| Drive west of Radium and get
onto the Horsethief Creek FSR. Follow it heading west; go straight at a
four-way junction, 607057 and left at 575045. This road, indicated on
the topo, has yellow km markers; we parked about 100 m. past the 22 km
(grassy pull-off), 495028. We hiked up on a skid road, and after about
20 minutes, went through a barbed fence. From there, we climbed
while veering right, towards the ascent drainage. We
traveled on the west side of the drainage, eventually crossing over to
the light timbered east side, near 506042. Higher up, we followed the
drainage to open terrain. Grassy slopes lead to bluffs but unseen from
below, the gully continues uninterrupted to the south ridge. From there
the top is minutes away. |
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Mount Forster and
its ascent gully seen from Mount Bruce. |
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Following a skid
road at the start. |
| Scramble: RT 6.75; 4.0 up. This
trip turned out to be a great local scramble. I had been looking at
Forster for a while and with winter still in mind, I proposed an ascent
up a south-west facing treed rib. Fab suggested we go up the south-east
gully instead, allowing fast, pleasant travel on snow and a more direct
route. We were both thrilled to try Fab's route but a bit concerned
with a tight section seen on Google Earth. Anyway, off we went, leaving
early. We started on a skid road under a hazy sky. Hiking in this
thinly forested area was nice; several old roads lead to previous
logging activity. Once in the open drainage, the outing was
quite enjoyable. We hiked to the bluffs and followed the
lower gully filled with firm snow; man, it doesn't get any better! We
soon reached the cleavage in the rockband and to our delight,
it was bridged with snow and passable. Beyond there, we stood in a
steep bowl. The great scenery was overshadowed by my haste to get to
the summit ridge. From there, we easily made it to the top, which was
surprisingly windy! The western view is spectacular. We didn't stay very
long, quickly heading down the same way. After passing the
cleavage, we stopped for a well-deserved break. Thanks Fab, this was a
good one! |
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Previously logged,
this terrain was nice for travelling. |
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Taking a break and
checking our position. |
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The ascent drainage
opens up. |
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By veering climber's
right, the gully is followed to a cleavage. |
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The gully was filled
with firm snow, fantastic! |
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The cleavage finally
comes into view, bridged by avalanche debris. |
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Above the cleavage
we notice the summit. |
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From here,
we scramble up to the ridge; right of the cornice. |
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The summit is
quickly accessed. |
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Posing next to the
cairn with an eastern background. |
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Mount Nelson, Mount
Slade and Mount Law behind Fab. |
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Looking towards
Starbird Range. |
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Impressive Mount
Farnham. |
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The quick descent to
the upper gully. |
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Avalanche hazard
should be considered for this route. |
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Feeling rather small
in this exposed situation. |
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Descending fast,
down the cleavage. |
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Casually heading
down the drainage after a good glissade on a garbage bag. |
| Back
to home page |
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