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Monday, November 18, 2024
Ben Lomond - West Ridge, September 2023
A granitic wonderland dotted with numerous pools, lakes and peaklets, the Mountain Lake area is an underappreciated gem of the Sea-to-Sky south of Squamish. Second visit, this time to bag the mighty Ben Lomond which eluded me previously. Okay, at under 5500 feet, "mighty" is a bit of an overstatement, and it isn't to be confused with the famous Ben Lomond in Scotland, but it is nonetheless an aesthetic looking peak that makes for a very worthwhile scramble. At least that's what I said to myself the last time I was in the area standing atop the tallest of the Mountain Lake Group, Mount Sheer. From that perspective, Ben Lomond appears as a prominent horn rising from the Seymour River headwaters, the river valley extending southward from directly behind the peak. I made a half-hearted attempt at it the morning after climbing Sheer, but a combination of excessive heat and a relentless mosquito onslaught had me calling it off upon reaching the summit of nearby Ben More. My motivation sapped; I returned to the trailhead unsure of whether I'd ever bother coming back for another go.
Fast forward a year and one month, and there I was once again sweating my arse off on the ~11-kilometer pedal up Furry Creek FSR just to reach the trailhead. Fortunately, this time I didn't have the additional burden of an overnight pack! True, as a member of the BCMC I could have obtained a key for the gate at the start of the FSR and drive to the trailhead, but where's the fun in that? No sir, just a 35+ km bike n' hike day trip was on the menu this time! For something different, I opted for the alternate start via Britannia Creek FSR as opposed to the usual one from the end of Seaview Road in Furry Creek. Go ahead and ignore the no trespassing signs as they are pointless and spare yourself the extra vertical by going this way as well! Started up the trail after stashing the bike, making my way towards scenic Wind Lake. Contoured alongside the west shore before turning up and right to gain the slabby north shoulder of Ben More, whereupon I could finally see my objective.
Rounding the corner, I descended a bit and traversed to a small talus slope. Crossed that, then up to the crest of the ridge connecting "Bens" More and Lomond. From here on out it was just a matter of navigating micro-terrain up and down over several bumps and small steps to reach the final summit block. Working left here, I proceeded into the alcove beneath the peak's North Face before turning right and scrambling along ledges to regain the ridge crest. Then a short hike from here to reach the summit 5 hours and 15 minutes after first hopping on the bike. Yeehaw! You know what's coming next: a synopsis of the view, which as expected did not suck! NW towards Sheer and the Sky Pilot Group, north over Red Mountain with Garibaldi in the distance, NE/ENE towards Mamquam, Seed and Gillespie, east looking over Loch Lomond and Bagpipe Peak with Meslilloet Mountain in distance, S/SW from Cathedral to Brunswick, and finally west looking towards Sedgewick and company. Not bad at all for such a wee little pile of rocks, eh? And rest assured, having paid my dues in blood (the mozzies, duh), sweat and tears(?), I can now confidently say that I won't be returning anytime soon.
About 6 kilometres as the crow flies northwest of local giant Mount Outram and directly north of the infamous Hope Slide, stands MacLeod Peak. It is joined by a couple other "seven-thousanders" Mount Hatfield and Mount Manson forming a scenic cirque at the headwaters of Eleven Mile Creek. The second tallest of the three, MacLeod boasts a short but enjoyable rock scramble on decent rock up its SE/E Ridge, an off-trail approach without too much brush, and good FSR access for some 8 kilometers after leaving the highway. Its 7135-foot west summit (MacLeod W1) is prominently visible from the highway east of Hope at about where Highway 3 and Highway 5 diverge. It's an attractive horn from this perspective, enough at least for me to be lured into exploring this overlooked corner of the BC Cascades. Curiously, while the west summit reportedly stands about 3 feet lower than the named summit, CalTopo shows the west summit to be slightly higher. Other topographical maps disagree, so I guess it's still inconclusive which is taller. Either way, Kevin and I called it good at the named summit, which seems to be what most parties do, so there's that.
As mentioned, the FSR to where we parked is in reasonably good shape by South Coast standards at least. That said, there are numerous cross ditches which become progressively bigger the farther one drives, so a 4x4 of some sort is recommended. We couldn't drive to the end of the road mind you, as the ditches after ~8 km were too big and deep even for my truck. No matter though, as it's not much of a walk to the obvious cutblock we crossed to access the lower SE Ridge. We then dove into forest for a bit aiming for a talus gully to the right of the cliffs directly ahead. Some inconsequential brush both before and after the gully, mostly blueberry bushes, before reaching the crest. Continuing up, we took a meandering path weaving along either side of the ridge avoiding minor obstacles and whatnot before reaching open terrain above. Had our first unobstructed view of the scramble portion of the route from here - an aesthetic buttress of grayish rock cast against the deep blue sky. This is what we came here for!
Started up the rock, enjoying the fun scrambling, mostly 3rd-class with opportunities for more if you go looking for it. Sticking to the crest as much as possible seemed to offer the most excitement, with a short semi-exposed slab pitch on the lower third being the highlight for me. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and the ridge abruptly terminates into a large sloping plateau. The true summit now was just a short walk across and up the final knob away. Kevin and I relaxed up there for a good while admiring the views - Tulameen to the northeast; Hatfield, Outram, Dewdney and Snass to the east; Silvertip, Rideout and Payne to the south; southwest towards Slesse and Rexford with Baker in the distance; and finally, WSW past Grant towards the Cheam Range peaks. Good stuff! The west summit looked interesting and tantalizingly close at hand, but we were satisfied with MacLeod proper and so didn't bother. Returned the way we came for a whopping 5-hour day round-trip (3 hrs to summit).
Hopped on the Blackcomb Gondola for the second time this summer courtesy of my Epic Pass. I was keen on a lift-served scramble of some sort, something I'd not been up before and doable as an easy day trip. Just beyond Decker Mountain, Mount Trorey fit the bill quite nicely. Studying the topo's, I the views were certain to be incredible, and despite it being much more popular in the winter, at least one report suggested that it makes for a great warm season scramble as well. Furthermore, the approach seemed like a breeze, with a good network of trails to Blackcomb Lake and beyond past lower Disease Ridge. The formal trail ends in the basin below Decker's west slopes, whereupon the way continues over the next rib onto some talus then traverses a wide tundra slope before turning into the next basin between Decker and Trorey. More talus now, descending into said basin for a bit before working back up the other side to finally gain a saddle on the ridge that connects the two peaks. Whatever glacier that once existed here has long since vanished leaving behind a couple dirty ice patches and a tarn or two.
The view changes dramatically once reaching the saddle, with a heavily fractured Trorey Glacier cradled in the large cirque on the north side of the ridge. This complements the already stunning vista looking south towards the mighty Overlord and Cheakamus glaciers. Easy walking along the ridge, aiming for a prominent gully on Trorey's NW Ridge/Face. Some fun hands-on scrambling up blocky rock for the finish, reaching the large summit area shortly thereafter. Views galore as predicted - to the NW towards Decker, Blackcomb, Spearhead and Phalanx; Wedge and James Turner to the north; east towards the Spearhead Traverse peaks of Pattison, Tremor, Shudder and others; south towards Fitzsimmons and company, Castle Towers and Mamquam; and finally E to SE overlooking Whistler with the Cayley/Fee volcanic complex, peaks and glaciers on the Ashlu-Elaho Divide, and of course the unmistakable Tantalus Range. Hot Damn! That's some bang for the buck right there!
Was reluctant to leave that glorious perch, but alas I had an appointment with the gondola which I didn't want to miss! Bid the summit raven adieu and started back down, finding my way back to the manicured trails of Blackcomb and finally the gondi station without issue. Hadn't been out that far past Blackcomb since the Spearhead Traverse back in April 2004; clearly a revisit was long overdue!
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