Researched route, Icefields Parkway
Icefields Parkway
Straight across the road from Bow Lake and up a rib of forest and open glades, to where the trees thin out below Cirque Forepeak's alpine.
The Center Rib is a rib of forest and open glades on the roadside face of Cirque Forepeak, above Bow Lake and the Icefields Parkway in Banff National Park, near Lake Louise. It's a short climb: 2.0 km from the Bow Lake lot to the top of the treeline glades, and about 3.9 km and 390 m of climbing there and back. A guidebook's author rates it the best of the three ribs on this face, with lower trees open enough for most skiers. The alpine above is steeper, and our line stops below it, at the top of the glades. Avalanche Canada reports describe people skiing here from November to April. Where you go from the glades is up to you. We built this route from research and haven't skied it ourselves.
We built this route from our own extensive research. All resources are cited on the dashboard. We haven't skied it ourselves, the routes illustrated may not be the best line choice, use your own judgement when planning. Remember you are still responsible for your own tour.
Last checked October 20, 2026.
| Distance | about 3.9 km round trip, 2.0 km to the top of the treeline glades |
| Elevation gain | about 390 m on our line; a guidebook gives 850 m and 3.5 km for the climb on to the summit, which our terrain data matches (about 3.7 km and 840 m by the same way) |
| Slope angles | 0 to 12 degrees through the first 0.9 km of forest, then 10 to 26 degrees up the rib, mostly 12 to 21; up to 28 degrees within 200 m of the line; the alpine above is steeper (our terrain data reads 27 degrees near 2,510 m and 39 near 2,600 m); terrain data reads low |
| Trailhead | 1,950 m on terrain data |
| Top of the line | 2,343 m on terrain data; reports describe the snow changing near 2,300 m (February 2026) and wind effect from about 2,370 m (November 2025) |
| Nearest town | Lake Louise |
| Pass required | Parks Canada |
| Skied by us | Not yet |
The start is the Bow Lake lot, beside the lake near Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, off the Icefields Parkway (Highway 93 North). A guidebook puts it about 34 km up the highway from the Parks Canada gate where the Parkway begins, and says to walk across the highway and start skinning into the forest on the other side. An April 2025 report started from a lot here at 8 a.m. The lot is mapped on OpenStreetMap, and our start is its edge at the road. We found no source on whether it's cleared through the winter, so look when you get there. A guidebook also describes a roadside start about 1.5 km further north for the next rib, the West Ridge, but not for this one.
You need a pass in Banff National Park. Parks Canada's bulletin of September 8, 2026 makes travel in the park an activity that needs a pass displayed in the vehicle, unless you're passing through without stopping on Highway 1 or Highway 93 South. Parks Canada's rule is snow tires or chains on the Parkway from the first of November to the end of March. It clears snow between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and lists the road's conditions on 511 Alberta. There's no cell service on the Parkway itself.
Parks Canada's avalanche closure zones on this highway, which it closes during control work, are Dolomite Peak, south of Helen Creek, and Silverhorn and Observation Peak, north of the Peyto Lake turn-off. Its overview map shows neither at Bow Lake, and neither covers the lot or the line. It marks the highway's avalanche paths as no stopping zones. Its wildlife order, in effect from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, lets the park close small areas, which it marks in the field without posting details online. We found no closure naming this slope on Parks Canada's Banff bulletins page on 2026-10-20. Check that page, and watch for signs.
Create a free account to read this researched route in full and open the live dashboard.