“Woody V”
December 26, 2019
Mountain height: 2037 m
Elevation gain: 400 m
Roundtrip time: 3 hours
Solo scramble.
The “Castle Outliers” will definitely (and perhaps have already) become
my go-to destinations for winter and shoulder season ascents. They are almost perfect:
short, with a reasonable but not excessive amount of elevation gain, intensely scenic
with great views when the skies are clear, and generally void of huge avalanche
concerns. The one knock against the outliers is the infamous southern Alberta wind.
While that wind often creates awesome snow scenery in the form of cornices,
rime, and wind-sculpted snow formations, it is also a wind that can knock you
off your feet and/or freeze your blood where you stand!
Such was the case for my fifth visit to the summit of “Woody”. Though sheltered
from the wind for the approach and the ascent to the ridge, once on that ridge
it was a couple of hours of trying to enjoy the awesome views and take photographs while
in complete survival mode. The wind was not intensely strong, but it was insanely
cold. Any exposed skin felt immediately frozen when I was facing the wind. This
limited my summit stay to only a minute. I tried to seek reprieve on the
east side of the summit. This did grant some sweet, snowy scenery but was
all-too short-lived.
Once back on the ridge the north wind, now almost head-on, wreaked
havoc on the mountain and me. In a mad rush to get out of this most
inhospitable environment, I was pretty much in a slow jog by the time I
reached the end of the ridge in search of terrain that would again provide shelter.
A brutally cold return to “Woody”, but this extraordinary part of the
world never disappoints me.
Pincher Ridge and it's outliers, Cinch Hill and Bridle Peak
Victoria Peak and two of Prairie Bluff's outliers, Prairie Storm and Prairie Fire at the right
Couldn't resist another drive-by shot of one of the Castle's most aesthetic mountains - Victoria Peak
On the lower, sheltered slopes of Woody's northeast ridge
Mount Darrah, one of the stars of the Crowsnest area that is as photogenic as Victoria
Coulthard maybe not be as photogenic but at least it's easy to summit!
Already starting to get some great views of the area
The northeast ridge has some really cool, scrambly rock
Despite appearances, this slope was quite steep and the snow rock hard. I avoided it by going around to the right.
At the end of the northeast ridge
Stellar views of Pincher Ridge dominate the view
The views looking back along the ridge are pretty good too
The rest of the route to Woody (small bump below the really big bump) and Drywood Mountain
Basically flat to the east
Taking shelter behind a rock band so that I can enjoy the view
Summit view
Blowing snow off Drywood Mountain - it doesn't take much wind down here to send the wind chill well into the minus thirties
Looking over to "Stumpy"
Trying to get out to the wind on the east side of the peak
Had little success but it was very cool down there (figuratively and literally)
Love the lines, shapes, and contours the wind creates in the snow
And the plain and simple contrast of white and blue
Calmer conditions for a brief moment
Back on the ridge and heading home
Victoria Peak again
Prairie Bluff again
Had to stop at my favourite "orange lichen on rock" section, even if it meant freezing my hands to take a few photos
Another colourful section that demanded some love
A return to the rock band that provided some shelter
Parting views of Pincher Ridge and Victoria Peak
Looking back at the route to the ridge (right skyline) and the outlier
The End
