Prairie Bluff XIV
Pincher Ridge North Outlier II
 
April 17, 2021
 
Mountain heights:  2258 m, 2180 m
Elevation gains:     558 m, 620 m
Round-trip times:   5:15, 4:40
 
Solo snowshoe and scramble.
 
The “future” trip, as alluded to in Prairie Bluff exploration, came much sooner than expected. A week earlier I had seen some rock bands that begged for a close-up look, thinking that a late May/early June trip would provide optimum results. However, checking the SunCalc app on my phone (love this app!), I optimistically conjectured that the Sun would, more or less, shine upon that rock in mid-April. Game on!
       
Enjoying the wonderfully short and easy approach, I quickly reached a point where the rock was in visual range. No Sun yet. No problem – that gave me ample time to explore other areas of the east face of this ridge (one of two fantastic ridges on the north side of the mountain). I had seen some of the rock a year earlier, but there was plenty more to explore. 
 
Eventually the Sun did rise enough to hit the rock I had came to see and spectacular it was! A meandering exploration followed and then I ascended the drainage between the two ridges up to the summit ridge of Prairie Bluff. With perfect weather at hand, running up to the summit was pretty much mandatory. Surprisingly, I ran into a couple on their way down from the summit. Fourteen or so trips on Prairie Bluff and its outliers and this was the first time I had encountered other human beings.
 
A quick descent followed a short summit break, and I was back to my car by 12:45 pm. With daylight in abundance, I decided to check out the new Victoria Ridge/Peak approach. The usual route had recently been closed permanently to the public because of private property, but apparently the area was accessible from the south via a cutline.
 
The route first gains a prominent ridge on the north side of Pincher Ridge and then descends to Pincher Creek, before joining up with the gas road. I had ascended that ridge back in 2008 and didn’t exactly have warm and fuzzy feelings about it back then!  

 Nevertheless, much has changed since then, my exponentially increased appreciation of and fascination with the colourful rock of Southern Alberta being at the forefront of those changes. As soon as I gained the ridge, checking out the new approach was out the window. I wanted another shot at this ridge, if for no other reason than to see if the passage of 13 years had changed my perception of the trip.

 

In short, it did and it didn’t, though the “didn’t” was more a result of my waning energy levels as I made my way up the ridge. I was exhausted by the time I reached the summit – perhaps doing this trip after an ascent of Prairie Bluff was not the smartest decision I’d ever made! Nevertheless, in between long bouts of heavy breathing (i.e. trying to catch my breath), I did enjoy the route far more than on my previous trip. And though a little cloudy by this time, the summit view was pretty sweet.
 
For descent, I considered trying to go directly down to the gas road, but already quite depleted from the day’s ascents, the familiarity of returning the same way I came up seemed prudent.
 
I'm pretty sure that I’m now done with this route up the Pincher Ridge Outlier, but there were several intriguing lines up Pincher Ridge from this valley, so I may yet return to the general area. In regards to Prairie Bluff, its likely that only death will permanently keep me away from that one!


Prairie Bluff XIV

The mandatory stop at Butcher Lake, with Drywood Mountain



Left to right: Drywood, Pincher, Victoria, Prairie Storm, Prairie Sky, Prairie Fire, and Prairie Bluff



Victoria Peak - a Castle favourite because it was the first mountain I ascended in The Castle area and has one of the best ridgewalks in the Rockies



Arriving in the area of the rock I want to check out but the Sun is still too low in the sky



The ridge I ascended a week earlier at the left (one of favourite routes in the Rockies), and the shaded rock I came to see at the right



Here we go - if you don't enjoy looking at endless photos of colourful, lichen-covered rock then go no further!























Many potential routes up through the rock bands















Yellow lichen on red argillite is still my favourite



Looking back at my tracks. The slope is fairly steep here and I did slip at one point, but managed to self-arrest before going down any significant distance.



Back to the lichen-splashed rock















































This chunk of beautiful, clean-cut rock was the highlight of the first part of the trip















Ogling at more potential scrambling routes up the amazing rock (colour, not quality!)







The bird in the upper middle also appreciates the rock



Looking back to the area of exploration, but it's time to move on



Traversing into the drainage between the two ridges



The drainage is very steep in places and does have a couple of small frozen waterfalls



The always impressive view of the Flathead Range to the northwest



Easier terrain above the small falls



Heading to the right to check out the cornices



Cornices are the winter equivalent of yellow lichen on red argillite! Pretty awesome to experience both on the same trip.







On the ridge with the summit of Prairie Bluff at the left



The classic view of Victoria Peak that never gets tired



Seeing interesting curves of snow never gets tired either



Victoria and the curves








The southwest peak of Pincher Ridge in the centre and the summit of Victoria Ridge to the right



About as easy as it gets from here to the summit




And replete with great views




At the summit of Prairie Bluff - definitely my most frequently visited summit in the mountains




Summit view to the south



The northeast side of the peak will probably see me at some point




Descent



Looking down at the area I explored earlier



At the top of one of the coolest red argillite rock bands in the area



Wrong time of the day though - this rock band should be seen late in the day, when the Sun is in the western skies



Easy to tell it would look amazing with the Sun shining on it



Looking back to the summit



No Castle trip is complete without a dead tree photo



.....or two!



I have some company



Thankfully the bear was gone, but he/she obviously passed through when I was on the mountain, as the tracks were not there in the morning



Parting look at one of my favourite areas  in the Rockies


Pincher Ridge North Outlier II


The new start of the Victoria Peak/Ridge trip. "Bridle Peak" (left) and Pincher Ridge in front.



Cinch Hill joins the others



First view of the objective - the North Outlier



Surprisingly green slopes for mid-April



I did consider following the valley bottom, but eventually opted for the ridge



Heading up to the ridge and taking advantage of easy travel up snow slopes



Mark and I attempted to reach the summit of Pincher Ridge from this side many years ago on what continues to be one of our more epic days



Prairie Sky (left) and Prairie Fire



Looking back down the route



The many peaks of Prairie Bluff and the Victoria Ridge gas road



Victoria Peak is going to be the center of attention from here on in



Yes, she is!



Summit in sight



Cinch Hill, Bridle Peak, and Pincher Ridge



Closing in



This "easy" gully leads to the top



However, it's deceivingly steep and with the deep snow, I put on crampons and used an ice axe



Not surprisingly, there's a lot of colourful rock along the way



At the summit. The view to the west features distant Castle Peak and Windsor Mountain.



The view to the southwest features much of Pincher Ridge and Victoria Ridge - great route, but now that the trailhead to Victoria has changed, perhaps a less practical one.



Victoria Peak and Prairie Bluff



4 out of the 5 summits of Prairie Bluff. Prairie Storm is just out of the photo to the left.



Nice section of cool rock on descent



Looking back to the summit



Last look at the outlier (left) and Victoria Peak

The End

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