Moose Mountain, May 2008, June 2008

From Calgary, Moose Mountain is one of the most easily recognised mountains on the skyline. It's also the closest Rocky, at about 45 km from downtown. At 7,995 ft you're right on the cusp of what might be considered a 'real mountain'. Stand on the fire lookout's helipad and you're probably just about there!

We tried Moose Mtn twice in 2008. The first trip was a little early. We post-holed for 2-3 km before giving up; it turned out that another 100 metres would probably have got us out of the woods and onto a snow-free meadow.....and we missed the chance to be the first that year to sign the summit book. We only realised this when we returned in June, when the hike was straightforward.

Most books just describe the out-and-back trail that starts high on the mountain from a gas plant road, but a look at the map shows that there are several interesting variations that might be undertaken by hike-and-bike, or on a slightly convoluted circuit.

Picasa Web Albums - Joe - Barrier Lake Fire Lookout, June 2008

Barrier Lake Fire Lookout is great little hike. Done as a circuit via Jewel Creek and Jewel Falls it combines great views with pleasant hiking, and many wild flowers along the path. The trail is quite steep shortly before reaching a viewpoint just shy of the fire lookout, but the descent is gentle enough. Watch out for mountain bikers when you descend - the trail is narrow and visibility is poor.

Nihahi Ridge, South Summit

Nihahi Ridge is visible from many parts of Calgary. It is around 8,000 feet high and 7 km in length, and makes a popular target for local hikers, although many turn around shy of the first scramble section before the ridge proper, and only a very few continue past the south summit, leaving about 6.5 km of ridge untouched. Comparisons might be drawn with Crib Goch, Carn Mor Dearg arete, or Striding Edge, but it's really something else again, being the top of a bare, tilted slab of limestone with great views of the Front Ranges - spectacular, long, perhaps lacking the damp, rugged, charm of the British mountains, but for a local hike (40 minutes from our doorstep), you can't complain! The ridge is accessed via lovely meadows, which carry you up to a hillside of loose shale, and a final escape from the treeline. The path gets braided here; all routes lead upwards, with varying degrees of looseness and exposure. Soon the paths merge, and the first scramble section is reached.

This really is a one-move wonder - 5 m of steeper ground, climbing a crack/groove on decent holds. The only issue is the slimy seep of groundwater that may be flowing down it.

Beyond the scramble, a pleasant path follows the ridge to a second scramble section. This is a nice, blocky corner with a crack in the back. It's a little exposed, but very short and secure. You land on the ridge, along which 500 m of walking with occasional hand and bottom assistance on the narrower parts takes you to the South Summit.

We only walked to the south summit on this occasion, but the full ridge beckons this summer. Some pics from our hike are here, and an account of the full ridge traverse is posted here

Prairie Mountain

Prairie Mountain is one of the closest hills to Calgary. As a consequence, it gets very popular on any warm weekend of the year. We had just purchased Gillean Daffern's book on local, generally low-level hikes, and this was one of the first hills we walked up. The trail is steep right from the outset, and although the height gain is just 700 m, this is done in a short distance, so the views open up pretty quickly. Although perhaps not as spectacular as the vista from the nearby, higher, Moose Mountain, at least when you climb Prairie Mountain by its main route from Highway 66, you don't feel like you cheated when you reach the summit! Here you can see great snow-capped block of Mt Romulus, behind Nihahi Ridge.