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highway 93/95 south of Invermere, head east on Windermere Loop Road.
Follow for about 3 kilometers and turn left onto the Westroc Mine Road.
At 772941, continue on Westroc, keeping right. Find a service road on
the north side, just before the active gypsum mine, 803931. This
service road climbs the south-west flank of Mount Bryan. We followed
the road for 5 kilometers to the ascent drainage, 813937 and parked on
the side of the road. There are water bars, a high clearance vehicle is
recommended. Hike up the lightly timbered terrain in the drainage.
Higher up, several options exists. I followed a sparsely treed rib
climber's left of the drainage. Once on the summit ridge, the top is a
short distance away. |
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We parked after veering off the Westroc Mine Road. |
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Starting up the access drainage. |
| Snowshoe trip: RT 5.0; 3.25 up. This was a nice
outing for this time of the year. A good access and a short, easy
scramble seemed perfect for this gray, fall weekend. Fab agreed to
come along and try it despite suffering from flu symptoms.
Unsure of the amount of snow at 1,500 meters, we brought the quad for
the last section of access. The hiking in the drainage was pleasant.
About halfway up, Fab told me to go ahead; blocked sinuses and general
lack of energy prevented him from enjoying himself, even just a little.
I continued as quick as I could, thinking "it's not going to take that
long". The thinning treeline did not offer much protection from the
wind and it seemed to never end. Past the last trees, I got a glimpse
of the obscured, rounded mound of rocks: the summit. Dotted by a small
cairn, I was still compelled to take a GPS reading because of the lack of
visibility. At the same time, I took some pictures and quickly froze my
hands. No sense hanging around! I raced back down to the trees. In the meantime, Fab strolled around for a view. We soon met
up again, thanks for the support Honey. |
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Travelling near the forest's edge. |
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Open terrain and shallow snowpack. |
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Straightforward even with little visibility. |
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Rimed trees higher up. |
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Barely visible, the summit is beyond the trees. |
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The small cairn is almost buried. |
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Gray beyond the mound. |
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Sunrays momentarily filter through as I look back. The top is behind the bigger trees. |
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The backside of Four Points Mountain, heavily scarred by the active gypsum mine. |
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Backtracking. |
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Fab climbed above the bluffs for a view. |
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