Highwood Ridge III
October 31, 2021
Mountain height: 2700 m
Elevation gain: approximately 600
m
Round-trip time: 5:05
Solo snowshoe.
I’m pretty sure this was my third trip up
Highwood Ridge, the peak directly above the Ptarmigan Cirque/Pocaterra Ridge
parking lot. Unfortunately, gone are the trip reports from our first 3 years of
mountain adventures, and also gone is that “steel trap” of a memory I once had
– the steel trap replaced by an equally effective steel sieve!
Memory failings aside, once the snow hits the
Highwood, it has become almost mandatory to do a snowshoe trip or two in the
area before the road closes. Last year, Mark and I enjoyed a challenging and
beautiful ascent of Grizzly Ridge. Given that I was alone for this trip, I
chose the much closer and easier objective of Highwood Ridge, as described in Volume
1 of Gillean Daffern’s Kananaskis Country guidebooks.
The ascent went without a hitch, and I even
had the luxury of following someone’s tracks for most of it. Clear skies
guaranteed that the scenery and views throughout would be stunning, and
stunning they were!
With time to spare I decided to extend the
day by heading south along the easy ridge. Again, the stellar weather and new
snow added tremendously to my enjoyment of this extension. I was somewhat
surprised to see that it appeared to be possible to traverse all the way to the
end of the ridge, several kilometres away. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that
kind of time or energy, as it would have required a lengthy uphill walk along
the road, back to the parking lot.
Instead, I returned almost back up to the
summit of Highwood Ridge, but veered off, following the track of the generous
individual who broke trail the day before. That person had also forged a wonderful
shortcut route back down to the parking lot. I gladly availed myself!
Terrific trip and great to be back in the
Highwood.
Before Sunrise at the trailhead
Elpoca Mountain is one of the first to receive the Sun's rays
Mount Pocaterra and Pocaterra Ridge get some Sun. The summit of Highwood Ridge is at the far left and next over is Grizzly Ridge.
Close-up of stunning Elpoca Mountain. One of the scariest ridges in town!
Following someone's track - thank you!
The "Everest" of The Highwood - Mount Rae at 3218 m
Rae and one of its outliers do look quite Himalayan with all the snow
Gap Mountain - one of the runts of the Opal Range, but SO worth the effort
Getting a bigger view to the east. Mount Rae, Mount Arethusa, and "Little Arethusa" are some highlights.
The view to the west features Grizzly Ridge, Mount Pocaterra, and Pocaterra Ridge
Scenic ridgewalking
Summit in sight
The view to the east continues to impress
Still happily following the good track
Approaching the summit and looking south along the ridge
The snow is awesome, but throw in some colourful rock, all under a blue sky for that unbeatable "snow/rock/sky" combo
Elpoca Mountain is still getting lots of attention
Perspective is certainly interesting. Is this a huge snow-covered ridge or a very small snow formation?
Answer: the latter
Looking southwest to Mount Storelk (far left) and the ridge paralleling
Highwood Ridge that emanates from the summit of Grizzly Ridge
Summit view to the north
Summit view to the west
Mount Joffre (I think) peeks over all the ridges
Looking back to the summit
Views to the southeast include two of the giants of the Highwood: Storm
Mountain (just right of centre) and Mist Mountain at the right
South and southwest
Patterns in the snow and shadow
Storelk again. I love Alan Kane's description, "...your route finding
abilities will dictate how much fun or fear you experience"
Every year the snow adds a remarkable new visual element to all mountain trips
Looking back to the summit and my snowshoe track
Mount Rae was a visual magnet throughout the trip
Unofficial "Storethusa Ridge" - a seriously cold day!
No shortage of amazing views from up here
Too bad my elongated shadow has to ruin them!
Super happy to see some lichen!
Highwood summit again
Storm Mountain
Must be nice to not need snowshoes!
Where my tracks and the animal's tracks converged
Looking back again
More snow magic
Approaching a minor highpoint along the long ridge
Storm is a big peak and should not be underestimated. The Kane route is no pushover and requires snow-free conditions.
The views are similar throughout the rest of the trip, but what views they are!
Case in point
Still going south. I had planned to stop at the minor highpoint, but continuing on was irresistible.
It's often little things such as the snow covered rocks overhanging the ridge that keep me moving in the wrong direction!
And the stellar view of Storm Mountain
The rock band at the right was one of the highlights of the extension
Close-up
Looking along the remainder of the ridge
View to the east from my stopping point
View to the southwest
The complex west face of Mist Mountain. It's easy to get off-route if you are descending that face.
Heading back, but still mesmerized by Storm and Mist
Couldn't resist ogling at this for another 5 minutes
Mount Rae yet again
Winter gifts to us a new dimension of light, shadow, curves, contours,
and colours. Too bad my photographic skills don't do it justice!
One of the rewarding elements of snowshoeing is following the track you made on the return trip
Outliers of Mount Rae
Mount Tyrwhitt, Grizzly Ridge, and Mount Pocaterra
Close-up of Mount Pocaterra
Close-up of Mount Tyrwhitt
Leaving my track to check out other areas of the ridge
The vast, monochrome landscape is often a reward onto itself
Although it appears that they are even more direct routes down, the slopes to the right looked very avalanche prone
Most vastness and lines
\
Farewell to Elpoca
Back on the "normal" route
Highwood at the left and Grizzly at the right
Couldn't resist another lichen shot
Storm Mountain's northwest side is impressively steep and serrated
Looking up the shortcut route. It's steeper than it appears.
Storm again. Looks even more daunting as you lose elevation.
Emerging from the steep forested terrain, with the trail right in
front. The peak in the background is an outlier of Rae that I call "Rae
Shoulder".
Snowy trees and Little Arethusa
Little Arethusa in full - another great ascent before the road closes
Last look at Storm Mountain - it's a beaut!
Looking up to Highwood Ridge from near the parking lot
The End
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