North Baldy via Lost Boy's Rib

This was my second solo scramble. I arrived late (even by Calgary standards!) and the parking lot was full, so I had to leave the car farther up the road, and walk back. Being too keen for my own good, I cut across the 2013 flood gully from the road, rather than walk down to the parking area. Consequently I picked up the wrong trail, realising my error when I reached the climbing area a few minutes up the trail. That was fortuitous though, since now I have somewhere new to go climbing! It's all a bit French, with closely-spaced bolts, and plaques affixed to the bottom of each route indicating the name and grade.

Looking back at the short crux down-climb, and beyond to Mts Kidd, Bogart, and Mary Barclay across Barrier Lake. Looking southeast towards Tiara Peak, Baldy South, and Midnight Peak.

Rather than return the way I'd come and start again, I decided to follow a faint trail steeply up the hillside from a spot about 200 m beyond the crag. I'll call it Lost Boy's Rib. It was OK - there was one nice bit where the way seemed blocked, but the path dodged around a cliff, and up a small ramp. Shortly after that, it rejoined the main motorway. The rock was dry, and I stuck to the ridge until the bit where you can detour right past an unlikely cairn on the side of a small buttress. Higher up, the wind was horrendous - we've had a lot of Chinooks lately - but somehow the summit was calm, sunny, and peaceful. I briefly considered continuing to the south summit, but I have not been that way yet, and I know it's got good potential for getting stuck, so I returned down the main path. I was pleased with an ascent time of 95 minutes, although I know that fell runners zip up there in less than 45, so I'm not going to get too puffed up over that! Trip Details Mt. Baldy North Summit scramble ~700 m, 5 km. Starting point: highway 40 More info available here, here, and in many other places - it's a popular route!

Hooked on Porcupine Ridge

The pinnacles on Porcupine Ridge. The scramble crosses the central pinnacle; gaining the main tower would be a scary climb.

For a few years I had wondered what the absurdly pointy ridge to the north of Wasootch Ridge was, and whether there was a way up it. Thanks to Gillean Daffern's latest excellent, and exhaustive collection of guidebooks, I determined that it was the aptly-named Porcupine Ridge. It makes for a good early-season scramble, and falls into the "little gem" category of unsung outings close to home.

On the first rocky section of the ridge

We did not follow the guidebook's suggested line up, because we got a bit distracted in the SE fork of Porcupine Creek. It had been cold overnight, and the creekbed offered a combination of ice, deep snow, ice-coated flood debris, and of course, very cold water. So we missed the start of the "trail" that heads up the ridge, and instead forged a path comprising many precarious creek crossings and much post-holing, for about 4 km up the drainage. We'd been hiking for about 45 minutes when Tristan announced that he could smell cat pee, or rather "big cat pee!" We had not seen any tracks in the snow, but for a few minutes we were on the lookout for cougars, until a minor bout of swearing accompanied the realisation that he'd left his bag on the floor at home, and one of his feline housemates had done the unspeakable. After that, we relaxed, and perhaps walked a little further apart...

Tristan struggling against the wind.

After 4 km of hard work, we found an open slope that led up to the summit ridge. (It's important to note that this was the left side of the huge drainage gully that descends from the summit towers. If you took the right side, you would not be able to gain the ridge easily.) The slope gained us about 600 m of elevation, and after that the summit ridge was great fun, if a little windy. We did not go all the way to the main summit, because it's treed. Instead we stopped on the pinnacles for photos and lunch before scuttling down the ridge. The "official trail" turned out to be difficult to find in winter conditions, and was frequently caked with treacherous ice and frozen moss. I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that our ascent route was preferable to the established route, for once.

At our high point on the pinnacles.

Trip details

Porcupine Ridge, Kananaskis Country
~700 m ascent and 13 km (by SE fork route)
Starting point: hwy 40.
Half day scramble.

More details of the regular route can be found here, thanks to Bob Spirko, and in G Daffern's excellent guidebook.

Prairie Mountain SW Ridge

When I lived in SW Calgary, Prairie Mountain was a common destination during the weeks before the Highway 66 winter gate opened. Since moving to the north of the city, I'd not been back there, but my visit this week showed that it's no less popular these days.

Matt DiMarino on the SW ridge

Because of that popularity, the main trail becomes a steeply inclined skating rink in the spring. Here's my tip for a nice way to avoid the slippery stuff; I call it the SW Ridge; I should probably check to see what the guidebooks say - I'm sure Gillean Daffern has this one covered.


Summit, with Moose Mountain behind

Park by the winter gate, and walk past it to Prairie Creek. Cross the creek, and follow the trail upstream. You'll cross a footbridge and a climbing area, followed by a short, possibly icy, uphill section. After about another kilometre the rail skirts a drop to the left, and turns left. Gain the ridge that is now on your right, and follow a faint trail (occasional flagging, etc.) straight up the hill, to emerge on the main trail, just above where it usually turns to ice. I've gone that way maybe four or five times, and have never met anybody there.

I've done a couple of random descents from this summit, once headed directly west from the cairn, and once dropping down to the southeast from the main trail, just after the summit cliffs. Neither was anything to write home (or a blog) about.

Wasootch Peak

Soon after I moved here, a colleague pulled me aside, and warned me. "Never hike alone. We have bears, wolves and cougars. Solo hikers get eaten all the time". So for eight years, I diligently recruited partners, or stayed at home when none were available.

I'd frequently see solo hikers on the trails though - pursued by a veritable, slavering menagerie of carnivores, and bald eagles circling overhead, of course. My regular hiking partner was one of those foolhardy characters; his solo exploits included the West Coast Trail, and a midweek camp during which a black bear sow and two cubs wandered through his camp. He's still around...

There's always some risk of an uncomfortably close encounter with wildlife. I've had a couple while out hiking, paddling, and cycling in groups. To my mind, when you're on your own, you tend to be more focused on what's happening around you, and perhaps, more risk-averse. This year I'm committed to doing more hikes than I'll be able to find partners for. So in mid-February I headed out and scrambled a route that was new to me: Wasootch Peak (aka G8 Summits, and Winnipeg Peak). The route is described well here by Bob Spirko. It was a good outing! Apart from my poor choice of traction devices (Yak Trax are not suitable for scrambling...), which necessitated use of my ice axe for the first time in ages, it was an uneventful day, with some great local views towards Tiara Peak. As a bonus, I did not get eaten. I did both summits. I'd read that the descent to the col was difficult, but so long as you drop down to the right when things get interesting, it's fairly straightforward (if you're used to that kind of thing). Trip Details Wasootch Peak - half-day scramble. Starting point: Highway 40, opposite Nakiska. Distance: 6.5 km Elevation gain: ~900 m.

Tiara Peak (centre-left) and  the Canyon Creek summits to her right. Looking towards the north summit of Wasootch Peak, with Barrier Lake in the distance.

A Season Begins on Eagle Hill

Deserted forest walking

The snow was almost gone already!

Not my season - I'd managed to get out a couple of times this year already - but Lou's. This year I was here a month earlier than in 2015, and there was far less snow. Unlike my last visit, when we struggled to face the mountains, this year the wind wasn't too bad. It had the feeling of a lovely spring day, but we saw just one hiker on the trail.

Trip Details

Eagle Hill - about 9.5 km, ~200 m.
Starting point: Sibbald Creek Rd.
More info online - Bob Spirko.. Guidebook: Gillean Daffern: Kananaskis Valley volume