Winter wonderland on Plateau Mountain

On 28 September 2016, I was with friends down on a lower plateau of Plateau Mountain, in sunshine and bare ground. A week later, on 5 October 2016, we weren't even sure whether to go again, as the forecast was not good, snow and -6C. In the end, seven of us reckoned we would go and see if we could get to the top of Plateau Mountain (special permission was obtained). Conditions worsened en route and, while we were driving up the rough gravel mountainside road, trees were beginning to have a light covering of snow. On our way up to the plateau top, everything disappeared from sight, swallowed up by the billowing low cloud. Once at the top, I couldn't really see anything through my viewfinder, other than an occasional shape - just heavy grey. It really was a case of point and shoot and hope that I was capturing something. Most of the time, you could see nothing - such poor visibility. Amazingly, a few of my photos were not too bad after they had been brightened.

The mountain itself is located in the Savannah Creek Gas Field and there were two producing gas wells located on the summit of the mountain which were accessed by a road which is gated to prohibit public vehicle access. More recently, the plant we walked to was closed down. We walked over ground that was treacherous to walk on, even more so when mostly covered by snow. There are areas of patterned ground where larger pieces of rock are arranged in polygonal patterns with finer materials in the centre. These patterns were formed during the ice age when the mountain rose above the surrounding ice. Every rock and plant stem was covered in chunky ice crystals. This walk was only fairly short, but long enough, given the conditions. Long enough to take a few photos and find a few animal tracks (small, thank goodness, not Grizzly or Cougar!). For a few minutes or moments, there would be a slight opening in the low cloud and we caught sight of a tiny patch of blue sky - then the whole world around us would disappear yet again into the cloud. No sign of any of the spectacular mountains and foothills that surround Plateau Mountain. I have lots of views in my Plateau Mountain album, taken in good weather during several past visits.

Thanks so much, Sandy, for planning this trip and for the ride! The weather certainly gave us a different kind of outing, which was great. Still can't believe that I've been lucky enough to visit this area twice in eight days!

"This nearly flat high-elevation plateau is recognized for several unique features. There is an internationally recognized ice cave with ice crystals, curls, sheets and pillars (ice crystals are so fragile that a temperature increase of one degree Celsius can cause melting). The periglacial features (known as "patterned ground") in the reserve include active permafrost, sorted stone circles, polygons, steps and frost boils. The area also contains critical winter range for bighorn sheep." From www.albertaparks.ca/plateau-mountain.aspx

There are no public roads in Plateau Mountain Ecological Reserve; the road to the mountain top is leased by Husky Oil; to prevent vandalism to natural gas production facilities and to lessen impact on the area's natural features, access is controlled by the locked gate; travel in the reserve is by foot only; there are no facilities on site and overnight camping and open fires are prohibited."

www.albertaparks.ca/media/2741526/plateau_mtn_mgmt_plan.pdf