Trip Date: May 2008
Ha Ling is a prominent peak in the
Canmore area. It is located on the northwest end of Mount Lawrence Grassi; a mountain that is immediately south of Canmore. Ha Ling is located in
Bow Valley Wildland Provincial Park. Canmore is approximately 100km west of
Calgary along the Trans-Canada Highway. The hike itself is about 6km round trip with an elevation gain of 819m. The summit is 2,407m high.
The origin of the name of the mountain is the subject of much controversy. Originally known to locals as the Beehive, the mountain has undergone a few name changes over the years. In 1896 Ha Ling, a cook with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was bet 50 dollars that he could not climb to the summit, plant a flag, and return in under 10 hours. Allegedly he started his ascent at 7:00AM and was back in time for lunch. As nobody believed the story of his accomplishment, he lead a party of doubters to the summit where he erected a much larger flag beside his original. The new flag could be seen from town. From that point on the townspeople referred to the mountain as Chinaman's Peak in his honour. In 1997 the name was again changed to Ha Ling Peak, as the term "Chinaman" was viewed as derogatory.
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| Ha Ling Peak |
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| Spotted this Rocky Mountain Sheep before we started the hike |
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| Ha Ling Peak |
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| Jenna, Leslie, and Chris before we started |
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| Mike, Kyle, Jaryd, and I on the trail |
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| The summit as viewed from Miner's Col |
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| Me, Jaryd, and Mike on the summit |
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| The three of us with Miner's Peak in the background |
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| A Pika that lives on the summit |
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| The Bow Valley. You can see the Trans-Canada Highway as well as Lac des Arcs in the background. |
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| The town of Canmore as viewed from the summit |
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| Panoramic shot of Canmore |
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| Panoramic shot of the Bow Valley |
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| On our way back down |
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| Mike and Jaryd on Miner's Col during our descent |
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| Post-hike group shot |
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