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Originally Posted by GGG
How experienced are you? How far away from Calgary and how long of hike ?
There are two main risks when winter hiking Avalanche and hypothermia. So either you need to understand how not to get into avalanche terrain or stick to well marked trails. For hypothermia think about what would happen if you broke an ankle or sprained a knee and how you would stay warm and get help.
Assuming you are a relatively new winter hiker and want relatively easy hikes in the 3-4 hr range within 2hrs of Calgary
Chester Lakes - 10kish round trip 300m or so elevation, this is packed down enough that you don’t need snow shoes on the main trail but around the lake it gets deep fast. Lots of people around on the hike and no avalanche risk until you get to the lake. At the lake there are some avalanche slopes on the south side (I think) that you want to stay away from. The meadow before the lake is a great place to play in the snow and you sink 3ft in even with snow shoes.
Across the parking lot is the Burstsll pass trailhead. In the winter snowshoeing out to the first two lakes is a fairly easy snowshoe less busy than Chester but still people around if you were to get hurt.
If you want a hike Prarie Mountain is always able to be hiked. Just stay well back of the edge at the top as a cornice forms during the winter. It requires ice cleats to do in the winter as it is steep and slippery.
Any lake can be turned into a good snowshoe once the ice is thick enough
Beginners guide to snowshoeing in the Canadian Rockies by Nugera has lots of great low to no avalanche trips. If you want more advanced winter peak bagging his Snowshoes in the Canadian Rockies is the Kane Scambles of winter snowshoes.
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I've hiked Chester (easy for me) during the regular season so it will be nice to see it during this time of year. Burstall, Rummel, Rawson, Prairie and Read's Tower are also on my list.
I'll definitely check out that book. Thanks!