Prairie Bluff IX (attempt)
April 17, 2020
Solo snowshoe.
Initially, this started off as a repeat of a route of the north side of
Prairie Bluff that I had fortuitously stumbled upon in 2017. However, after
snowshoeing into the bowl below the ridge, instead of turning left towards that
ridge I decided to check out the ridge to the right. Watching vast amounts of snow blowing violently over the ridge it became
immediately apparent that this was going to be a challenging ascent. And it
was.
I ascended the increasingly steep ridge, wearing snowshoes for as long as
I could, but unfortunately that would be my undoing. Had I switched to
crampons and an ice axe early on, in a more hospitable environment, perhaps I
could have made it to the top of the ridge. By the time the switch was
mandatory, I was getting blasted by a viciously cold and relentless wind, with no shelter anywhere. It
took me forever to get going again and at that point retreat was a forgone
conclusion. I did go up a little farther to check things out, but quickly
turned around when even the added security of crampons and an ice axe proved
little match for the wind.
With all kinds of route potential, I did vow to return to this ridge
another day.
The route I intended to go up
The route I ended up on
Already there are signs that it's going to be a windy day
Staying on the sheltered side of the ridge for as long as possible
But eventually I had to ascend into this!
The ridge starts out at a gentle angle but soon gets much steeper
The left ridge doesn't look any more hospitable
Mount Darrah and part of the Flathead Range
Table Mountain and Whitney Creek Mountain in front
? Not sure what ridge this is
Could be worse
.....or maybe not!
Calm for a brief moment
And then back to windy and very cold
Retreat
Very cool wind-sculpted snow
Still nasty up there
Parting look at the ridges. I'll be back for the right.
The End
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