“Buchanan, The Middle Child”
April 2, 2021
Mountain height: 2440 m
Elevation gain: 850
m
Ascent time: 2:40
Descent time: 3:10
Solo snowshoe and scramble.
After relatively recent ascents of Buchanan Ridge
and its northeast outlier (Buchanan Northeast), an attempt to summit the
outlier between the two (hence the odd, unofficial name) was inevitable, and
this day seemed as good as any to give it a go.
In fact, it couldn’t have been better. The
northwest facing route was snow from beginning almost all the way to the summit
and the type of snow that provided perfect snowshoeing conditions (though the
grade definitely approached the extreme end of steep for snowshoes near the
top).
Surprised about the amount and significant
depth of the snow at the parking area, I put snowshoes on immediately, gingerly
crossed Cameron Creek without getting my feet wet, and then started up the main
drainage coming down from the objective. I expected to be carrying the snowshoes
as soon as some elevation was gained, but as stated, the snow in the drainage was
excellent and went on and on and up and up. And of course, it added
immeasurably to the scenic value of the trip (especially on descent), reminding
me of how bitter-sweet the melting of the snow is every year.
Nearing the summit, the grade steepened, and
the snow became less reliable. At this point I should have switched from snowshoes
to crampons and made my way directly to the top on remaining patches of icy
snow. Instead, I proceeded on foot, ascending nasty, hardened dirt and rubble
that provided somewhat precarious footing. Thankfully, that section was
short-lived and before long I arrived at the ridge a few hundred metres from
the summit to the northeast.
The ridge heading southwest towards the true
summit of Buchanan Ridge looked very interesting, begging for some exploration.
That summit was unreachable from this point, without climbing gear but I was definitely
going to find out how far I could get. But first, The Middle Child.
Like most middle children, this one was
compliant, welcoming, easy-going, offered no resistance, and greeted me with open
arms and hearty enthusiasm (probably not hard to surmise where I sit in my
sibling ranking!). The summit view was excellent, perhaps not quite as good as
that of slightly lower Buchanan Northeast, but an impressive, “in-your-face”
look at the true summit of Buchanan certainly helped to elevate its status. Not
surprisingly, a quick look down the connecting ridge to Buchanan Northeast
revealed it too was way beyond scrambling.
After a lengthy stay summit, enjoying the beautiful,
snowy views I turned my attention to the southwest ridge. The detour was very
scenic, but I didn’t get far, a huge, near-vertical rock band impeding
progress. Losing elevation alongside the rock band there did appear to be
several difficult scrambling routes to regain the ridge, but to what end? Progress
would have stopped eventually and downclimbing some of this terrain would have
been quite challenging, especially when snowy.
Another slightly questionable decision was
made at this point; instead of returning to the ridge and then retracing the
route down the mountain, I decided to continue losing elevation and then work
my back to the ascent gully. This route eventually brought me to very steep,
snowy terrain that was more mountaineering than scrambling. Of course, I had
crampons and an ice axe with me, but even with them it was a slow, careful
descent back to easier terrain. Back in the drainage, crampons and an ice axe
were more than welcome for the steeper sections and made travel mercifully easy
and rewarding.
Perhaps the highlight of the day occurred when
I was almost back at the car. With the Sun much higher in the sky than for my
Buchanan Northeast trip, the drainage was suddenly basking in beautiful
Sunlight. Add the shapely forms of mounts Rowe, Lineham, Blakiston, and Ruby
Ridge and several wonderful encounters with vibrantly, colourful rock and you
have a recipe for a lot of gasps, “wow's", and lengthy photo breaks! The
remainder of the descent was easy and again very scenic.
A wonderful day on the middle peak of
magnificent Buchanan Ridge (and direct evidence to controvert the questionable Middle Child syndrome!).
The objective, at the left, from the road. The true summit of Buchanan Ridge at the right.
Cameron Creek was surprisingly low
The start of the ascent drainage
Views to the north are good almost from the beginning. Left to right: Rowe, Lineham, Blakiston, and Ruby.
Close-up of Mount Lineham
Close-up of Mount Blakiston
A very colourful rock band at the left, but no Sun = no dice!
The same rock band and Buchanan (true summit)
The route ahead. Where the drainage forks I took the left one.
More Sun = better views
Case in point: close-up of Long Knife Peak
Close-up of the ridge to the true summit of Buchanan and the reason why traversing that ridge is far beyond scrambling
Almost at the ridge
On the ridge, with the summit of Middle not far away
Nice cornice, Buchanan Peak (the flat ridge), and Mount Alderson
Hard to ignore the ridge behind ...
....as I go up the ridge ahead
Summit views: Lineham and Blakiston
Right to left: Crandell, Bellevue Hill, Galwey, Rogan, Dungarvan, Dundy, Cloudy Ridge, and the east peak of Ruby Ridge in front
Looking northeast along the ridge to Buchanan Northeast
Some of the Middle Waterton Lake is visible
Kintla and Kinnerly
Pano to the west
Pano to the northeast
Long Knife again and the summit cairn. If I had a nickel for every
photo I've taken of Long Knife, I'd be able to get a large milkshake
with my DQ double cheeseburger combo instead of a small!
Interesting view of King Edward and Starvation
Time to explore the untraversable ridge
Patterns in the snow, Mount Alderson, and Mount Cleveland to the left of Alderson
Back to those cornices
Looking back at the corniced ridge of The Middle Child
Lots of colourful rock, but Sun-denied!
Approaching the first challenge along the ridge
There is it. Circumvented on the right side.
Same obstacle
The second and far more serious obstacle. I tired to find a route around it but to no avail.
Heading down, alongside the rock band
Lots of yellow lichen on this rock
Looking back up to the rock band after descending some fairly steep and snowy terrain
The main ascent gully allowed for some good glissading
Now that the ascent gully is bathing in full Sunshine, it's time to slow down the descent and check out the colours
Mount Rowe
Improving views of the Rowe, Lineham, Blakiston, Ruby quartet
Looking back up the route
Same as above. My descent route wandered all over the place.
Blakiston, Ruby Ridge, and the "impossible to see but totally worthy of an ascent" Igneous Peak between them
Approaching the colourful rock band seen on ascent
The big chunk of rock at the right was the highlight of the trip
And it deserved to be appreciated from every angle!
Finishing the descent
Distracted by more colourful rock
Buchanan is a glorious mountain
Crossing Cameron Creek again
Parting look at The Middle Child
The End
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