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741 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2007 : 11:33 PM
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Prairie Mountain: December 30, 2007
Last hike of the year 2007...largely free of snow (I brought my snowshoes but left them in the car when I saw how clear the roads were and the beginning of the trail), temperature just below zero and no winds. Clouds kept their distance, too. Wearing no backpack and carrying no water, I sweated through 4 layers and completed my round trip in under 90 minutes. Call it a workout (it was).
1) 2) 3)
1) Whoa! Sign down! This is where you want to begin...just to the left of this sign and across the ditch.
2) This is as much snow as you get at the moment. I was up Prairie Mountain this November when there was more snow...much has been blown away since. This may be normal as I was here one or two Decembers ago and there was very little snow then, too.
3) A closer and pretty clear view of the northern part of Compression Ridge and behind it to the west is Mount Bryant.
4) 5) 6)
4) Summit cairn view, looking to the east
5) Looking closer, Calgary is visible to the east
6) Mandatory Moose Mountain shot to the north |
Edited by - Granticulus on 12/31/2007 11:35 PM
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741 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 12:00 AM
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Oh, by the way, Happy New Year!
Granticulus |
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53 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 02:03 AM
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Prosit Neujahr!
Thank you for the shot of Calgary in the distance. How far is the city from where you were?
I hope there will be more snow at Lake Louise than on the slopes of the Prairie Mountain. |
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741 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 08:39 AM
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pweber: Prosit neujahr! Calgary is only about 80km from Prairie Mountain. It takes me 50 minutes to go from my front door to the trailhead...which is why I do this mountain so often.
I wouldn't worry about the amount of snow at Lake Louise...there'll be lots, especially if you're skiing. The area around Prairie Mountain rarely gets much snow...much like Calgary. As one ventures past the front ranges of the Rockies, there's snow in abundance.
Check out the following links for snow conditions:
http://www.banfflakelouise.com/experience-the-park/ski-snowboard/ski-resorts-snow-reports?utm_source=google-adwords&utm_medium=ppc&gclid=COHMxpG71ZACFQKXYAod1woAOA
http://www.skibig3.com/snowreport/default.cfm
The first website has a webcam linked to it in the first paragraph or two and the second one has more up-to-date information.
1)  2) 
1) The above photo was taken at about 09:30 this morning from the Banff Gondola view cam...quite nice!
2) The second photo has labels showing some landmarks.
Enjoy your stay in Canada!
Granticulus |
Edited by - Granticulus on 01/01/2008 08:52 AM |
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53 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 09:47 AM
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Thank you so much! This is really good information to have, and the links are useful. How nice of you to label the landmarks. This makes it much more interesting for me.
Yes, we will be skiing, but we will also be snowshoeing. Why in Canada when we have perfectly good snow here and lots of it? Because you have powder, and we usually do not, and your ski slopes, even at Lake Louise, are far less crowded than any of ours.
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Missing the Rockies.
263 Posts |
Posted - 01/01/2008 : 2:49 PM
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Prairie is an excellent after work hike. I always wanted to try it from the backside NW ridge and the E ridge from the sour gas facility.
Feb/06 I think:
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741 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 12:25 PM
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Prairie Mountain: Thursday January 03, 2008
Here's a question...if we visit one location multiple times, should we make a separate post or add to a previous one of the same location (like I'm doing right now)? What are your preferences?
In any event, this is the earliest that I can ever recall beginning a mountain excursion (in terms of lighting). I set out at the trailhead at 07:10 and was at the summit just under an hour later. My intention was to get a sunrise photo from the summit. I miscalculated the sunrise by a bit and could not afford to stay longer as there was a cold wind blowing up top. Add to that the fact that my once-warm batteries got cold and were dying and any motivation to stay is taken away.
Enjoy what photos I could take...
1) 2) 3) 4)
1) Parking at the gate where the road is closed for the winter (Elbow Falls)
2) First photo once I broke from the forest and took my first steps onto the "ridgewalk". Timelapse photo of 15 seconds showing Nihahi Ridge.
3) Summit shot to the west. Timelapse photo of 2 seconds. Nihahi Ridge again.
4) Summit shot to the east, including the summit cairn. This is when I was hoping to get a decent shot of the sunrise. Note the lights of Calgary...big city from here! You can only really see our downtown during the day...unless you have something to aid your sight.
5) 6) 7) 8)
5) Summit shot of Moose Mountain to the north
6) On the way back down, shot to the south
7) Same as #6, different lighting
8) Almost at the road (maybe 100m above the road) there's a break in the trees and a view to the south. |
Edited by - Granticulus on 01/03/2008 1:53 PM |
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culmination point, B.C.
Canada
737 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2008 : 2:17 PM
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Nice light here! Well done. |
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Calgary, AB
Canada
252 Posts |
Posted - 01/04/2008 : 05:48 AM
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Prairie mtn is a great hike relatively close to Calgary. Good effort on the sunrise picture attempt.
Answering your question, I personally have no preference whether a TR from the same location is on one or multiple threads.
Looks like nice weather heading into the w/e. A good fitness level is required in order to do a round trip time of 90 mins, well done. |
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Calgary, Alberta
Andorra
3829 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2008 : 2:02 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by SteveOz
Nice light here! Well done.
Go gondolacam! |
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Calgary, Alberta
Andorra
3829 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2008 : 2:04 PM
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I'd usually say just put it in a new one, but if you have already your own thread, not necessarily a bad idea to just update the same one. Could be a cool little Prairie Mountain in many seasons log after a few.
Too bad on missing the sunrise. Did you at least get a good view on the drive home? |
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High River, (just south of Calgary eh!), Alberta
Canada
1718 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2008 : 4:37 PM
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Nice morning pictures Granticulus.
I’m in favor of a Prairie Mountain thread… for tracking conditions if nothing else.
I’ll just throw up a couple pics from Friday Jan 04, 2008. I had to go into work for a couple hours so this rounded out the day nicely.
Conditions were mild but windy, especially at the summit. The trail was mostly packed snow / ice so instep crampons helped a lot keeping me from smearing myself on a tree. Almost a three hour round trip for me including lunch and photos at the top.
 
A little hazy (smoggy) over Calgary.
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13592 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2008 : 5:22 PM
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quote:
[i]
4) 5) 6)
4) Summit cairn view, looking to the east
5) Looking closer, Calgary is visible to the east
6) Mandatory Moose Mountain shot to the north
Nice shots of a rather lonely looking place.
K |
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741 Posts |
Posted - 01/06/2008 : 6:23 PM
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If I can knock off the date from the title of this thread maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea...a thread for each location, then??? I don't trust myself to have a lot of vision, here...but if it is the start of something maybe we can have LongShadow provide us with the means of having an alphabetical index page of Alberta hikes/scrambles/climbs etc. This way, people would have the freedom of either contributing to the "Prairie Mountain" thread (for example) at will or simply making their own thread under the Alberta forum as normal. Each time someone visits a location that is not in the index, perhaps they may have the opportunity to add to the index page. In this way the index page will grow in the way that forums and topics grow.
Rachelo: I don't know about having a good view going home...the best views are always when you're heading west and when you're in the mountains (imho)!
Sodbuster: In your first photo, you say that you're looking west. If I'm not mistaken, it's more SSW, judging by the sun and the mountains...am I right? Or am I being too picky? I like where you decided to take the Moose Mountain photo...you see a lesser-seen aspect of Prairie Mountain from that vantage point. What camera are you using and what's your zoom? Calgary looks both close and clear. Did you use a tripod? |
Edited by - Granticulus on 01/06/2008 6:27 PM |
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Terrace, BC
957 Posts |
Posted - 01/06/2008 : 6:30 PM
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Neato!!
I used to live in Calgary a long time ago and never knew about this place. But Back then, I never knew much else.
Did a little camping in the foothills and Kananaski area. |
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Anchorage, Alaska
USA
1340 Posts |
Posted - 01/06/2008 : 10:06 PM
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| We've got some real talented photographers in the house here. Especially those time-lapse ones Grant. Must have been pretty dark otherwise. |
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Calgary, Alberta
Andorra
3829 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2008 : 04:16 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Granticulus
Rachelo: I don't know about having a good view going home...the best views are always when you're heading west and when you're in the mountains (imho)!
Usually, but sunrise is to the east. A consolation prize for the early drive home, perhaps.
If you look at the bottom of the Alberta forum (or any other), where you can move to other pages and such, you will see a 'sort by' box. You can choose to view the threads alphabetically already, it just defaults to arranging by 'last post time'.
You could choose to view by 'topic title' in 'ascending' (A-Z) order, the topics from the last '60 days' or whatever else.
The power's already there, I would discourage trying to change defaults.
I'll keep posting full real TRs when I feel a trip warrants one, and posting little bits of photo or condition in the big thread. If just tagging on another few photos, people can always just choose to search for the most recent thread and add to an existing location if they should so desire. |
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High River, (just south of Calgary eh!), Alberta
Canada
1718 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2008 : 7:14 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Granticulus
Sodbuster: In your first photo, you say that you're looking west. If I'm not mistaken, it's more SSW, judging by the sun and the mountains...am I right? Or am I being too picky? I like where you decided to take the Moose Mountain photo...you see a lesser-seen aspect of Prairie Mountain from that vantage point. What camera are you using and what's your zoom? Calgary looks both close and clear. Did you use a tripod?
You are not mistaken; I changed the description of the photo... I guess it just felt like West for some reason (the howling wind maybe?) The sun should have been a tip off for me...
I shoot with a Canon DSLR EOS 300D aka Canon Rebel. The Moose Mountain shot is a stitch of four frames shot with my 18-55 lens. The Calgary shot is a slightly cropped shot I took with my 75-300 zoom just using my knees from a seated position to steady the shot (no tripod)
With regards to a special post for Prairie, if you want to use this post for that purpose you can change the title as the original poster if you like (or leave it be… I don’t think the title matters much). It makes sense to me to lump the Prairie posts together because unlike most other hikes the reason many do this route is it is a readily accessible conditioner, not because it is especially scenic or adventuresome (although the view from the top is grand) Still it is nice to share what pictures we take and current conditions or other tidbits. More or less what Rachelo said... I'm just explaining the logic behind my opinion.
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 Trail cuttin, GPS packin bushwhacker, wiki hike compilin, who is now Hope-less
2546 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2008 : 7:17 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Granticulus
Prairie Mountain: Thursday January 03, 2008
Here's a question...if we visit one location multiple times, should we make a separate post or add to a previous one of the same location (like I'm doing right now)? What are your preferences?
I'd strongly recommend separate posts. We will be programming a feature into ClubTread that allows for trip reports to be tracked in terms of locations visited on your profile page and also linking them to the trail wiki. Having them as separate features makes it possible to view the list of trips on the wiki (and other places) according to date. |
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High River, (just south of Calgary eh!), Alberta
Canada
1718 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2008 : 7:18 PM
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| Granticulus: One tip that comes to mind regarding your cold batteries that works for me is pop them out of the camera and warm them up good in your hands or armpit or whatever turns you on and then pop them back in the camera. This often restores enough juice for a few more shots. |
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High River, (just south of Calgary eh!), Alberta
Canada
1718 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2008 : 7:23 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by ShadowChaser
quote:
Originally posted by Granticulus
Prairie Mountain: Thursday January 03, 2008
Here's a question...if we visit one location multiple times, should we make a separate post or add to a previous one of the same location (like I'm doing right now)? What are your preferences?
I'd strongly recommend separate posts. We will be programming a feature into ClubTread that allows for trip reports to be tracked in terms of locations visited on your profile page and also linking them to the trail wiki. Having them as separate features makes it possible to view the list of trips on the wiki (and other places) according to date.
Sounds like a fine modification and makes the trail wiki a lot more useful. Thanks for your ever vigilant quest for improvements!!! |
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Prairie Mountain: December 30, 2007
