Wildhorse Ridge
August 27, 2018
Mountain
height: 2225 m
Elevation gain: 750 m
Roundtrip
time: 6:05
Solo
scramble.
Two days
after my first experience in the Ya Ha Tinda area, I was super motivated to
return for another trip. Once again, dampening that motivation a little was the
sketchy weather forecast. However, the summer was about to come to an abrupt end
and I wasn’t about to waste my second last day of holidays in the city.
This day
was probably going to be the opposite of the Maze Peak weather – ie. no smoke, but
heavy cloud cover. There had also been a snowstorm in the intervening days and
so after a quick internet search I settled on one of the easier and shorter
trip – Wildhorse Ridge,
completed by Vern and his family. Mark and I had been very impressed by the
cool looking rock of the peak’s south ridge.
I
therefore parked at the base of the south end of the mountain, hoping I could
reach the ridge, follow it to the summit, and then descend via Vern’s route. While
initially a slog, I was soon on a ridge of amazingly solid rock – perfect for
scrambling! All too soon the ridge ended, but that was just the beginning of
the fun.
The
ridgewalk to the summit was straightforward, relatively easy and interesting to
boot. A few snowy sections spruced up the scenery, even though heavy cloud
cover persisted (certainly made me yearn a little for winter!).
Up
to
this point, the trip had been so much fun that I decided to continue
going
north along the ridge instead of veering onto the west ridge and
descending via
Vern’s route. This descent route turned out to be my favourite part of
the day.
As well as the stunningly beautiful scenery (burnt trees, protruding
from a
lush green carpet of grass, all kinds of interesting rock formations ,
and the aesthetic
beauty of the ridge itself), the clouds started to clear, further
revealing unique and wonderful sights all around. In fact, I’d have to
say I was totally blown away by this
route and the mountain in general.
Not
really wanting the adventure to end, I descended into the creek to the north
for the last part of the route. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this last
section, but I would probably be in the minority in that sentiment. I love water-worn rock and
seeing the power of water erosion and the creek had that in spades. It also had
deadfall in spades and climbing over or ducking under fallen trees became of
the theme for the next 30 minutes. The day ended with a 40 minute walk along
the road back to my car. The weather had improved dramatically by this time and
I was rewarded with terrific views of the mountain I had just traversed.
Outstanding!
Like Maze Peak, Wildhorse Ridge provided a wonderful (and totally unexpected)
mountain experience. It’s rare that I rave about trips completed in lousy weather
conditions, but both these little gems get six enthusiastic thumbs up!
Looking up to the south ridge from near the base
Lots of interesting burnt trees throughout the trip
This scree gully goes all the way to the ridge, but the rock at the right is way more fun
Wonderful scrambling on great rock
Approaching the upper ridge
Mount Minos lies across the road
Looking down some of the ascent route
Onto the ridge, with the summit at the left
More burnt trees and Labyrinth Mountain
Snow!
Ready for winter
The ridge starts of being fairly narrow but soon widens
The summit is just right of centre
Blustery weather
A very brief sunny break illuminates the colourful rock
Maze Peak from the summit of Wildhorse
Descending the ridge
Fascinating rock throughout the descent
Looking back to the summit
This pink rock was a nice surprise
Heading into the very cool burnt trees section
Looking back at this section was one of the highlights of the descent
Approaching a near vertical rock band that I thought would have to be circumvented
Not so - the rock and holds were great. The easiest section of difficult scrambling I've ever done!
Looking back at much of the ridge and the summit
This rock was super white
Down in the creek. It didn't look too bad at this point
Then it got a little more intense
Back at the road
An easy walk back to the car
Mount Minos. I'll probably pass on that one, after reading Vern's trip report!
The long west side of Wildhorse has many routes up that beg exploration
A big section of Wildhorse
Surprised to finally see such blue sky
Looking at the ascent route. The line I took is just right of centre. The ridge at the far right looks interesting also.
The ridge at the right
Last look
The End
