Windy Point Ridge - The Buckle - Talus Peak - (HD) David Thompson Region, Nordegg, Alberta

*UPDATE* It's actually about 35kms west of Nordegg, not 22kms like indicated in the video. Sorry about the color of the video. New GoPro.
With all the Smoke in Alberta due to the Forest Fires up North, I decided to head out to the David Thompson area west of Rocky Mountain House near Nordegg to see if I could find some clear skies. I found some beautiful skies and some amazing climbing including the 3-Peaks of Windy Point Ridge (The Lookout, The Buckle and Talus Peak).
This hike had a little bit of everything, great scrambling, grippy slab rock, moderate scrambling which was optional and a great ridge walk with 3 amazing summits. Car to car I was roughly 6 hours. I got rained on during the last hour of the hike, but with the fires in Alberta it was very welcome. I hope you enjoy my footage. Take care and thanks for watching.
Disclaimer - Always scramble within your own abilities. Thoroughly assess the situation and research the route. GPS and/or a topo map are a valuable tool to help. Leave a route description behind with exact location should you not arrive home at a predetermined time. Have a way to contact rescue as well if you are in an area of no cell service(SPOT, Garmin, etc.). Also, if hiking in winter make sure you have the necessary skill and knowledge regarding unstable conditions and perform a proper risk assessment prior to engaging in this activity.

[@saskatoonscrambler4794]

That looked really enjoyable. Lots of elevation gain. I've only been down the David Thompson highway once, but I plan on going back. Thanks for the video.

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

...It is a real treat. No crowds. Stunning beauty. You won't regret it for sure.

[@Ositotheminiaussie]

Great video!!

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

...Thanks Ed! Appreciate that!

[@ipostthingssometimes2410]

You get some awesome views, It was nice to watch.

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

...Thanks for that! It's even nicer in person. Cheers !

[@pictou2canmore]

What a day..thanks for the video Harlan. Really good of you having a disclaimer that scrambling can be very difficult and dangerous, know your limits.

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

It was a great day Jamie! I have started putting disclaimers in the last year or so. Sometimes people don't make the best decisions and I don't want to be the one that didn't warn them of potential dangers.

[@nicoleashleymct]

looked like a beauty day!

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

It sure was Nicole! I didn't include it in the video but I got hailed and rained on the last hour coming down the mountain.

[@b52withaview66]

So I was looking at doing an overnight hike in late May 2021 on my way out to Edmonton. I was wondering where the snow line would be around that time? Also, it looks pretty exposed up there. Any chance that there is any shelter to pitch a tent on this route or could you suggest a different destination with awesome views?

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

Chances are that late May you are going to run into snow and still have high avalanche potential. Possibly you could do Allstones lake and Ridge in the same highway, expending on conditions.

[@danielbob2098]

Beautiful scenery ,excellent video. Did you come back some way or exists a different route for return?

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

Same way back although there likely exists a way from Talus peak to head down the drainage to Hoodoo creek.

[@frostt44]

Awesome video! Glad the smoke was down for you! How long about did u take to head up windy? Thinking it would be an excellent warm up for my year before heading into landslide lake in mid July. As always love the videos and the explanations on route etc. These videos help out so many people like myself with routes and info for future scrambles. Very much appreciated.

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

...Well I would plan for roughly 1.5 hours to get up to The Lookout which is the first peak of Windy point ridge. If you go all the way to the Buckle and Talus its likely around 4 hours to get to Talus.... Thanks by the way! I try to put in my videos the kind of information that I was looking for when I first started scrambling. Glad it helps!

[@vdvjbomb]

Hey just wondering if you used an offline map at all for the buckle and talus or was it pretty straight forward? Thank you!

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

... I found it very straightforward. A little bit of looking around at The Buckle to pick the way up you want to go but not too bad. No maps used for this one. Talus was straight forward.

[@vdvjbomb]

@@HarlanFox--Scrambles wonderful, thank you so much! Loved your informative video! Off to try tomorrow given that there's not too much snow

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

@@vdvjbomb ..... Have fun and be safe! Cheers!

[@ctwgxnnt]

Great video as always! What gloves are you wearing?

[@HarlanFox--Scrambles]

...Thanks again! These gloves were just a multi pack from Costco. Really grippy.