23/05/2023 - Powderface Ridge

 Powderface Ridge

Written By Marsiol Harvey

Today, Amanda and I hiked Powderface Ridge. I was lucky enough to have my shift changed at work and decided it was perfect weather to go on an afternoon hike. When I went and attempted to summit Powderface a few weeks prior I didn't quite make it. I made the poor decision of hiking along the Powderface creek trail and after a few too many kilometers alone in the rain I decided to turn around.

Today however, we had a bit more luck with the weather. We were both surprised at how empty the trail was but figured everyone was at work since it was the day after the long weekend, or avoiding outdoor activity due to the smoke from forest fires. The air quality report this morning was a 2 on the Air Quality Health Index which posed low risks to our hiking plans. We had a late start around 3pm with very few clouds or smoke in sight. During our ascent, we enjoyed great chats about F1, hockey, skiing, and Amanda's recent trip to Europe.

 

On the way up 

At around 2.7km, we got to a bend in the trail and the winds picked up significantly as we were above the tree line and much more exposed. We decided to head to the false ridge rather than continuing to the very top of Powderface (I think we would've been blown off the mountain). It took us approximately an hour and a half to reach the false summit at 7,000ft. Nonetheless, we still enjoyed gorgeous views and amazing visibility. We could even see Calgary in the distance, despite the thick smoke that had recently been in the area. 

Summit Pics

We enjoyed a quick break at the top, and began our descent. Around 1 km from the bottom we encountered a little friend, a dear, who quickly hurried away once he heard the loud conversations we were having about Amanda’s boyfriend, Roger Federer. Overall, it was a really fun girls hiking trip and I'm looking forward to more in the future.