Summit Elevation (m): 2549
Trip Date: Saturday, September 4, 2004
Round Trip Time (hr): Unknown
Elevation Gain (m): 1180
Total Trip Distance (km): 14.5
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 3 – you fall, you break something
Difficulty Notes: Moderate scrambling with loose terrain and some exposure depending on the route chosen. Only attempt when dry.
Technical Rating: SC6; YDS (3rd)
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
Mount Tecumseh doesn’t seem like a very popular mountain. It hasn’t seen a whole lot of ascents over the past few years and I really don’t know why as I found it to be quite enjoyable. Of course that could be because we had such nice weather on it compared to the other mountains. We walked up the access road (well most of the way on the right road – don’t ask).
Rather then walking, I would definitely recommend biking up that darn road. It’s not so bad on the way up but on the way back you will be hurting – and swearing. There is also an alternate approach from the BC side of hwy 3 that allows you to drive much closer to the base of Tecumseh before putting boots to ground.
The ascent up the creek bad is awesome. There is lots of cool scenery to distract you from the elevation gain and the time flies by till you get above the stream and the big boulder field at the top of it. I would recommend going right up along the stream coming down from the left where Kane mentions a sharp left. We went up the drainage on the right hand side and ended up doing a lot of unnecessary side sloping which I personally don’t find very cool.
The summit ridge is fun and the views are nice. There is also a massive wind break on the top which always comes in handy in the Crowsnest Pass area! (Update 2023: There are reasonable routes from Tecumseh to Phillipps that can be found elsewhere online.)
