Passport to the Peaks offers unique ticket to the Rockies this summer

Adrienne Lamb · CBC News

· Posted: May 03, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Renee Fehr shows disconnected the latest mentation of the Passport to the Peaks guidebook brimming with maps, distances, elevations and stories of however the mountains in the Grande Cache country were named. 

"It's capable to get you started connected your travel arsenic you spell to hike," said Fehr, the president of the programme present with 1,800 members. 

But what makes the $65 passport unique is the 21 peculiar golden foils that adventurers tin people astatine cairn boxes connected the apical of the mountains.

 "What you bash is assistance unfastened the box, you enactment the foil successful and you tin stamp it, and it leaves an embossed pattern," said Fehr. 

The Passport to the Peaks program, started 25 years agone by section doc and hiker Dr. Keith Darcel, is a mode to observe the mountains successful the Grande Cache area, 430 kilometres west of Edmonton.

Fehr said over the years the programme has evolved with much radical wanting to instrumentality pictures with the cairn boxes, immoderate radical telephone the stamp oregon mailboxes, as impervious of their accomplishments, posting them to societal media. 

"It's truly an astonishing feat, truthful radical instrumentality pictures of themselves doing it," says Fehr who has hiked them each and filled her passport. 

The 51-year-old outdoor enthusiast noted that you tin besides get your sanction connected a plaque astatine the visitant centre erstwhile you implicit the bronze, metallic and golden upland treks. The colours indicate the increase in trouble based connected distance, time, obstacles and the navigation accomplishment required. 

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She said many see the pastime addictive.

"Part of it's the planning, portion of it is the camaraderie and the stories astir which way you took," she said.

Solo hiker Terra Rasmussen has banged disconnected each but 3 mountains successful the programme since she moved to Grande Cache 2 and a fractional years ago.

"When you get spun astir and worldly goes wrong, you beryllium down, you physique a occurrence and you deliberation astir it," she said. 

The 40-year-old mother-of-two said she feels fortunate to person the mountains successful her backyard. 

"We're truly astatine the headwaters of untouched wilderness here, it's incredible." 

Rasmussen said Willmore Wilderness Park offers the beauty of spots similar Banff and Jasper minus the crowds of people.

"All of our mountains person large biking, large hiking, runners coming present to bid for ultra-marathons and different races," said Rasmussen of what she calls a hidden gem of the Rocky Mountains. 

Madison McLaughlin is conscionable 4 peaks distant from filling her 21 acme passport.

"When I archetypal started I wasn't brainsick funny successful it," admits the 16-year-old who started by tagging on with her mom, Coralee, and her friends connected time trips at the property of 11. 

It wasn't until McLaughlin realized she was connected way to beryllium the youngest idiosyncratic to implicit the passport programme she truly got into it.

"That benignant of sparked the thought and my goal, I think."

She says squeezing her remaining upland adventures successful betwixt her 2 part-time summertime jobs is going to beryllium a situation but she says it's a batch of fun. 

"You're conscionable focused connected you and your assemblage and conscionable getting yourself up determination and pushing yourself to bash what it takes and I deliberation that's astir apt my favourite part."