The area of the Escalade occurrence is underlain by the contact of Lower Cambrian sedimentary rock of the Mohican Formation and intrusive rock of the Cretaceous granodioritic Battle Range batholith.

Teck Corporation staked the Escalade claims in 1979 to cover an anomalous tungsten value reported in a newly released government report. Geological Survey of Canada Open File 515 reported the location of an anomalous tungsten value in a stream draining a small lake at the foot of Houston Glacier. In 1980, Teck mapped the property and collected 58 silt samples and 6 rock samples.

Tungsten mineralization was located in a skarn zone where biotite-hornblende-quartz monzonite is in contact with limestone. The occurrence is exposed at the foot of an ice-field above Houston Glacier at 2200 metres elevation. The host rock is a cream-coloured, fine-grained tremolite, diopside, grossularite skarn with lesser mineralized green siliceous bands. Two chip samples were taken, E19 followed the contact and E20 crossed the strike. E19 assayed 0.06 per cent WO3 and E20 assayed 0.03 per cent WO3 (Assessment Report 8539). The extent of the zone was difficult to determine due to ice cover.

Molybdenite was found in float about 1 kilometre to the east.