Via Welsh Lakes.
Ref: Aaron Cameron and Matt Gunn's Hikes
around
Invermere & the Columbia River Valley.
From the south end of the Upper Welsh Lake, 348067, head south-west
past a tarn onto the Centaurus Glacier. Travel on the glacier towards
Alpha Centauri's south-east ridge. I gained the ridge using a rock rib
followed by a short snow slope. From there, I immediately dropped on
the south-west aspect and traversed heading north-west towards the
summit. |
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Before climbing to
the lakes, we put the dog booties on. |
| Scramble:
RT 5.0; 3.0 up (from Upper Welsh Lake). Once again a fabulous weekend
backpacking with the dogs in one of our favorite areas. The dogs did
very well with their new booties; they prevented wear on their pads
from the rocks. We followed a good trail to the upper lake and
set camp at treeline. This place is very scenic, high up in the small
trees the surrounding view is unobstructed but bordered by the nearby
sheer walls of Carmarthen Peak. The night was cool, dogs content and
bugs almost absent; quite restful. The following morning, I left early
and started climbing on the glacier rather quickly. I got good pictures
of another possible way up through the Alpha Centauri/ Carmarthen col.
The plod on the glacier is straightforward, there is a bergschrund
which is bypassed climber's left. The rock rib I followed to gain the
ridge offers moderate scrambling on good rock. At the top of it, I put
my crampons on for the following short snow section. Once on the ridge,
I picked my way down a bit in order to facilitate an easy traverse. I
climbed to a saddle left of a sub-peak and got my first glance at the
summit block. Still on the south-west side, I continued traversing to
the top. I was elated to be standing next to the cairn; the view is
amongst some of the bests. Tucked in the cairn is a pill
container filled with some entries but there is no pencil. I
was
careful to remember key features on my way down, I quickly stood at the
snow leading to the rock rib. Slightly nervous, I carefully proceeded
down;
minutes thereafter, I was back on the glacier. The return is fast; I
was back in camp before noon just in time to pack up. This trip is
primo, well worth the effort! |
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Back of Middle Welsh
Lake and Connemara Peak. |
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Rocky terrain
leading to the upper lake. |
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Some snow cooled the
dogs and offered entertainment. |
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Slightly above the
upper lake, we set camp. |
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An overview of
Centaurus Glacier and my ascent to the south-east ridge.
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I chose to go along
the east (left) shore of the tarn. |
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North Star Peak
above the col, suggesting another way up Alpha Centauri or Carmarthen. |
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A natural ramp veers
away from the bergschrund. |
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Solid grippy rock, a
good alternative to the steep snow slopes. |
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The snow slope along
the rock. |
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On the south-west
side of the ridge, I traversed to a saddle left of the sub-peak. |
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From the saddle, the
summit block reveals itself. |
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Eyebrow (left of
center) and Birthday Peaks. |
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Impressive North
Star Peak. |
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Summit cairn and
unofficial register. |
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Middle Welsh Lake
and the tarn above the upper lake (hidden). |
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The arrow indicates
the saddle at the sub-peak. |
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Looking west towards
Gwendoline Mountain. |
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Below
the saddle,
I retrace my way back to the snow slope and rock rib. |
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Looking back at the
short section on snow. |
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Coming down the rock
rib. |
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The rock rib in the
middle of two steep snow slopes. |
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Upper Welsh Lake.
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Fab and the dogs
awaiting my return. |
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Mount Alpha Centauri
from our camp. |
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A nice trail ahead
to finish off the trip. |
| Back
to home page |
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