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. Continue across
the bridge over Horsethief Creek, 494028 and pass several side roads.
The access road is clearly marked McDonald Creek Main, 386011, it's in
good shape. There's a Road Closure-Active Mining sign at the junction
for the mining road, 392960.
We
called the number on the sign to inquire about the status of the road.
We were told that it is allowed to use the road past the sign to access
Red Line Peak's basin; access is restricted on a branching road about
1.5 kilometer further, 394946, due to active mining.
Go straight
(south) at the intersection with the closed road that heads north (394946) and continue well into Red Line's north basin. As
the road veers east towards an adjacent bowl, 414923, leave it and
climb along side a grassy rib towards the headwall. Above the headwall,
419921, hike towards the objective on
rock until it gives way to snow slopes; these gentle slopes lead
to the north ridge of Red Line Peak. Once on the ridge, the summit is
very near. A short steep ascent is required to gain the top
of the summit block. |
|
 |
|
Reaching the mining road via cutblocks with Mount Delphine in front of us. |
|  |
| Further up the mining road, Red Line Peak is revealed. |
|  |
|
| Our route through the headwall to reach the upper snow slopes and summit ridge. |
| Scramble:
RT 10.0; 5.0 up. I noticed Red Line Peak while
on the summit of Mount Scarlett O'Hara last week. We took some pictures
and plotted a route during the week, there's a trip report on Bivouac.
We decided to bring the ATV to go
up the branching McDonald Creek Main. Just as we were unloading, the
sound of heavy machinery seemed to come from our access road... gosh,
this could be a bad start... The machinery was on another side branch at the
start of the service road, lucky! We proceeded to the junction of the
Red Line mining road, there's a road closure
sign. We thought this sign might be old and the mine inactive; we
jotted down the number to inquire about the status of the road. Given
that it was monday, we left the ATV
behind and walked up. As we suspected, there was no signs of life
except for tons of ATV and dirt bike tracks. Once in the basin, we left
the road and picked our way past treeline. We aimed for some reference
points we spotted from below and found an easy way through the headwall
that guards the snow slopes and ridge. The short summit ridge
still had a fair amount of snow, the alpine axe came in handy! A huge cairn dots the
summit along with a really heavy wooden plaque. We enjoyed the
spectacular views and a good rest before backtracking. I felt very
fortunate to climb such a tall mountain with relative ease. We're inspired to return, maybe with the ATV! |
|
 |
|
Manageable terrain through the headwall. |
|
 |
| Aiming for the snowpatch we noticed below. |
|
 |
| Above the headwall, we followed a rock rib. |
|
 |
| Travelling on snow slopes towards the summit ridge. |
|
 |
| Red Line Peak's north-east ridge. |
|
 |
| Looking back with Carcass Peak in the background. |
|
 |
| Low clouds come and go. |
|  |
| Exposed section. |
|  |
|
| Looking back again. |
|
|  |
|
| Summit ahead. |
|
|  |
|
| Mount Delphine. |
|
|  |
|
| Standing next to the impressive cairn. |
|
|  |
|
| Heavy wooden plaque. |
|
|  |
|
| Leaving the top. |
|
|  |
|
| Steep snow. |
|
|  |
|
| Mount Nelson and Sultana Peak. |
|
|  |
|
| Very enjoyable outing. |
|
|  |
|
| At the base of the summit block with improving weather. |
|
|  |
|
| Mount Farnham. |
|
|  |
|
| Backtracking. |
|
|  |
|
| A short section of boot skiing. |
|
|  |
|
| Fab gives me attitude! |
| Back
to home page |
|
|