Cypress Peak - North Ridge, July 2018
Some 3.5 km north of Tricouni Peak is its slightly shorter neighbor Cypress Peak. Like Tricouni, Cypress lies within the Squamish-Cheakamus Divide, an area boasting several great scrambling routes that benefit from reasonably good access and relatively short approaches. I first visited the slopes around Cypress whilst cat & heli-boarding with Powder Mountain and vowed someday to return and bag the peak itself.
The North Ridge route which Dan and I climbed is an enjoyable outing with a minimally exposed 4th-class step being the only real difficulty. The approach entailed an hour's worth of walking along a forest road and a bit of overgrown climber's path to reach a basin and headwall below a small glacier. Easy snow and glacier travel lead to the blocky ridge crest just before where it pitches up from horizontal. Another party climbed the East Ridge on the same day as us, which got me thinking - combining the east and north ridges would probably make for an aesthetic traverse of the peak. Much glissading on the descent made for a speedy return to the car and we found ourselves back at the Howe Sound Brewery enjoying a quaff in no time!
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