope.* *Hector Point is visible at upper right. We’ll stick left to a col before hiking the north ridge to the summit.
Much nicer conditions and views than expected.
Much nicer conditions and views than expected.
On the north ridge to the summit, still not visible here.
On the north ridge to the summit, still not visible here.
Summit views looking east (L), south and west (R) include Mount Richardson (L), Temple in clouds at C and Waputik at right with the pulpit knobs.
Summit views looking east (L), south and west (R) include Mount Richardson (L), Temple in clouds at C and Waputik at right with the pulpit knobs.
Mount Richardson steals the show.
Mount Richardson steals the show.

Summit views were actually very respectable. On a clear day you would have full-on sightlines to the Lake Louise giants from here. It was very windy at the top and we didn’t linger longer than necessary.

Summit selfie.
Summit selfie.
** A fun, fast descent.
** A fun, fast descent.
** A fun, fast descent.
** A fun, fast descent.
** The snow got sticky towards the end but it wasn’t terrible.
** The snow got sticky towards the end but it wasn’t terrible.
** The snow got sticky towards the end but it wasn’t terrible.
** The snow got sticky towards the end but it wasn’t terrible.

All in all, this short ‘n sweet trip exceeded my (admittedly very limited) expectations. It was a fun, easy, safe, scenic outing with my favorite human. What more could I want on my birthday? 🎂🙂