Ref: Chic Scott's Summits
and Icefields.
Note:
The book describes
The Pumpkin Traverse which includes ascending Lipalian Mountain, Purple
Mound and Unity Peak respectively. To bypass Lipalian Mountain, head
to Purple Mound via Wolverine Basin. |
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On the ski-out early
morning. |
| Ski touring:
RT 8.5; 4.0 up. Outings on skis have been few and far
between this season, this was only our second time getting out.
While poor snowpack stability persists in the Purcells, conditions seem
to be improving east of the Continental Divide. We decided to ascend
Purple Mound via Wolverine Basin; this tour is fairly straightforward
and conservative. We left Fish Creek parking lot early, it took an hour
and a half to reach Temple Lodge. From there, we followed the Skoki
trail and veered towards Wolverine Basin soon thereafter. We met
up with a recent up-track, it pays to go to a busy place! Travelling
was easy, we made good progress gaining Purple Mound's wind scoured
north ridge. By 11 AM, we were at the top contemplating our second
objective of the day, Unity Peak. The traverse looks daunting from
here; a subpeak on the connecting ridge needs to be circumvented on
the south side. In the summer, this would not pose any problems but in
the winter, the route crosses sun-exposed, wind-loaded slopes.
We
decided to continue despite feeling uneasy about the terrain ahead.
Instead of skiing down 200 meters on the hazardous slope to execute a
traverse below, we hugged the rocks, staying as high as possible. About
midway around the subpeak, the recent new snow (40 cm) avalanched. The
avalanche wasn't big, maybe 40 meters wide running about 20 meters, but
we were worried about February's deeply buried weak layer... Hence, we
hurried across the hard bed
surface and nervously gained the saddle south of Unity Peak. With
diminished enthusiasm, we discussed whether it was worth risking
ascending Unity, which requires crossing more slopes of the same aspect
to reach its east ridge. We opted to return. On the way up, Fab had
scoped out a couple of lines from this saddle. With little hesitation,
we skied down in boot top powder. It was very nice
to enjoy some good turns back to the up-track. After a pleasant break,
we glided back to the truck. |
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Near Temple Lodge,
we
head for the Skoki trail. |
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Shortly after
reaching the trail, we veer right towards Wolverine Basin. |
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Meeting up
with a recent up-track in Wolverine Basin. |
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Gaining treeline
climber's left then heading south-west. |
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Gentle terrain
towards Purple Mound. |
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Unity Peak behind
Fab. |
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Getting closer. |
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Looking at an
outlier of Redoubt Mountain. |
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Straightforward
ascent on wind-pressed snow. |
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Lipalian Mountain. |
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Not much purple at
this time of the year. |
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At the top with the
view south. |
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Connecting ridge to
Unity Peak. |
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Looking back towards
Purple Mound. |
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A subpeak
needs to
be circumvented on suspicious terrain.
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No surprise, the
recent snow slid on the sun affected slope. |
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Debris and run-out
zone. |
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Ascending Unity Peak
will be for another day! |
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Down the scree from
the saddle to reach a good descent line. |
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Fab conservatively
skis the steep slope. |
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Really fine skiing
conditions. |
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Quickly back down in
the trees. |
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The Skoki highway
brings us back on the ski-out. |
| Back
to home page |
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