Blacksmith Ridge

"Blacksmith Ridge"

December 20, 2008

Mountain height:         2408
Total elevation gain:   approx. 600 m
Roundtrip time:          5:35

Snowshoeing with Mark.

On what was guaranteed to be a “chilly” day, to say the least, finding something short and easy was the order of the day. We drove around for a little while and then settled on this treed ridge, southeast of Mount Smith-Dorrien and northeast of Mount Black Prince (hence the creatively devoid name of “Blacksmith Ridge”). Although “Hero Nob” stands immediately to the north, I didn’t think we’d have enough time and energy to complete that ascent.

With snowshoes and multiple layers of the clothing we set out with temperatures around the minus 30 degrees Celsius mark. Finding the ascent drainage was more difficult than expected, but we eventually arrived there and followed it west and then south. Thankfully, the valley we were in was sheltered from the wind and even though the air temperature got colder as we gained elevation, the frigid, but windless conditions were quite tolerable. Mark graciously broke trail, through the deep and unconsolidated snow, for most of the ascent, as I was having difficulty due to a cold.

When the terrain started to open up, we took a route away from the ridge where we had originally intended to go. The bushwhacking in that direction didn’t look at all appealing. This turned out to be a good decision, though we still suffered through some grueling side-sloping through steep, treed terrain. Finally, an open slope appeared and Mark led us, with some effort, to the ridge and a breath-taking view. Obviously, as a low ridge between two much higher ridges (Kent Ridge to the east and the Mount Smith-Dorrien to Mount Black Prince ridge immediately west), the view was limited, however, the outlier above was outstanding. It provided more than enough visual entertainment. We started up the outlier and stopped when the terrain became too steep. Views of the Opal Range and Highwood area were also fantastic. Though a light one, the wind here was significant enough to make our visit a short one and we quickly started down.

For the return trip we descended to our intended objective but couldn’t find any spots on the ridge without trees blocking all the views. We cut our losses and enjoyed a very easy descent back to our tracks and then out to the road.

A very enjoyable first snowshoe trip of the year.