Prairie Mountain

Elevation: 2210 m
Elevation Gain: 700 m
Prairie Mountain was named prior to 1928 for the rounded, grass-covered, prairie-like character of its summit.
My Ascents:
June 6 2012, March 7 2010, May 19 2008
Trailhead: Prairie Mountain Parking (Roadside)

They say that the sun can’t shine everyday but that doesn’t mean that you can’t bag a peak anyways! If you are going to bag a peak on a day as nasty as June 9, 2012, however, you may want to try for a modest one. It was with this mindset that Crux and I set out to conquer Prairie Mountain. Friends Andrea and Korwin indulged me by driving out to the trailhead hoping that it would be less wet in Kananaskis than it was in Calgary, however, when they arrived at the trailhead, they promptly made the decision to turn around and retreat to the warmth of their couch for the day. Fortunately, Crux and I are less easily deterred otherwise we would have missed a brilliant whiteout at the summit!

We briefly saw colors other than white low down in the valley. These color sightings were, however, short-lived and accompanied by a soaking rain.

Prairie Mountain makes a brief appearance through the clouds.

Higher up the rain turned to snow (predictably). Crux's strategy for staying warm involved trying to stay on top of the snow for as long as possible.

Above the trees, the wind blasted us with snow. Fortunately, one of us has a built-in winter jacket.

Summit puppy!

Trying to shake off the cold.

I bet Andrea and Korwin are kicking themselves for staying inside on the couch now...

What a view! White as far as the eye can see.

A summit’s a summit…

“Can we please go back down now?” After enjoying a brief moment on top of the summit in the midst of the blizzard, I gave in to Crux's puppy dog eyes and we beat a hasty retreat back to the warmth of the car!