From highway 93/95, drive south of Canal Flats and find the Whiteswan FSR on the east side. Follow the service road for 6.5 kilometers to Branch H (south side), 918546; park well off the busy road. We hiked the road for 2.2 kilometers leaving it at 920540 to head south, ascending a cutblock. We followed a skid road, due south, then entered some timber before reaching the landing we were aiming for, 921536. From there, we bushwhacked straight up to a highpoint, 922529, before dipping slightly and ascending to the summit plateau. Once at the northern end of the plateau, trek to the southern end where the treed summit is located; a GPS is useful to locate the true summit, 920488.
The first time we came, the snow on the road and clearings was firm but the ascent in the trees to the summit plateau was a ridiculous nightmare. We reached the plateau at 2:30 PM, we were gutted! With 4 kilometers remaining to reach the top, we decided to enjoy the sun and come back.
Charles joined us for this second try. We met at the trailhead and quickly got on the way. There was no overnight freeze, we punched in a little more than last weekend; it was especially bad in the clearings before our uptrack in the trees. Once on that track, the ascent was straightforward and relatively pleasant; all the postholing from our previous trip formed a bomber route up to the summit plateau. We reached the plateau almost 2 hours ahead of our first try, feeling fresh for the upcoming trek. The wind was howling and fat flakes started to come down hard. I squinted as I followed and couldn't help feeling that I was trudging on a post-apocalyptic landscape. The denuded plateau with its occasional stand of trees combined with the weather and uniform grey sky sure reinforced that. After skirting a false summit and taking a GPS reading, we dipped down and started climbing the last stretch. The trees were big and nicely spaced, it was snowing even harder but we were kinda sheltered. We joined Charles on the highpoint indicated on his GPS and quickly retreated in the big timber for a break. It wasn't that cold but we were getting damp from the snow, we stayed long enough to grab a bite. When we left, I stood on another highpoint indicated by Fab's GPS, just in case! While returning, the sun tried breaking through on and off. Before entering the forest for the descent, we were lucky to have some sun for another nice break.
