Summit Elevation (m): 2485
Trip Date: Saturday, October 6, 2018
Elevation Gain (m): 650
Round Trip Time (hr): 4
Total Trip Distance (km): 6.5
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 1 – you fall, you’re stupid
Difficulty Notes: No difficulties. Your aunt Edna could do this one blindfolded – assuming you were yelling good directions at her. Some avy hazards with copious amounts of snow in the “right” conditions but none otherwise..
Technical Rating: OT3; YDS (Hiking)
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
Despite being in the midst of the worst stretch of Fall weather I have ever experienced in the Rockies, the first day of the Thanksgiving long weekend was shaping up to be a stunner and Wietse and I were determined to take advantage of it somehow, some way. I have to be honest with you. I was SUPER depressed at the thought of snowshoeing so early in the season and even told Wietse that I wasn’t interested in being part of anything like that. Roughly 5 minutes later we decided to snowshoe up “Eagle” or “Nameless” Ridge near Mist Mountain. I’ve always known this ridge as “Eagle” because that’s how it was labeled on the maps I looked at, but apparently it’s more appropriately known as “Nameless” due to an entry in Gillean Daffern’s guidebook so that’s what I’ll call it here. I find it hilarious that considering all the unofficial “peaks” on my summit list, I finally have one that’s unofficially, officially called, “Nameless”. Bill Kerr decided to join us. My only caveat was that we needed to be back in YYC for my son’s hockey game at 17:00, so we left the PC parking lot at the late hour of 07:30, assuming (correctly) that this is a fast, short outing even with snow.
We were a bit confused where to park, but settled on the shoulder of hwy 40 right at the start of a trail through the forest. There was recent hiking tracks which assisted us greatly in finding the trail in the recent snow. I think most people park slightly to the east at a large pull-out and simply walk up the highway. A lot of folks also do a loop going up our route and down the nose of the ridge so then it makes even more sense to park at the pull-out. We didn’t have time or inclination to flirt with any steep snow slopes or bushwhack, so we decided to tag the summit and return the same way for the sake of ease. The first hour or so was more treed than I first expected but with a track following the trail it was easy enough on the ‘shoes. I was thankful to have them for the grip they offered.
Once we broke treeline the clear skies and warm weather really bumped up our spirits and we enjoyed the slog to the col in deepening snow. There wasn’t enough consistent snow cover to justify skis, but another foot or so and it would be there. The south facing slope that we were on was also quickly becoming a bit sticky and breaking down.
At the col we turned right and started up a pretty direct line to the summit above with views of Mist Mountain and Odlum Ridge improving with each step upwards. As we summited in warm sunshine and barely any wind, I was very pleasantly surprised to see many of the larches in the area still wearing their yellow coats. We enjoyed at least half an hour at the summit, enjoying the views and the conditions immensely.
Our descent was very quick, as expected. On descent we noticed a pretty large group of about 6 people inching their way up to the Mist col and presumably on their way up Mist Mountain. As it was already almost 14:00 hours we wondered if they’d have enough time to make the summit but they were enjoying the nice weather and conditions so good on them for getting out I suppose! We also scoped out the hot pools beneath Mist but with recent avy debris just above them, I think a winter visit is not recommended unless conditions are super stable.
I highly recommend Nameless Ridge for a short day trip or even tacked onto the end of a Mist Mountain ascent. Wietse completed a solo scramble of Mist Mountain via the hiker route in around 5.5 hours (when dry), so tacking on Nameless should only add a few hours at most. Do this trip with larches and you’ll get some really nice photos out of it.
