Saturday,
2/24/2018, Vents Ridge – Hwy 66, Elbow River Valley, Kananaskis, AB
· Round Trip: 5.2km;
Elevation: 1820m; Elevation Gain: 302m; Time: RT – 3:15hrs (10:35-13:50),
ascent – 1:15hrs, descent – 0:45hrs; An easy snowshoeing trip
· Book: ‘Gillean
Daffern’s Kananaskis Country Trail Guide—Volume 2’ by Gillean Daffern
References:
Drive
From Calgary, drive west on Hwy 1 for about 16km
and take the exit for Hwy 22 heading south, turn left and keep driving on Hwy
22 when reach the 4 way stop in Bragg Creek, turn right onto Hwy 66 on the T
junction, drive west until reach the winter gate just beyond Elbow Fall. Driving
time would be around 0:50 hours.
Hike
Both Gua and I had
little to zero spirit to commit ourselves to a hard trip, and with a late sleep
we had to choose Vents Ridge – a very easy short trip that closes to Calgary as
our object.
There isn’t a whole lot to say about the ascent of this forested bump,
but what we saw and did on the summit made it a little unusual. We started late
and had to walk a short distance to the winter gate. The number of cars parking
along Hwy 66 told the insane popularity of this area. From the winter gate, we
continued walking along the road to the Powderface
Creek trailhead on the right of the road, then hiked up the well-packed trail that made me wonder wearing the heavy snowshoes might
be a silly idea. After hiking on the Powderface Creek Trail for 1.2km or so, we
turned right and snowshoed up on a packed single trail that made things much
easier. The trail quickly brought us up to the base of a long cliff band known
as White Buddha, a popular rock climb spot. Here, we turned right (NE) and
walked carefully and slowly, because of the lack of snow on the ground, along
the cliff until its end, and then turned left hiked up a weakness to the top.
Just before topping out I smelled smoke which let me thought there must be
someone else on the top making a campfire. However, we couldn’t find anybody
but did see smoke coming out from the roots and trunk of a broken deadfall. Without
seeing any flame, we concluded that it wasn’t an emergency, but couldn’t help
putting a lot of snow on the top of the spots emitting smoke. By doing this,
there seemed less smoke coming out. But when we came back after taking some
pictures in the open area, the smoke reappeared. We then left and retraced our
steps back down to the car.
In order to report what we saw on the summit of Vents Ridge, we drove to
the closed information centre and called the Kananaskis’ number found outside
the office. Besides telling the smoke and the coordinates of Vents Ridge, I
also left my contact info, so I could finally drive home with relief.
My track
Walk a short distance to the winter gate
Continue walking along the road to the Powderface Creek trailhead after passing the winter gate
Powderface Creek Trailhead on the right of the road. The well-packed trail(CL) and Vents Ridge(CR) are easily recognized in the picture below.
The trail leads down to the creek from here
Snowshoeing up on a packed single trail After leaving the Powderface Creek Trail at 1.2km or so
Looking down to the point we left Powderface Creek Trail
Higher up, the snow became thin
The trail quickly brought us up to the base of a long cliff band known as White Buddha, a popular rock climb spot.
Counting bolts
Walk eastward along the cliff until its end, then turn left hike up a weakness to the top
Smoke coming out from the roots and trunk of a broken deadfall
Prairie Mtn directly to the north
To the northwest, Jumpingpound Mtn at left and Moose Mtn(?) at right
Looking northeast towards Calgary
Zooming-in
Looking southeast at Iyarhe Ipan(CR,F) with Myosotis Peak (AKA Quirk Ridge) hidden behind its right shoulder
Iyarhe Ipan and Myosotis Peak (AKA Quirk Ridge) on left, Forgetmenot Mtn at right
A pano from the top of Vents Ridge
View northwest
Forgetmenot Mountain to the south
More close-up
Getting down
Back to the trail
Returning to the Powderface Creek trailhead
The end.
Walk a short distance to the winter gate
Continue walking along the road to the Powderface Creek trailhead after passing the winter gate
Powderface Creek Trailhead on the right of the road. The well-packed trail(CL) and Vents Ridge(CR) are easily recognized in the picture below.
The trail leads down to the creek from here
Snowshoeing up on a packed single trail After leaving the Powderface Creek Trail at 1.2km or so
Looking down to the point we left Powderface Creek Trail
Higher up, the snow became thin
The trail quickly brought us up to the base of a long cliff band known as White Buddha, a popular rock climb spot.
Counting bolts
Walk eastward along the cliff until its end, then turn left hike up a weakness to the top
Smoke coming out from the roots and trunk of a broken deadfall
Prairie Mtn directly to the north
To the northwest, Jumpingpound Mtn at left and Moose Mtn(?) at right
Looking northeast towards Calgary
Zooming-in
Looking southeast at Iyarhe Ipan(CR,F) with Myosotis Peak (AKA Quirk Ridge) hidden behind its right shoulder
Iyarhe Ipan and Myosotis Peak (AKA Quirk Ridge) on left, Forgetmenot Mtn at right
A pano from the top of Vents Ridge
View northwest
Forgetmenot Mountain to the south
More close-up
Getting down
Back to the trail
Returning to the Powderface Creek trailhead
The end.
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