| From
Golden, drive west on highway 1 and exit at
Donald. Head north
on the Bush River FSR (gravel). Continue in a north-westerly
direction staying on the main road, keeping track of the yellow
kilometer markers
along the side; the harbour is at kilometer 42. Park there or at the
start of Chaperon's access road, past the 43 marker, 610341. It is
possible to drive partway with a truck, we chose an ATV to reach the
landing at the end of the road, 670295. Hike on the skid road and
continue into the draw, 683287. Gain the north-west ridge, the summit
is a short distance away. |
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Unloading at the
harbour. |
| Scramble:
RT 7.75; 3.75 up (from the landing). It's
hard to wrap up the hiking season when the weather is persistently
fine. I had a good feeling we could still reach high places using an
ATV, Chaperon Mountain is a good candidate for such a trip. We drove to
the
harbour, parked and unloaded the ATV as it got light; some people were
putting their boat on the water to go fishing. We quickly located the
15-kilometer access road and climbed 1,100 meters in height to the
landing; driving a truck would be sporty on the
upper stretch of the road. The snow had a firm crust that
supported our weight without snowshoes. We casually plodded in the back
of the draw with minimal bushwhacking and effort. The upper slopes in
the bowl were scoured, leaving a choice of frozen scree or shallow wind
affected snow. We proceeded carefully and reached the summit ridge
as the weather changed. We continued to the summit losing visibility
with height. Our stay was pleasant, it wasn't windy. The multi-level
clouds cleared at times, enough to get a peek at the northern view!
Returning was
fast, especially the quading part, hihihi! |
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Beginning of the
access road on the right. |
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Not too much snow so
far. |
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Leaving the ATV at
the landing. |
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Warm temperatures
followed by a cold snap created a strong crust; no snowshoes required. |
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Short distance and
minimal bushwhacking. |
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Enjoying this trek. |
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Nearing the back of
the draw. |
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Several options, we
ascended the snow left center. |
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The snow offered
better footing than frozen scree. |
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Low clouds are
moving in. |
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Looking back. |
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Almost on the ridge
crest. |
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Low visibility on
the ridge. |
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Looking through the
clouds. |
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Going up until it
tapers at the top. |
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Clouds lift and
reveal the northern view. |
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Whoot, whoot! |
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Yep, winter is just
around the corner... |
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Leaving the fine
viewpoint for a better view. |
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Kinbasket Lake is
grand. |
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Aiming for a good
line in the snow. |
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Enough snow for a
glissade. |
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Oh yeah! |
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Casually returning
to the landing. |
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Back at the iron
steed for a speedy return to the harbour. |
| Back
to home page |
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