Wilcox Pass is a trail which starts near the Athabasca Icefield area on the Icefields Parkway between Jasper and Banff. The trailhead is a the campground 2.4 km southeast. The trail climbs through a subalpine zone up to alpine meadows (at 2337 m or 7667 ft). It continues through an open pass between Mount Wilcox and Nigel Peak.
As we climbed we had superb views of Mt. Athabasca (3491 m or 11 453 ft.) and Snow Dome (3520m or 11 550 ft.). Mt. Athabasca is an all-day climb up the glaciers which we did some years ago. Snow Dome is the hydrological apex of North America with drainage going to three different oceans. I did a solo backcountry ski to the summit some years ago.
The trail goes under the eastern slopes of Mt. Wilcox (I scrambled to the summit once) and Nigel Peak and, as it continues northwest, it also goes past Tangle Ridge before descending down the Tangle Creek Trail. On the way down, there are outstanding views of more Columbia Icefield Peaks – Mount Kitchener (3493 m) and Stutfield Peak (3455 m). When I skied over the Athabasca Icefall and onto the Columbia Icefields we headed across the neve (to about 3200m) to the area between Kitchener, Stutfield and Mt. Columbia.
The hiking trail through Wilcox Pass is a moderate and scenic route for hikers of most fitness levels. It was my mother’s favorite hike. For those with higher fitness levels, there are a number of possible side routes to explore – Nigel Peak (a challenging scramble), Mount Wilcox (an airy scramble), and Tangle Ridge (a longer hike). There have been bighorn sheep in the pass in summer. On the way down Tangle Creek, the falls is worth a stop for a photograph. The hike is best done as a two-vehicle system since the trail ends 9.5 km north of the campground. We did it as an out-and-back hike a couple of times too.
Shared here are some photos from one time hiking Wilcox Pass. Captions have been added to identify the views (click the link to go to the album). The album is also embedded here:
More Information – Wilcox Pass Hike