Nihahi Ridge and Compression Ridge

Nihahi Ridge and Compression Ridge – August 28, 2004

Nihahi Ridge height:                  2,530 m (8,298 ft)
Compression Ridge height:        2,500 m (8,200 ft)
Total elevation gain:                   presently being debated, but we’ll say 1,725 m
Roundtrip time:                         11:20
Roundtrip distance:                    Bloody long

Scrambling with Dave Stephens, Sonny Bou, Frank Nelson, and Pete Nelson.

Compression Ridge is a terrific scramble with one major drawback – to get to it you have to do the far less enjoyable, long, and mundane traverse of Nihahi Ridge. If you plan on completing both of these scrambles, do yourself a huge favour and do them both in one trip, because after traversing Nihahi Ridge once, I’ll guarantee you’ll never want to do it again.

This was my first trip with the RM Books Web Board group and I was more than excited to finally meet the guys I’d only been in contact via e-mail for more than a year. The first part of the trip was easy hiking and so that gave me a good chance to talk and get to know each member of the group – all scramblers know that once the real scrambling starts, all energy goes into the climb and there is little left for long conversation. I was pleasantly surprised to find out some interesting facts about the group (to me anyway!): Dave is a big New York Giants fan and hates the Dallas Cowboys (lucky my little brother, who’s been a huge Cowboy for the past 25 years, wasn’t with us – the top of a mountain is no place for a fist fight); Sonny, like me, is a musician and has played in bands with two of my best friends (David Graham and Stuart Brideaux); Frank is studying to become an EMT and eventually a paramedic, like the aforementioned Stuart Brideaux); and Pete is studying math and physics in university (as a Junior/Senior High math teacher, I tried to convince Pete of the two most rewarding aspects of the teaching profession – July and August!).

As I alluded to earlier, the 7 km Nihahi Ridge traverse was nothing but a seemingly endless hike, over seemingly endless false summits, with a seemingly endless view of the same boring scenery. Only the views of Mount Fullerton, Fisher Peak, and snow-topped Banded Peak, Glasgow, and Cornwall provided any interest whatsoever. Upon finally reaching the north end of the ridge, we were promptly hit by a rainstorm and strong winds. Looking to the west, we saw nothing but low-lying, thick clouds and I, for one, thought we would spent the remainder of the trip in these miserable conditions. Thankfully, I was wrong and the storm quickly moved on - we enjoyed mostly clear skies throughout the rest of the day.

Compression Ridge was a dream compared to Nihahi. The terrain was interesting and varied; the scrambling was fun and straightforward, with a couple of more difficult and exhilarating sections; the scenery around the mountain was very enjoyable: rugged peaks to the west and lush forest, rolling hills and the Prairies to the east; and the scenery on the ridge itself was fantastic: narrow ridges, huge fins of rock, towering pinnacles, and two spectacular windows in the rock.

Along the way Dave found a few places to play on more challenging terrain and when we came to the pinnacles that are “likely unruly drunks, best avoided” (Alan Kane), we all jokingly tried to convince him to tackle them head on, saying “that pinnacle is screaming Dave Stephens!” and “if you can do it, we’ll follow.” On one occasion, Dave ascended a steep rock band that would have been very challenging to downclimb and he was quite relieved to find an easy way down the other side. Frank also picked a more difficult line for one rockband and I watched Sonny negotiate the more difficult and exposed terrain with graceful ease (he seems to have some mountain goat in him – that’s a compliment Sonny).

Unfortunately, as the cliché goes, all good things come to an end and the trek from the last highpoint of Compression Ridge to Dave’s truck was long and arduous. The north ridge was far longer than it looked and now at the 10 hour mark of the trip, I, for one, was starting to tire. We were all relieved to climb into the back of the truck for a relaxing (and sometimes bumpy – most people avoid potholes in the road – Dave seems to aim for them!) ride back to Sonny’s SUV. A quick stop at the Subway in Bragg Creek was well-earned and well-deserved. Overall, a long, but great day with four very cool guys – I certainly hope it is not the last time I scramble with them.

Click here to see reports by: Dave Sonny Frank and Pete