From
highway 1, drive along Three Valley Lake. Look for the 3Val-Mabel FSR,
958432, and stay on the Wap Lake FSR until you reach the Frog Falls
Recreation Site. Shortly after, cross over a bridge and turn left
on 3 Valley Gap-Mable-South Pass (BR.4), 954390. Continue on this road;
at 960389 and 964387, go straight, heading east towards the valley
between Joss Mountain Lookout and Mount English. After 5 kilometers, indicated
by road markers, turn left at an
intersection, 982377; from there, road markers reset at zero. At the 9018/0
spur road, go right, 984397 (3-kilometer marker). Turn left at the .150 sign,
003378; then you will see the 5-kilometer marker. Go straight (left)
at
994375. After the 7-kilometer marker, switchback left; following
another switchback, continue to the landing and the end of the road,
006372. Locate the skid trail and hike for about 150 meters. The next
part is tricky! A crude trail that leads to a sub-alpine lake, 016372,
exists. It is difficult to find on the way up; however, it's hard
to miss on the descent. Look for flagging tape on the north side that heads towards
the upper margin of the cutblock; the trail heads in a north-easterly
direction to the lake's shallow drainage, 012375. Then, it roughly
follows the drainage to a boulder bench above the lake, 015373. From
there, a climbing traverse through burnt timber leads to Mount
English's south-facing slopes and vast meadows. Circumvent the
south-west sub-peak and aim for high meadows below Mount English's
official summit, 031376. Continue a climbing traverse towards a
prominent
break in the ridgeline; the goal is to find the straightforward scree
gully, 040378, that delivers on the ridge climber's right of the
obstacle, 040380. Follow the ridge to the highest peak, 050382. Along the way, bypass the false
summit on its northern aspect;
negotiating the glacier may be necessary.
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Ready for hiking on a perfect day.
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Following
a skid trail through the cutblock, two options exist. Continue to the
far end and bushwhack to the sub-alpine lake, or try locating the crude
trail which skirts the left margin of the cutblock in the forest
(easier said than done).
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It took us 20 minutes to find the crude trail.
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RT 11.5; 7.5 up. When we climbed
Joss Mountain, Milan noticed a logging road that nearly accessed the
sub-alpine of Mount English's south side; the road looked in good shape.
Just as fresh snow announced the
arrival of winter, we decided to take a look. We drove to the
landing without mishap and hiked the skid road to its end. Easy
climbing through the open forest led us to the sub-alpine lake; we were
unaware of the crude trail's existence. We continued to the high
meadows
in ankle-deep snow. Low fog obscured the bluffs that guard the
ridge; additionally, due to the lack of beta for this objective, we
guessed our way up according to what we could see. Subsequently, we
ascended steep scree slopes at the far end
of the ridge, under the false summit. As we neared the
ridge, the terrain steepened, the wind picked up, and daylight
dwindled. We reluctantly opted
to abort; in hindsight, this was a good decision
as we were still quite far from the highest point. While descending,
after backtracking past the sub-alpine lake and the boulders, we
stumbled
on a crude trail. Back at the truck, we vowed to return. 2023 wasn't
a prosperous year for mountain trips; however, we got to "close the
book" on Mount English. After parking, we headed up the skid road. Even
with knowledge of the crude trail, we had trouble finding it. We
travelled the margin of the cutblock in the forest until we stumbled
upon it. We continued beyond the sub-alpine lake and the high meadows
as
we had before. This time, good visibility allowed us to investigate
possible ascent lines to the ridge. On our first route,
difficult scrambling led to a hidden canyon feature. After
backtracking, we went around the buttress that we failed to climb and
noticed a scree gully; from below on the
approach, the gully wasn't visible. To our delight, this route offered
an easy option for gaining
the ridge. The ridge hike is pleasant and scenic. Circumventing the
false summit requires to skirt the
upper edge of the glacier; without crampons, that was
challenging. The connecting ridge of Mount English's highest point and
true summit
offers some sections of moderate scrambling. Note that the official
summit is easier to ascend and much closer. This objective is very
satisfying; it has a bit of everything: good access, a
straightforward route with no heinous bushwhacking, moderate
challenges,
and fantastic views from a lofty peak. No doubt Mount English will gain
popularity. |
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The shallow drainage that precedes the sub-alpine lake.
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The sub-alpine lake unravels from the boulder field; we travelled on its left (north) side.
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Random hiking through burnt timber.
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Trees give way to vast meadows.
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Executing a climbing traverse towards the prominent break in the ridgeline.
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Joss Mountain across the valley.
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We're searching for a weakness in the bluffs to the east of the prominent break in the ridgeline.
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The arrow indicates a straightforward scree gully giving access to the ridge proper.
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Our initial route was a "no go".
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However, around the buttress, we discovered this scree gully.
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We agreed this route is easy.
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From the
gully, we ascended a talus slope to the ridge. In the back is the
officially named Mount English that is lower than its eastern
sub-peaks.
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Ominous fire north-west of us towards the Anstey Range.
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Our objective is on the far left.
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Looking back.
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The traverse looks achievable.
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Circumventing the sub-peak requires negotiating the top section of the glacier.
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Getting closer.
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Looking at the vast glacier that covers Mount English's east aspect.
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Travelling on the ridge is scenic and pleasant.
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Some moderately easy scrambling ahead.
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At the top, yippee!!!!
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The view towards Revelstoke, to the east.
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Impressive glaciated peaks south-east of us.
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To the south, the last big mountains before the Interior Plateau.
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Beyond
Revelstoke's Mountain Resort is Rogers Pass (far left), Selkirk Lodge
(center), and Battle Abbey to the right; the best backcountry skiing
real estate in BC.
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Time to head back.
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The sub-peak ahead is also higher than the official summit.
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Descending the talus slope to the access scree gully.
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Beautiful meadow flowers along the way.
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