Backcountry skiing, climbing, and similar stuff near Kelowna from Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Monday, September 07, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Sunday, August 02, 2015
Mount Avalanche SW Ridge with Martin
Martin and family made a cross country road trip this summer. We met up in Rogers Pass for a dew days of camping and catching up.
Martin had license to escape familial duties for a day. What to do? A full day but not a huge day. And it would be nice to not drive anywhere from the campsite. Avalanche was just the ticket.
No matter how many times we do it this route always seems to take a little longer and be little more technical than we expect. You'd think we'd learn but our memories are too selective.
The lack of snow this year made the upper third pretty tedious with sketchy scree instead of forgiving summer snow. But as always it's worth the climb!
On the descent we made a detour off the ridge to wet our parched throats.
It was a hot day and we were all pretty knackered on the way down.
A beer at the campsite lifted our spirits. It was great to get out with Martin.
Martin had license to escape familial duties for a day. What to do? A full day but not a huge day. And it would be nice to not drive anywhere from the campsite. Avalanche was just the ticket.
No matter how many times we do it this route always seems to take a little longer and be little more technical than we expect. You'd think we'd learn but our memories are too selective.
The lack of snow this year made the upper third pretty tedious with sketchy scree instead of forgiving summer snow. But as always it's worth the climb!
On the descent we made a detour off the ridge to wet our parched throats.
It was a hot day and we were all pretty knackered on the way down.
A beer at the campsite lifted our spirits. It was great to get out with Martin.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Mount Sifton SE Ridge
Brian met us at the Visitors Centre in Rogers Pass on Saturday to hike up to Hermit Meadows. Still plenty of snow. We dug out a platform under gloomy skies.
And got a brew on.
While Brian went full "competent camper" and arranged everything to be within reach of his comfy bivy sack.
Next morning dawned nice and clear.
We headed towards the south side of Sifton and made our way upwards. Mostly on snow.
But occasionally on the rock too.
Just below the summit there is a steep snow slope that keeps it interesting.
We were on top by 11:30am about 5 hours after leaving the tent.
The descent was remarkably fast down the main gully.
Looking back a the route. It mainly follows the snow gully at centre-right.
Sore legs on Monday but a great way to start to the season. Thanks Brian!
And got a brew on.
While Brian went full "competent camper" and arranged everything to be within reach of his comfy bivy sack.
Next morning dawned nice and clear.
We headed towards the south side of Sifton and made our way upwards. Mostly on snow.
But occasionally on the rock too.
Just below the summit there is a steep snow slope that keeps it interesting.
We were on top by 11:30am about 5 hours after leaving the tent.
The descent was remarkably fast down the main gully.
Looking back a the route. It mainly follows the snow gully at centre-right.
Sore legs on Monday but a great way to start to the season. Thanks Brian!
Monday, May 18, 2015
Glacier Circle Cabin
We made the trek into the Glacier Circle Cabin over the Victoria Day long weekend with Nick. There was just enough snow remaining for us to ski right from the car. But only just.
We started out under clear skies but the visibility crapped out by midday.
We chose the Macoun ramp route for the descent into the circle. This photo shows the entrance into ramp route with the Witch Tower route across the other side of the valley.
After 9.5 hours we finally set eyes on the old cabin for the first time in five years. It was in good shape except for a few missing shingles on the roof and we sorely missed a hand saw to cut wood for the stove.
The next day we had a relaxing morning before heading out to look around. Glacier Circle is a stunning place to be.
We retuned via the Witch Tower route the next morning under beautiful clear skies giving a us a great view back to where we'd been. The cabin is located in the trees at centre right in this photo.
Once over the glacier we were forced to start hiking through the rockier parts of the trail.
But not for too long.
Outbound Depart @ 6:15 Arrive @ 15:45
Return: Depart @ 6:19 Arrive @ 13:52
We started out under clear skies but the visibility crapped out by midday.
We chose the Macoun ramp route for the descent into the circle. This photo shows the entrance into ramp route with the Witch Tower route across the other side of the valley.
After 9.5 hours we finally set eyes on the old cabin for the first time in five years. It was in good shape except for a few missing shingles on the roof and we sorely missed a hand saw to cut wood for the stove.
The next day we had a relaxing morning before heading out to look around. Glacier Circle is a stunning place to be.
We retuned via the Witch Tower route the next morning under beautiful clear skies giving a us a great view back to where we'd been. The cabin is located in the trees at centre right in this photo.
Once over the glacier we were forced to start hiking through the rockier parts of the trail.
But not for too long.
Outbound Depart @ 6:15 Arrive @ 15:45
Return: Depart @ 6:19 Arrive @ 13:52
Saturday, May 09, 2015
Mount Baker Coleman Deming Route
Dave asked us to have a go at Mount Baker. On Friday night after work we drove most of the way to Vancouver and then met him just over the border in Sumas. Spending the night in the camper at the Helios Ridge trailhead gave us a good early start the next morning. We hiked for about an hour before putting on the skis and making our way up the broad glacier.
Every now and again we'd get a whiff of strong rotten egg sulphur smell. The accusations flew thick and furious before Dave pointed out that, duh, it's a volcano. We were dumbfounded. It just never occurred to us that Baker would in any way be...well, sort of active. Cool.
It took a long 8 hours to reach the summit. Thankfully the scenery helped pass the time. It was simply stunning. Shimmering icefalls all around, views of the Pacific Ocean to the west, and snow capped peaks in all directions.
Baker is a busy place this time of year. It's near some major population centres and the access is dead simple. There were several parties camping on the glacier making a two day trip of it. This was our view of a line of people booting up the steep headwall just below the summit. (There is a better line to climber's right that avoids the need to remove skis.)
We reached the top at 2PM and had the place to ourselves for a few precious minutes.
Brenda with her Miss Bakers on Mount Baker.
From the summit we could look down into the source of the sulphur smell, a series of steaming vents called fumaroles.
The ski down was pretty rough on something more closely resembling mashed potatoes than snow.
Still good though. And fast. It wasn't long before we were back at treeline for a nice cold drink.
Climbing a volcano within a few hours drive of home. Who knew? Thanks Dave.
Every now and again we'd get a whiff of strong rotten egg sulphur smell. The accusations flew thick and furious before Dave pointed out that, duh, it's a volcano. We were dumbfounded. It just never occurred to us that Baker would in any way be...well, sort of active. Cool.
It took a long 8 hours to reach the summit. Thankfully the scenery helped pass the time. It was simply stunning. Shimmering icefalls all around, views of the Pacific Ocean to the west, and snow capped peaks in all directions.
Baker is a busy place this time of year. It's near some major population centres and the access is dead simple. There were several parties camping on the glacier making a two day trip of it. This was our view of a line of people booting up the steep headwall just below the summit. (There is a better line to climber's right that avoids the need to remove skis.)
We reached the top at 2PM and had the place to ourselves for a few precious minutes.
Brenda with her Miss Bakers on Mount Baker.
From the summit we could look down into the source of the sulphur smell, a series of steaming vents called fumaroles.
The ski down was pretty rough on something more closely resembling mashed potatoes than snow.
Still good though. And fast. It wasn't long before we were back at treeline for a nice cold drink.
Climbing a volcano within a few hours drive of home. Who knew? Thanks Dave.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)