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laughingman
Mountain climber
Seattle WA
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Feb 11, 2012 - 01:52am PT
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Anything up in the Waddington range is cool....
I took this picture at the top of a random pass when I traversed the range a year ago.
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Rattlesnake Arch
Social climber
Home is where we park it
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Feb 11, 2012 - 05:46am PT
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And maybe even Scrambles among the Canadian Rockies
I thought that was a collection of alpine descent routes. Descents give me the willies...
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Social climber
Retired to Appalachia
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Feb 11, 2012 - 09:05am PT
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lostinshanghai has some advice, the Canadian Ballet is most excellent.
The Bugaboos are simply spectacular, if you had only one trip I can't see why you'd consider going anywhere else.
On another note....
A guy from BC wants to become a Newfie (a Newfoundlander). So he goes to a neurosurgeon for a conversion procedure.
The surgeon informs him that it's a simple procedure, he just has to remove half of the man's brain and he will become a Newfie.
However, the brain surgery goes terrible wrong, and the surgeon has to remove the man's ENTIRE brain. He explains the problems to the patient in the recovery room, to which the patient responds....
"Qu'est-ce que vous dites?"
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Feb 11, 2012 - 12:19pm PT
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Yamnuska is a poor choice compared to the Ghost River.
The Bugs are a good choice for 2 reasons:
1. if the weather is good you are guaranteed to have a great time.
2. if the weather is bad you can easily bail and be climbing somewhere else in a few hours.
If you end up in the Rockies just remember that most climbing under 5.8 has some (or lots) of dubious rock. The crux on a technical Rockies alpine route may not be the 5.9 or 5.10, but could be the loose 5.7 pitch with bad anchors and bad pro. Most of the big faces have a few bands of horrible rock.
Bring pitons.
Many of the big Rockies mixed routes are best climbed outside of the summer season
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Feb 11, 2012 - 01:05pm PT
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AP brings up a good point and one that took me a few trips to figure out...
the Rockies as a range is so long South-to-North that it is likely you'll find good climbing weather someplace along the range.
If it's bad where you are, you can bail to another place... but it is a very long range, so it takes time to actually execute the bail... we did it once from the Bugs to the Tetons... very good trip, had 5 days of climbable weather in the Bugs, and another 5 days in the Tetons...
So have a number of targets in mind, and divert to your alternative targets if the weather isn't favorable.
I learned what the Alpine guides meant when they would state that the peaks were "out of condition" climbing in Canada...
oh, and I forgot to say: "you're gonna die, eh?"
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Timmc
climber
BC
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Feb 11, 2012 - 02:12pm PT
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Alpine rockclimbing? Sir Donald. Perfect quartzite and a real summit.
A Mountain? I think East Ridge of Temple has it all. Good rock, bad rock, routefinding, perfect finish on snow/ice.
Both of these are approached right off the pavement and are in 50 Crowded Climbs. Both excellent.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Feb 11, 2012 - 06:28pm PT
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the last post brings up an idea:
The Alpine Quartzite Trip.
1. Sw ridge Mt Gimli
2. Drive up the valley and go cragging near Revelstoke
3. NW ridge on Mt Sir Donald
4. Crag at the back of Lake Louise
5. East ridge of Mt Temple (bottom half is quartzite)
6. Grand Sentinal
7. Drive to just south of Jasper and crag at Lost Boys
8. N face or East ridge Edith Cavell or hike into the Ramparts and climb Geike
This trip would be quite efficient in terms of driving/approach times except for the Ramparts and has great climbing in fabulous scenery on great rock. In between trips visit the local brewpub.
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Timmc
climber
BC
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Feb 12, 2012 - 07:15am PT
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Thanks Jim,
Fires added to the haze that day IIR.
Bruce: I like your East Ridge bonanza.
How a about a Conrad Kain FA summer blitz?
Robson, Mt Louis, Bugaboo, N. Howser, etc
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Feb 12, 2012 - 07:12pm PT
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All the above is great stuff, but the Coast Mountains seem under-represented. To get a feel for the Coast Mountains in the old, classic sense, how about an “In the footsteps of Dick Culbert” tour?
1. Hike into Garibaldi Park and do the Table, solo.
2. Bushwhack into the Touch and Go Towers and make the second ascent of the Teapot (dismal rock on both this and the Table, but rotten rock was one of Dick's strengths).
3. Beat the shakes induced by the above two by doing Ten Years After on the Chief.
4. Walk into Mt. Habrich and do either Gambit Grooves or the Nose.
5. Continue hiking into the nearby Sky Pilot area and take in Tombstone Tower by the south ridge (Culbert route) or by the north edge, or both. Continue up Ledge by the west ridge (not a Culbert first, but enjoyable).
6. From Vancouver, drive up the Valley and take a side trip to the south face of Hozameen (probably 2 ascents to date). This one is just inside the U.S., so you can skip it if you want to.
7. Fly into the Waddington area climb Serra V by the Radiant Glacier headwall – the 2nd ascent of the first ascent route. On your walk out, stop by the Pantheon Range to do the Cyclops by the very steep snow on the north face (2nd ascent of the route, and 3rd of the peak). Come back next winter to make the second winter ascent of Waddington itself.
8. Drive to Bella Coola, then walk (5 days by Dick's route) into the Monarch Mtn area. Do The Throne then follow up with Monarch itself, a fine pair of climbs, one on rock and one on ice.
9. Drive north to Smithers or Terrace, and walk or fly into the Howson Range. To follow Dick’s footsteps, it’s best to make a two-week-long solo bushwhack through swamp country to reach the east side of the range (much of this is logged now, so it might only take 4 days). Cross to the west side of the range and climb Old Barrel Sides on classic Culbert “class 4 overhangs.” While you are in the area, why not do the wonderful Hagwilget Arete, so spectacular from Hazelton?
10. Head off to the Devil’s Thumb on the BC-Alaska border. Climb it by the complete east ridge (in 50 Classic Climbs, I believe). Do a few other things in the area, then top it off with an ascent of the Cats Ears Spire.
11. On your way back to Vancouver,, detour to Vancouver Island and do the great east face of Mt. Colonel Foster.
Bush, solid rock, rotten rock, snow and ice, river crossings, history, and remote country. You’ve got it all! Bring really good rain gear.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Feb 12, 2012 - 07:47pm PT
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Tri, I think he only wants to do one classic, in this lifetime. :-)
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Feb 12, 2012 - 07:55pm PT
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The Coast is almost a different Country - Squamish for example has many of its own threads. My first Mountain was actually Black Tusk.
How about the Anderson River Area - some serious big stuff in there that I was close to checking out myself last summer
It's such a big and beautiful Country
Yes, big and beautiful. And the Coast Mtns are very different from the Rockies (they're beautiful, too).
Black Tusk? Most people don't go to the highest peak. Dick did it solo, at age 18 or so.
I didn't put the Anderson Rivers or Chehalis in my "Culbert" list, because Dick didn't do any of the big routes there. But the Chehalis would have to be on any modern classic list. See http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1525672/The-Chehalis-Peaks for a Chehalis thread.
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Feb 12, 2012 - 07:58pm PT
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Tri, I think he only wants to do one classic, in this lifetime. :-)
Yes, that's what the o.p. wants. But how can you restrict things to just one classic. Waddington by any route would be my pick, for ONE classic.
BTW, Culbert did all those climbs (and a few 100 more) before age 35 or so. Sorry for the thread drift....
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Feb 12, 2012 - 08:02pm PT
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Bring really good rain gear.
or just a lot of light plastic and tech wool baselayers and then some trash bags. gore-tex wont matter. the water is going to get into everything.
trenchfoot and whiteout r yr coast range friends.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Feb 12, 2012 - 08:28pm PT
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What's for dinner?
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Feb 12, 2012 - 08:38pm PT
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Well, since the OP's avatar is Munge perhaps not but he is from California
so he really should realize what might transpire if he listens to yous guys.
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bmacd
Mountain climber
100% Canadian
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Feb 12, 2012 - 08:45pm PT
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The fact that Sick Culbert is still alive says a lot ....
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Feb 12, 2012 - 10:08pm PT
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why does this sadistic/masochistic thread make me want to get my arse up there?
So many potential objectives, so little time.
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grover
climber
Northern Mexico
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Feb 12, 2012 - 10:22pm PT
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why does this sadistic/masochistic thread make me want to get my arse up there?
So many potential objectives, so little time.
You said it HT.
Ever since this thread started, I've been thumbing guide books and scheming/dreaming for this spring.
Thanks Munge!!!1166!
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Feb 12, 2012 - 10:26pm PT
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pnw rocks.
no doubt about it.
esp. now that there's climbing gyms
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Tricouni
Mountain climber
Vancouver
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Feb 12, 2012 - 11:44pm PT
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Feb 12, 2012 - 06:21pm PT
. In that list of epics... er, I mean classics he came up with he neglected to mention he authored a fair number of them himself
Riley:
Why else would someone give such a list of heinous adventure for some poor unsuspecting soul.
Not to sandbag anyone, for sure. Just to point out, as Riley did upthread, that it's a different world than the Rockies and the style of mountaineering is different. Apples and oranges, IMO. Not that there's anything at all wrong with the Rockies, and I can see why people fall in love with them. But it's a bit like saying "I'm going to Europe and I'm only going to look at one historic site, museum, whatever." What do you pick? Chartres Cathedral? The Parthenon? The Alhambra? The Vatican? Same in Canada.
When I did pick my "one" classic Canadian route, I forgot the obvious, and I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned it: the Serl-Croft-Foweraker Waddington traverse of the 2 main peaks of Wadd, then up and over Combattant, Tiedemann, Asperity, the Serras, and so down to the Plummer Hut. A classic anywhere in the world.
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