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Saturday, September 7, 2024
Whitecap & McGillivray - via McGillivray Pass, July 2023
Wes and I teamed-up for a chill 3-day trip to Whitecap Mountain. At over 9500 feet, the peak ranks as the third highest in SWBC - a loosely-defined region that includes the Greater Vancouver area, the Fraser Valley and Sunshine Coast, and north to include areas around Whistler, Pemberton and Lillooet. Whitecap also happens to be an "ultra" with over 5000 ft of prominence, a fact not lost on local peakbaggers as the mountain is visible from great distances and stands well above everything else in its immediate vicinity. Its name most likely stems from the prominent snow patch that's visible on the summit plateau well into the summer months - a feature which thanks to the peak's stature helps make it a darn hard mountain to ignore!
The standard South Route which we took is approached via the Hurley FSR, then heads east past Bralorne and follows Kingdom Lakes FSR for several kilometers before stopping at a spur shortly past Piebiter Creek. We parked here adjacent to the main road and proceeded on foot up along the spur, following it into the Standard Creek Valley. The old road quickly becomes a trail as it continues into the valley past several derelict mining cabins. At times hard to follow, the trail proceeds through some unpleasant bogs and pleasant meadow country to eventually reach McGillivray Pass. Took a short break here, filling up Wes' reservoir with filtered water from a small pond nearby before resuming the hike up the vegetated slope north of the pass. Endured a steep, somewhat slippery grind up this to eventually reach a prominent saddle in the ridge, whereupon we set up camp. Down the valley past McGillivray Pass we could make out a large lodge and some other structures associated with the Whitecap Alpine Lodge that operates as a ski touring and hiking basecamp in winter and summer respectively. No lights after sundown or any hint of activity suggested they weren't operating at that time. With some daylight left to spare, Wes and I headed up nearby Mount McGillivray via the obvious SE Ridge for a bonus summit with outstanding late afternoon views of the surrounding area. Back to camp with the usual freeze-dried fare for dinner, washed down with sips of tequila as we watched the alpenglow give way to a breezy, moonless night.
Up and at 'em shortly after first light, continuing now via a good trail that descends from near where we were camped into upper Connel Creek Valley. With Whitecap Mountain clearly visible before us for the entirety of the approach now, we proceeded on a long and at times bushy slog to the foot of the peak's broad SW flank. The trail passes by a couple abandoned huts/shelters (discovered only on our return to camp) before vanishing in a sea of high grass. We split up at the base of a final steep grass slope, with Wes tackling it head-on while I traversed over to the left to find a series of ledges and ramps that I followed to gain the lower SW shoulder. After regrouping, we proceeded up and eventually across a vast talus slope aiming for the summit block still seemingly a long way away. Somewhat steeper for the finish, the scrambling here never exceeds class 2, and after what seemed like an eternity finally reached the large summit plateau with the true summit still frustratingly farther away than expected. Cold and windy up there waiting for Wes, savoring the views into the Tolkien Group to the south, NW towards the Bendor Range and Mount Truax, north towards Shulaps and the peaks around Capenter Lake, and finally east towards Seton and the peaks around Anderson Lake. Fires were also burning around us, one quite close to Whitecap itself and of course the now infamous Gunn Lake Fire just off to the west.
Couldn't wait for Wes any longer thanks to the biting cold and wind and so started back down, stopping somewhere in the talus vastness thankfully now out of the wind. Returned via the ledges and ramps, Wes now taking the same route here as his from earlier entailed too much 'slide-for-life' risk. Then finally the long grind back to camp, briefly stopping to check out the huts along the way. Enjoyed another wonderful sunset that evening, despite the breeze again, polishing off the rest of the tequila before retiring to our respective tents for a well-deserved night's sleep. A somewhat lazy start the next morning, now following a semblance of trail from camp down towards McGillivray Pass, only to lose it once again in yet more steep and slick grass. Microspikes for the win here, reaching the valley floor without incident and returning to the truck a few hours later. Ducked into the Bralorne Pub for a cold brew and a burger on our way back through town before resuming the interminable drive back up n' over the Hurley to Pemberton. Another stop at Beer Farmers because, well with a name like that how could we not?? And then a final pitstop at Backcountry Brewing for some "homework" before dropping Wes off in W. Vancouver. Third highest DONE! Now if only #1 and #2 could be as simple!
Making summertime use of our Epic Pass once again, Agata and I set out for a fun day climbing Blackcomb Buttress on Blackcomb Peak. There are three buttresses (or spurs) on the SW Face of the peak, two of which are rated low fifth and typically referred to as Blackcomb Buttress. Looking up at the face from Blackcomb Lake, the spurs in question are both to the left of the one immediately adjacent to DOA Coulior. That one apparently goes at 5.7 and is appropriately named DOA Buttress. Of the two, we climbed the left-most one, which curves up and right to merge with the other buttresses at the top of a tower. Of course, all this was nearly impossible to make out in the overcast morning light and we were't sure what we were looking at until reaching the base of the route. More on that later.
Jumped on the Blackcomb Gondola about an hour or so after opening, somewhat skeptical that we'd make it back in time for the final download at 5 pm (note that 5:15 is the actual cutoff). From there we followed the Alpine Walk Trail to Overlord Trail to Lakeside Loop Trail, reaching Blackcomb Lake in good time. Looking up at our peak, the summit was in the clouds and the SW Face was shaded and featureless from our vantage point. Around the right side of the lake and then up a shitty talus slope towards what we hoped was our buttress. We knew to avoid the one to our right (DOA), and so were left to contemplate the rock face directly above us. The so-called central buttress didn't appear particularly obvious, but the spur just to the left of the final gully we had come up was quite evident and so we decided to follow it up.
Roped up at its base only to discover that I'd forgotten my belay device..uh oh! Took another look up the route: it seemed easy enough such that a hip belay would suffice for the follower. With that settled, up I go mostly scrambling with the odd 5th-ish move here and there. About 2 or 3 pitches climbing the main part of the buttress with comfortable belay ledges, great position and enough exposure to be fun but not terrifying. In hindsight, the route makes for a great scramble, depending on one's comfort level of course. Untied at a large platform just beyond the tower and scampered up easier terrain to the summit proper. Very familiar views by now, but truth be told it never gets old! Is that Mount Trorey I see just beyond Decker? Hmm...
Time as they say is 'a ticking', so down the interminable South Face talus slope into Body Bag Bowl we go before looping around back to Blackcomb Lake. We were familiar with this descent route having followed it after climbing the NW Ridge some years back, and it sucked no less than it did then! Finally, back on trail we hustled back to the gondola determined NOT to endure the hike of shame down from Rendezvous Lodge. Made it back with minutes to spare, but no overpriced apres up top for us this time. For that, it's back to the ye olde 'Gate for high fives and a couple rounds of Harp for good measure!
Mount Truax - Southeast Face/East Ridge, July 2023
Kevin and I redeemed ourselves on Truax after an aborted attempt the previous year. We were punked by active weekday logging along the Truax Creek FSR en route to the "trailhead". Went and salvaged the day hiking up nearby Green Mountain, so at least all was not lost! Fast forward a year, and we once again found ourselves bouncing down the Hurley FSR towards Goldbridge. Due to the long drive, we departed North Vancouver later in the afternoon the previous day and car camped along the Hurley at Gwyneth Lake Provincial Park. Quaint little campground with a healthy resident mosquito population and great view looking out across the lake towards the Downton Lake Wildfire burning on the south flank of Mount Penrose. This would grow out of control and burn about 56 properties along Gunn Lake. I'm still baffled why it wasn't tended to while it was still a relatively small fire; resources probably stretched too thin with all the other fires burning in BC that year I assume. Anyway, not only was it a weekend this time, but it seems that logging had ceased up there along Truax Creek FSR. Great news for us, except the recently cut water bars spaced every couple hundred feet apart were a royal pain! They also got progressively deeper the further we drove (4x4 recommended), the only relief coming after the final switchback where the road makes a long water bar-free straightaway into the valley.
We parked just before a washout and started hiking the remaining few kilometers towards road's end. We left the road at a point where it makes a sharp turn to the left, and proceeded straight into the forest ahead of us. Bits of flagging and a very faint path suggested others had come this way before us. It wasn't long before open forest gave way to a swath of debris left behind from an avalanche that ripped down from Truax's east slopes. The snow was long gone, leaving behind an unstable pile of fallen trees and dirt with a creek still flowing underneath. Travel through here was tedious and slow - went up the middle, taking care not to punch a foot into the creek, but returned via the forest along the left (east) edge on return for a somewhat better experience. Bugs were horrendous! Continued up from here soon reaching a large talus slope which we followed up and right towards the headwaters of Truax Creek. Like so many other places around Goldbridge, there used to be an active mine tucked away in the mountain here with an old road zig zagging up the talus slope and metal cables and such strewn about. It was called the Gray Rock Mine and they were mining for gold.
With Truax's South Ridge before us, we descended to the creek and crossed over to the north side. Looking up the Southeast Face, the summit seemed tantalisingly close with only a short bit of forest between us and the open slopes above. Decided that the "direttissima" was the way to go and proceeded straight up from the creek. A short bash through forest and we soon found ourselves working up grass and heather slopes. Looking back, the views were now starting to open-up, revealing a collection of craggy peaks in the Bendor Range to the south along with a large hanging lake shimmering in the mid-morning sunshine (Truax Lake). Grass and heather soon gave way to scree and talus, which we followed up into a granite amphitheater above. Fun scrambling though some steeper rock saw us to the crest of the broad East Ridge, which we followed on up to the summit plateau. A short walk later and we were on the summit where a cool breeze and stunning views awaited us!
All the usual Goldbridge-area suspects were on full display - Shulaps, Dickson, Penrose, Sloan, Cadwallader, Whitecap, and farther out we could make out Sampson, Ipsoot and even The Black Tusk way back in the distance! Great perspective on the Lillooet Icefield to the west with a ridiculously turquoise Downton Lake in foreground as well. Unfortunately, we also had front row seats to not one, not two but three wildfires burning around us - Downton Lake, another somewhere along the upper Hurley River and the third just north of Whitecap Mountain. 'Tis the season as they say! Had us a good hour or so up top before returning to the truck where cold beer was waiting! About 8 hours round-trip for a most satisfying redemption hike up the 7th tallest peak in SWBC!
The 4th and final objective of the Pebble-to-North Creek traverse. Departed the North Creek hut with Ian in the lead followed by a merry band of 7, me included. Good trail from the hut to the bouldery creek outflow draining a minor valley directly to the west. Up along the right (north) bank into some bush for a bit before exiting onto open slopes that lead on up to a crest at the head of the valley, with a large glacier on its opposite side. A short, shitty descent to the glaciers edge, where we stopped to rope up. Paired up as 2 teams of 4 with one of our party and a couple other gals from Ian's taking issue roping up with me because I'm apparently too "heavy" for their liking. Just as well I figured as the rest of us were getting fed up with the ongoing verbal sparring between these three hens since the evening prior. Far too much ego for my liking. Ian graciously ended up taking the rear of that team while I led the other group. The others got their gear sorted first and started up with us following. Came to a full stop shortly thereafter, those in front now bickering about where to go and overcome by a severe case of analysis-paralysis. Lots of squawking and not much listening as expected but miraculously after several agonizing minutes a consensus was reached, and we all began moving forward again. Up to the large glacier plateau at mid-elevation, then a sharp left towards its east margin before turning up and continuing to the upper slopes. Right up the middle or better yet along the far right looked good as well - options abound.
The leading party stopped for a rest at a rock outcropping at the upper left head of the glacier, with our group now continuing in front. I found this portion of the climb to be quite enjoyable as it ascended a series of large steps on a broad glaciated ridge. A quick turn to the south and we soon found ourselves untying and ditching our glacier gear before stepping on to dry rock on the South-Southeast Ridge. From there an enjoyable and easy scramble along the ridge leads to the summit. By then, the blue skies from earlier in the day had given way to some high cloudiness mixed with smoke presumably from the forest fire we had seen while descending Pebble Peak days earlier. Views were a bit murky therefore, but no complaints! Cut our stay short as it looked suspiciously like a thunderstorm was brewing overhead, returning to our stashed gear shortly thereafter. Back down the glacier following our up-route, with the other party soon opting to for a different route, making a large jog to the left for reasons unknown. We instead simply followed our tracks from earlier, with me taking up the rear this time.
Easy cruise back down, until the bonehead in front somehow lost the track and blindly forged his own, oblivious to any hazards that may lie ahead. The large crack coming in on from the right was apparently of no concern or not seen as a foot punched through into the unknown. No mention of this of course, endangering those following to do the same or worse. Into the hole our #2 goes, with only a backpack to stop from falling in completely. Able to self-extricate thank God after which we retreat to where we'd lost our tracks from earlier and then proceed down without further drama. Fucking idiot hour at its finest! At any rate, back to the hut after another longish day where all is forgiven for the final evening of our trip. Polished off the rest of the warm beer revelling in our successes, failures but most importantly the great experience. Lots of learning to go 'round and a damn good way to spend 7 days in the hills if you ask me!
Peak #3 on the July 2023 Pebble-to-North Creek traverse. With an early(ish) start, Miranda, Sarah, Alex, Wes and I woofed down a hasty breakfast and set out for the mighty Mount Thiassi. Started up the same trail used for Mount Sears, which by now we were familiar with having been up and down it a couple days prior. Dropped off Sears' NW Ridge where it made sense and lost about 700 feet of hard-earned vertical into upper McParlon Creek Valley, bottoming out just north of the McParlon Glacier snout. Then back up the other side over heather, snow and increasingly steep and unstable talus for about 1700 feet stopping finally at glacier's edge below Thiassi's imposing East Face. Travel by this point had slowed to a crawl, navigating over and around teetering blocks and talus resting on friable glacial till and scree of the type only a recently receded glacier leaves behind. We were a good 5 hours into the undertaking by this point and two of our party members were noticeably out of their element if not terrified by the terrain we suddenly found ourselves in. Moving safely here required a kind of wariness that comes with experience, and when asked if these two had had enough, both seemed greatly relieved by the suggestion.
Kinda new to this group leadership thing to be honest, but in the absence of anyone else recognizing the predicament we were in, I offered to hang back and guide the two back down to relative safety. Coulda turned around after doing this, but by then I'd lost my verve with the group dynamic and pursuit in general. Miranda and Wes were still keen on pushing on, which was fine by me, but despite some hemming and hawing seemed to lack confidence in proceeding without me. Curious how when things took a turn for the worse, success or failure somehow rested on my shoulders. The next time I agree to joining a party of 4 or more on objectives such as Thiassi I'll insist on a sober conversation beforehand to hash out what the expectations are of each party member and who, if anyone is in charge etc. So anyway, back down we go as a group about 800 feet and probably a good couple hours from the summit. Turns out we weren't technically on route after all and should have begun traversing lower to the SE rather than continuing up so close beneath the East Face. Unfortunately, this wasn't obvious to me at the time and none of the route beta I'd looked at prior to the climb was clear about how exactly to approach the saddle on Thiassi's SE Ridge, where the real climbing was supposed to begin. Live and learn.
Once back down on the valley floor, Wes and I decided to at least tag Mount Wesley-the continuation and highpoint of the ridge on which Mount Sears lies. We had to regain the ridge to return to the hut anyway and might as well get our butts up on top of something we figured. With the rest of our party confident they could navigate their way back independent of us, off we went up a relentless talus slope in the blazing sun towards the base of Sears to near where we did our crevasse rescue practice days earlier. Rather than continuing up and over Sears and back down the other side, we elected to traverse its east slope to reach a prominent saddle to its south. This worked out well, after which an easy but aesthetic ridge ramble on snow and finally some rock saw us to Wesley's summit. A cairn here confirmed we weren't the only ones who had come this way, despite a dearth of information on the peak to be found online or otherwise. Views were superb, like Sears only better and a decent consolation prize all things considered. Back to Pebble Hut without further difficulty for our final night before moving on to North Creek the next day. Pity about Thiassi as it is quite a trophy peak to stand atop of - perhaps someday I'll head back that way, helicopter or not!
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