From
Parson, turn on the Spillimacheen FSR and ignore all side roads. After
17 kilometers, continue straight at a fork; follow the main service
road. At 55.7 kilometers, 863694, turn right and follow the
high-clearance road for 4.2 kilometers to the trailhead, 828714. From
the trailhead, head north-east and
bushwhack towards a south-west facing rib situated climber's right of a
prominent drainage, 831730; ascend the rib to the ridge proper.
Continue along the ridge up a false summit, 839740. A couple of
possibilities exist here; either follow the connecting ridge heading
north-east towards the summit (most direct) or drop down the south-east
ridge to about 842735 and descend into the bowl on the north side.
**This is the way we used given that there was a cornice over the
north-eastern connecting ridge. Once in the bowl, the saddle, 840741,
is easily gained. Follow the ridge to the top. It is also possible to
ascend/descend another rib, 837727, that connects the false summit's
south-east ridge; locate the cutblock next to the access road before
the
trailhead, 832714.
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Saturday evening at the trailhead, drinking wine and writing.
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The following morning, I'm all geared up for the wetness. |
Scramble:
RT 8.25; 5.25 up. Like Springer Peak, Foxhound Peak
has recently been given a dog related name by Bivouac given that it's
part of the Dogtooth Range. My objective for the weekend was
Copperstain Mountain but with a forecast of 100% rain, I decided to
downscale to plan B. Charles had been working long hours, he was keen
to join me despite the dismal weather. He drove from Calgary to meet at
the trailhead on saturday night. I packed and left after work. I was
surprised to see snow on the service road; only a couple of kilometers
away from the trailhead, I decided to park instead of risking getting
stuck. There was fresh bear prints in the snow so I chose to spend the
evening in the truck, it was raining anyway... By 10 PM, Charles rolled
in; we exchanged greetings and retired for the night. The next morning
it was raining heavily, I suited up with my rain gear. We hiked the
road to the trailhead and bushwhacked through the soaked undergrowth
towards our objective. Although hiking with rain gear is awkward, it
kept me warm and dry; an appropriate choice for today. Firm snow
patches
in the forest were useful. As we progressed further up, snow coverage
increased and rain turned to snow. Visibility was next to nil and soon
we
were plodding through shin-deep snow. Once on the ridge, we walked to
the false summit; blizzard conditions made it feel like winter again.
Because of a cornice, we never saw the connecting ridge that leads to
the summit. We followed the wrong ridge until we noticed we were losing
too much height. We made plans to correct our route; this
involved dropping in a bowl and gaining the saddle on the connecting
ridge. This option was a bit complex given the current conditions and
lack of visibility. We dismissed backtracking to the false summit, we
figured that negotiating the cornice and loaded steep ridge would also
involve some challenge. I glissaded into the bowl, Charles followed and
we proceeded blindly towards the
saddle. When we were close enough, I was able to pick the safest way up
to the saddle. This decision making was a good exemple of
"calculated risks". With this behind us, we
carried on to the top. Just before the summit, we had to sidehill
a steep exposed snow slope and scramble a short buttress; we were
thrilled to finally step on the summit. We didn't stay long, it was
cold and windy. We backtracked to the saddle and decided to forgo the
connecting ridge to the false summit; from what we could see, it looked
like the steep upper section of the connecting ridge would be indeed
tricky... Instead, we followed our steps
back up the south-east ridge with the intention of beelining straight
down to the cutblock near our vehicles. Once at treeline, we took a
good break sheltered from the wind; I built another snowman for an
American friend. We resumed an easy descent, reached the cutblock and
arrived no more than 100 meters from the vehicles. Overall this trip
was very satisfying, why waste a good rainy day!!!
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We parked before the old trailhead due to snow on the road.
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At the trailhead, it's pouring...
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Bushwhacking towards our ascent ridge.
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Snow cover increases and visibility decreases as rain turns to snow.
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Shin-deep fresh snow at treeline.
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On the ridge.
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A rocky point precedes the false summit.
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Leaving the false summit on the wrong ridge.
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With a little extra effort, we made it on the saddle between the false summit and true summit.
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On the summit ridge.
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True summit ahead!
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Looking back as Charles finishes crossing a steep snow slope.
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Flashing my great mountain wear...
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GPS reading just to make sure since we can't see anything!
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A glimpse at the summit ridge and saddle below.
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Heading back down.
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Visibility has improved slightly.
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Dipping back in the bowl. |
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Climbing back up to the false summit's south-east ridge.
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Booking it down another rib adjacent (and south-east) to the one we climbed.
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Almost at treeline, it's still snowing.
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Taking a break sheltered in the trees; another snowman for John!
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Working our way towards the cutblock.
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In the cutblock, yippee!
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