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
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