South Kananaskis Pass Peak
August 22, 2025
Mountain heights: 2780 m, 2809 m
Total elevation gain: approximately
1780 m
Ascent time to
SKPP: 5:10
Time to
Offender: 3:50
Descent time: 3:55
Solo scramble.
Four days after
a successful ascent of Surprise Station, but failure on Three Isle
Peak, I was back for more magic in this wonderful part of Kananaskis.
Referencing David Jones’ guidebook for the area and checking out various maps,
I decided that the unnamed peak northwest of Mount Worthington might provide
the best view. In addition to a front row look at the Royal Group, I was hoping
to see both Beatty Lake and Three Isle Lake from the summit.
Biking and
hiking to Three Isle Lake took about 3 hours. I then started hiking around the
right side of the lake. Initially, I intended to take a more direct line by
going around the left side, however trying to make a loop route out of it by
first going to South Kananaskis Pass had more appeal. The pass wasn’t
exactly a showstopper, but a pleasant place to take a quick break.
And how was SKPP?
(South Kananaskis Pass Peak, as identified on the Gaia map) – easy, longer than
expected, and disappointingly devoid of any views of Beatty Lake. However,
another lake more than made up for that shortcoming. Hello Tipperary Lake! Tipperary,
a gorgeous shade of dark turquoise, sits below the southeast face of
picturesque Mount Cradock, to the northwest and IT was a showstopper! In
addition to three separate cairns, the summit also boasted (as advertised in
Jones’ book) a spectacular view of the Royal Group.
The usual stop to photograph Upper Kananaskis Lake
Cloud over Mount Putnik, but the forecast is calling for clear skies later in the morning
The unnamed peak south of Three Isle Lake. This mountain got as much photo attention as all the named peaks in the area.
Good water source near the trail
Fireweed
The Steps
The not so innocuous south ridge of Surprise Station
Mount Worthington reflected in a very low Three Isle Lake
The unnamed peak reflected in the lake
Same as above
South Kananaskis Pass Peak is the third bump from the right
An insect on arnica and a very blurry Offender Mountain
More sharply focused Offender Mountain
Originally I intended to go up the left side to SKPP but ended up coming down that way
The northeast side of Worthington
Great trail to South Kananaskis Pass. Part of Surprise Station and Three Isle Peak in the background.
At the pass
The first part of the route up SKPP
A very impressive outlier of Mount Beatty at the left
The north-northeast side of Worthington
The view to the south is starting to shape up
Nice rock, but very crumbly
Bigger view of what's behind me
Three Isle Lake has been demoted to "No Isle Lake", courtesy of the low water levels
The scary west side of Three Isle Peak
A few peaks of the British Military Group
Robertson and Maude
Mount Back at the left (I think)
Atop the first false summit, looking at the next section of the route
Now getting good views of the north side of Worthington and McHarg
Hoping the summit is up there
Always amazing to see a single set of wildflowers growing in such an inhospitable environment
Definitely obsessed with Surprise and Three Isle
A rock band that guards the summit
A natural wall rock
A bit of hands-on scrambling was quite welcome at this point
Oops! Not at the summit - there's lots more to go.
A little obsessed with Mount Beatty too
Mount Back?
Geologically interesting terrain
Cool lake under Mount Cradock
Terrific view to the north but no Beatty Lake
Mount Assiniboine in the centre
The cool lake - Tipperary Lake
Summit panos
Back and Alcantara to the right
The summit of Cradock
Not sure what these are, but I like them
Mount Prince Edward
Mount Prince John and Mount Queen Mary
Mount Robertson
Again, not sure, but I like!
Three Isle Lake and Mount Lyautey
One of the three summit cairns
All three
The Royal Group
Another cool lake, but much smaller
King George, Prince Albert, and Prince Edward
Close-up of some of the glacier on King George's east face
Click HERE to continue to Offender Mountain
