Sat, Apr 12 2014 - Prairie Mountain, West Ridge, Powderface Creek Loop (View Original Event Details)
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I wondered would there be phone calls or emails of concern about the day when we woke to cold and snow. When there was not even one, I knew I would be sharing the day with a hardcore determined bunch. That’s what you had to be to conquer today. Lots of snow fell yesterday and over night on Prairie Mountain. The attack on the ascent was decent, there were only a few folks before us so it wasn’t icy or muddy yet. We spent just enough time at the summit cairn to capture our photos then headed towards the West Ridge to find a lunch spot. We descended into the trees for some shelter, fueled up and then the real work began. The trail was obvious, pink and red ribbons donned the trees and thankfully snowshoers broke trail not long before we came along. We still sank deep though. We continued descending along the trail knowing it would take us to the Prairie Creek Trail where there would be much less snow and that proved to be the case. It took much longer than expected on that descending section so at the junction from where we exited the forest, we made a decision to cut some distance and elevation off the original plan, and shorten our loop by taking Prairie Creek Trail back. Hardcore? Yes! Determined? Of course! Fun? You bet! Thank you for being all that!
Thank you to Elda for being the driver from the south and to Jim for helping me with driving us all from Shouldice.
Andra