Jumpingpound Summit
Distance: 3.4 km to summit
Elevation: 325 m to ridge, 417 m to the summit
High Point: 2240 m
This is a nice easy ascent to some incredible panoramic views. From the summit, you can go for a nice ridge walk east or west, and connect to the Cox Hill trail. Access is 17 km from the south end of Powderface Trail (the gate where Highway 66 turns into Powderface Trail). There's a good-sized pullout on the west side of the road, and the road is quite wide which accomodates the overflow nicely. The trail switchbacks up and is nice and shady. About 1 km in, there is a side trail to the right which leads you to a bench and lookout. There are a few tiny stream crossings. In June 2020, it was also muddy, with a bit of snow on the trail once we were close to the ridge. At the ridge, head left at the first junction, and then right at the next. From the summit, you can go north along Jumpingpound Ridge, or east along East Jumpingpound Ridge, or back south to the south end of the Jumpingpound Ridge. We opted to head north for a bit of a ridge walk, towards a nice alpine meadow with a small tarn. There were quite a few mountain bikers at the summit.
View from the bench
View to the east as we gain the ridge
The summit from the ridge
View from the summit
Northwest view from the summit
View as we head north along Jumpingpound Ridge
The tarn