Little Hector
Trip Report
On Saturday, July 22 2006 Wietse and I scrambled up Little Hector and Mount Andromache along the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park.
We started out under sunny and very warm conditions around 08:00 from the pullout along the highway. Following Kane's route description worked well and within 25 minutes we were already hiking onto the open slopes under the headwall in the approach gully. We quickly scrambled up the headwall to the climbers left of the waterfalls and after traversing over the stream we continued up on climbers right.
Once in the open valley above the headwall we weren't exactly sure where to do next. We could stick to the left and gain Hector Pass higher up the valley or we could attempt going left up to the ridge crest that towered above us on that side. We decided to keep things interesting and started angling up to the ridge. The angle steepened considerable near the top but we found a way to break through the cliffs to our left that we were traversing under and after that we gained the ridge and made it to the upper pass no problem.
Little Hector towered above us, at least 400 vertical meters more to go! We followed an obvious trail up from the pass and scrambled up to climbers right to gain the final ridge to the summit. I already felt that I had enough scree by the time I topped out, 3 hours 20 minutes after leaving the car. Wietse soon joined me at the summit. We really wished we had brought our axes and crampons because Mount Hector looked so accessible from our vantage point! You would only be on the glacier for a short, steep bit just before Hector's summit - the rest would simply be a ridge walk from Little Hector. After a 40 minute break, admiring views in all directions we began the descent to the pass and to Mount Andromache.
 Wietse heads up the left-hand side of the waterfall on the approach. |
 There's some scrambly bits up the headwall. |
 A nice view off the shoulder of Little Hector with Hector Lake in the background. |
 Wietse is in the lower right of the photo and Andromache rises behind him. We are heading up the rubble and slab slopes to bypass the normal route to Hector Pass. |
 Wietse squeezes through a narrow openning that we negotiated to break through a cliff band. |
 Once we got above the lower slopes of Little Hector we still had about 400 vertical meters to go. |
 The rubble fun begins in earnest on the final slope of Little Hector. |
 Hector Lake reflects the surrounding peaks on a calm morning. |
 Vern takes in the awesome view from on top of Little Hector. Hector wouldn't be much more than a technical snow scramble from this point. |
 Wietse tops out on Little Hector. |
 The view of Hector Glacier and the route up to Mount Hector is incredible from the summit of Little Hector. |
 Mount Balfour is still covered in snow and ice while nearby peaks are almost bare. |
 Mounts Lefroy, Victoria, Hungabee and the Goodsir Towers are all visible. |
 Summit photo. |
 Molar Mountain with Cataract Peak on the upper left. |
 Click to view the summit panorama larger. |
 Our route up Unnamed and Andromache is outlined in red as seen from the summit of Little Hector. |
 Little Hector and Mount Hector from the descent slopes of Little Hector on the way over to Andromache. |
 Little Hector as seen on the trudge back along the Icefields Parkway from the descent of Andromache on the way to the car. |