Yarrow Ridge exploration II






                                                                                    
March 6, 2026
 
Round-trip time:  5:10
 
Solo scramble.
 
After Yarrow Ridge XI, I had vowed to return to a specific area of the mountain to check out what appeared to be a colourful and interesting rock band. This day would be an opportunity to do so. Also, once again, I was in need of a relatively short trip, with bigger plans for the following day, so this "foray into the wild" seemed to be a perfect choice.
 
 
And a perfect choice it was...for the most part. The rock band was terrific, as were innumerable other scenic features. I had seen several of these features before, but they have never cease to amaze me – and my feet seem to carry me in those directions even if my brain is saying, “you’ve seen that already – multiple times!!”. Above the rock band, I planned to follow a previous route up to the highest point of Yarrow Ridge. That was not meant to be.
 
Gale force winds greeted me on the ridge. I tried a route down the other (west) side to get reprieve, but the winds were even worse. Recalling a scary and humbling experience on Bridle Peak, earlier in the year, I turned around and hiked back over to the more protected east side. The summit of Yarrow would not be reached on this brutally windy day.
 
 
However, I still had time and energy on my side and decided to explore terrain to the east. Some of this area had seen my footprints before, but there appeared to be lots more to see. Not surprisingly, this part of the trip turned into a rather haphazard meandering of the face, trying to see every vibrantly coloured and contrasting rock layer that the area offered. Eventually I ended up near the route Dave and I had used on the first day of 2023. There was no choice at this point except to gain the ridge and hope for a measure of the wind’s mercy.
 
It was a very small measure! Though not Bridle Peak level, the wind remained strong enough to dissuade me from hitting any of the significant highpoints of Yarrow. It was time to “cut my losses” (there really were no losses, just slight disappointment at not reaching the summit) and descend to a more hospitable environment. I used the northeast route to accomplish this with general ease. An easy and relatively short hike back to the start remained.


 
However (again!), I STILL had time and (some) energy on my side and so I decided to repeat a small portion of a remarkable trip up Yarrow I completed on St. Patrick’s Day in 2024. Nothing new to report here, except to reiterate the scale of all the mind-boggling scenery this side of the peak boasts. The rock layers and striking formations here are jaw-dropping throughout. There are also many very tempting scrambling routes up various gullies. You have to be extremely disciplined to resist the urge to head too far up any of them, as many are deceivingly steep and are also do not end up on the ridge – only serious terrain that would require climbing gear.
 
When time and energy did run out, a quick run down steep, but foot-friendly scree and a short hike back to the start ended a magnificent day out, even with the failure of reaching the top.


 
Yet another reminder that these southern Alberta outliers are second to none when looking to avoid avalanche terrain and enjoy incredible scenery at the same time.
 
Epilogue: the bigger plans for the following day were postponed because of forecast 125 km/h wind gusts and overcast conditions. Glad I was able to get in a trip before the apocalypse!
*Given that the plethora of photos that follow is a self-indulgent, gluttonous, and bloated display of every cool rock I could photograph, there will be very few captions*


The insanely cool northeast side of Yarrow Ridge at the left, Mount Roche at the right











Cloudy Ridge Junior







The magical southeast side of Yarrow



Deer crossing



Where they are crossing



The rock band that is the primary objective of the trip is just left of centre















Hiking past the objective to see other stuff first



The other stuff























































Cool clouds















Finally heading towards the rock band I came to see



























































































There's some interesting newly exposed breakage on this tree



Closer



Even closer











Staying below the rock to stay out of the wind











Mount Roche peaks over the ridge















One cool rock



An other cool rock



Both cool rocks together



Having been brutalized by the wond, now retreating to the southeast side of the mountain. Passed this group of deer en route.








Looking back over the slopes I've traversed to stay out of the wind




The route ahead



























Ripple rock and Cloudy Jr.



















Now aiming for the break in the rock just right of centre



That break










Decided to head up the snow gully at the left



It's quite steep











Traversing back towards the ridge



There, now looking at the east face



Yet another round of unreal rock




























I could have traversed all the way over to the north side of the face but decided to head up to the highpoint above



Nice ledgey terrain to take me there



And orange lichen to ogle
 














A minor summit at the left I would have liked to run up to (but wind-denied) and Mount Yarrow at the right



The fierce east face of Roche



Bakery Peak and Icing On The Loaf Peak just right of centre



Cloudy Ridge (right of Cloudy Junior) and Cloudowan Northeast at the far right



Hi-tailing down the north east side to get out of the wind















Better view of Bakery and Icing



Raptor Peak (left) and The Eaglet



Now looping around to the east to repeat the amazing route I took in 2024























Serious rock folding



























































Looking down the route so far



And up the route ahead















My vehicle is the dot near the upper centre






































Ascending the clean, frictiony rock here was super fun











Another example of extreme rock folding
















The end of the line. Time to go home.


















The right side of the face



The left



Parting look at the east side



Back at the trailhead



Looking over to The Eaglet and Raptor Peak at the right and wondering why it's been so long since I visited either

The End

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