Prairie Bluff

Prairie Bluff – April 13, 2008

Mountain height:   2258 m
Elevation gain:      700 m
Ascent time:          4:30
Descent time:        1:50

Scrambling and a little mountaineering with Mark.

Prairie Bluff could very well be the most interesting mountain in the entire Castle Crown area….that’s right!!! That lowly, nondescript, lump of rock sitting right at the front of the Front Ranges is definitely a little gem of the Southern Canadian Rockies…..I kid you not!!

Perhaps the above is a little dramatic, but we certainly didn’t expect much from this trip and got infinitely more than that. After the previous day’s 12 hour stint on Victoria Peak/Ridge, something short and easy was our preference. Prairie Bluff seemed perfect. Although there is a gas road going almost all the way to the summit, we had seen a potentially more interesting route directly up the face of one of several outliers of Prairie Bluff’s main summit on the way to Victoria Peak the previous day. From a distance there appeared to be some interesting layers of rock and we were both keen to get a closer look.

Approaching the base of the outlier, our observation about the colorful rock layers was confirmed. In June of 2006, on an ascent of Pincher Ridge, we had run into the most interesting and colorful band of rock we’d ever seen. The bands on Prairie Bluff seemed to be the northern equivalent of those on Pincher, but on a much larger scale. In fact, on a significantly larger scale! The rock scenery on the lower section of the peak was actually quite unbelievable: the usual and stunning assortment of red and green argillite in strikingly defined layers, a few extreme examples of rock folding, and enough colour variety to put a rainbow to shame – it was hands-down the best we’d ever seen. Our only source of disappointment was an obstinate cloud that blocked the sun directly above us. The cloud refused to move, even though the west wind was howling. Only several hours later, when the sun had moved to the west of the cloud, were we treated to the sun’s light and warmth.

We tried to ascend several gullies to gain elevation on the outlier, but all were full of ice and running water. Not that we were complaining – this just allowed us to explore more of the outstanding south face. Eventually we did find a scramble route to reach the upper slopes. There, Mark led us up a steep snow slope in hopes that we could find a weakness up the very steep summit block. One did not reveal itself and so we lost some elevation and then snuck around the west side of the block. The summit of the outlier was only a few minutes from there. The summit panorama was unexpectedly pleasant – especially the distinctive, pyramidal form of Victoria Peak to the west.

We now had a dilemma. The true summit appeared a fair distance away and we were supposed to be back in Calgary by 6 pm. We were also only a short distance from the gas road and decided to hike along it at a pretty fast pace in order to try to make the summit. Even hiking up this road was enjoyable. There aren’t many red argillite roads in the province and so walking atop the red rock was a somewhat unique experience.

At some point, we opted to leave our backpacks and jog to the summit, to make up some time. The jogging lasted all of 45 seconds and then it was back to a brisk walk. We reached the summit at 2:15 pm, to take in a wonderful panorama – snowy to the west, clear to the east, and beautiful colours all around – yet another pleasant surprise.

For descent we simply followed the gas road. Though circuitous, we couldn’t have asked for an easier and more stress-free descent. A totally outstanding day to complete an even better weekend in The Castle Crown.