Watch: Grizzly tears apart hiker's tent at Mount Assiniboine

Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park sits on the BC side of the Great Divide, right against Banff National Park's southern boundary. Most people reach it from our side, via the Mount Shark trailhead in Kananaskis or over Citadel Pass from Sunshine. So when a bear story comes out of Assiniboine, it's grizzly country many Banff and Canmore hikers use.

Shalee Super, a travel blogger from Cody, Wyoming, was backpacking near Lake Magog on 21 August 2025. Her partner had left at sunrise to climb Mount Assiniboine, and she was alone packing up when she heard heavy footsteps and saw the shadow of a claw on the tent wall. She looked out and found herself face to face with a grizzly, then hit it with bear spray at close range. The bear left, then came back with a second grizzly behind it.

She got out without her shoes, crossed a cold talus field, and watched from above as the two bears shredded her tent. About an hour later, she recovered what gear she could and hiked out, unhurt. She thinks they were young siblings acting out of curiosity rather than aggression, and says she holds no grudge against them, 9&10 News reported.

She told the story to CBC's The National:

Video: CBC News: The National

What she got right

She had bear spray on hand and used it at close range. That's the difference between using it and wishing you had. She also didn't try to defend her gear. A tent can be replaced.

If you're camping at Assiniboine, or anywhere in the Rockies backcountry:

• Keep bear spray within arm's reach at all times, including inside the tent and on a trip to the toilet.
• Cook, eat and store food, rubbish and toiletries away from your tent, using the food storage provided at designated campgrounds.
• Make noise on the trail, especially near creeks and in thick cover.
• Leave the area if you find a carcass or fresh digging.
• Report any encounter to the park. For Assiniboine, that's BC Parks; on the Banff side, Parks Canada dispatch at 403-762-1470.