Minotaur Peak - Livingstone Public Land Use Zone (PLUZ) - Alberta, Canada

2024-09-21 - I first found out about the unofficial name for this peak while I was hiking up Bluff Mt. in June 2023. As I was hiking up Bluff I kept coming across flagging tape with the symbol of a minotaur on it or the words "Minotaur SkyRace". I did some some online investigating (meettheminotaur.com) and found that the Minotaur SkyRace is one of several high alpine races that attract competitors from across Canada and the rest of the world. They had run the race just a few days before which is why there was so much flagging tape throughout the route.

I found that the organizers had dubbed the highest point "Minotaur Peak" and that the race also includes high points on Bluff Mt. as well as the Livingstone Range including "Livingstone South". I determined then that I would try and get up to "Minotaur" especially as I really love the area around the Crowsnest Pass and am always looking for an excuse to go back.

I found on the race website a map that showed a route that came off from "Livingstone South". So, in Sept. 2023 Melissa and I headed into the area determined to get to the summit of both "Livingstone South" as well as "Minotaur Peak". However, the wind was so strong that we had to turn back after summiting "Livingstone South".

I returned almost to the day one year later and was determined even more to get to "Minotaur". This time I chose a different route. Melissa and I decided that we would first go to the ghost town of Lille, check out the sites there, and then I would do a solo scramble up to "Minotaur" while she found a sheltered spot to study for a college course she's taking.

The trailhead is easy to find as there are signs marking it as the start of the hike for Lille. The trail is easy and crosses over Gold Creek multiple times on bridges that have been built by local OHV organizations. Once at Lille we had a great time looking at the ruins of the old town. From Lille I could see "Minotaur Peak" clearly.

Just prior to getting to the town of Lille there is a large meadow and an OHV road that leads into the basin that sits between "Minotaur Peak" and "Livingstone South". It did take me a few minutes to find the road as, at first, I wasn't paying attention to my GPS and the track I had downloaded from the Minotaur SkyRace website.

The road is excellent and easy to follow. At one point it veers off to the right towards "Livingstone South" and "Morin Peak". At this point I headed to the right and was soon above the treeline.

Once above the treeline I could see that the way ahead should be easy enough. I wasn't following the SkyRace trail at this point so I had to route-find but the slopes are not steep and the rock was grippy enough to hold on to tightly. There were a few slabs that would be a challenge if they were wet or icy but they were dry as a bone and easy to navigate.

Once on the ridge crest I could see that "Minotaur" was directly to the north. At first this look discouragingly steep but I kept reminding myself that people actually race along the route so it couldn't be that bad. Sure enough I found it easy to get back to the summit and enjoy the views from the peak.

The Livingstone Range has some fantastic views, especially of the Castle Wildland and even Waterton Lakes NP and Glacier NP to the south, Crowsnest Mt. and Seven Sisters to the west, and a sea of peaks to the north.

After a leisurely break I descended. Preferring to do a loop as much as possible I took the SkyRacer route down to a saddle and from there into the basin that I had come up.

The sun was starting to set and I was a little worried I might lose the sun before I found the road but I got to it in no time and even made it back to the meadow by Lille before darkness set in. From there it was just an easy stroll back to the trailhead where Ruby and Melissa were waiting.

I highly recommend this peak. The only change is that if I were to do it again I would take the time and do the same loop as do the SkyRacers. This looked to be a nice challenge and I'm betting there are some good human trails that would speed things along vs. the scree route-finding I had to do on my ascent route.

References:
https://meettheminotaur.com/

Music:
(No Copyright) Solo Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle
   • Solo Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle - Ba...  

"Come on By" - written and performed by Ocie Elliott
   • Ocie Elliott - Come On By (Official A...  

"Pocketful of Rain" - written and performed by The Paper Kites
   • The Paper Kites - Pocket Full Of Rain...