Drive
to Kindersley/Pinnacle
FSR, 16.5 km north of Radium. Follow for about 8.5 km and turn right,
633249; park at an equestrian camp 500 meters down the road. The rest
of the
road is
washed-out in places and is used as a horse trail. Follow the trail
heading east along the drainage, at 645259, it
veers south-east and intersects the ascent drainage, 648258. Ascend
climber's left of the drainage through a previously logged area gaining
the creekbed just prior to some bluffs. The bluffs are circumvented by
climbing a steep slope along the base of the slabs until it is possible
to start traversing into the draw. We travelled below more bluffs
without gaining or losing too much height and eventually reached
the creekbed. Continue up the drainage until extensive bluffs and a
tall waterfall impede the way, 653264;
from there, you need to pick your way through the bluffs climber's left
of the drainage. Several options requiring moderate scrambling exist.
Bushwhacking
is not bad; with luck,
finding several game trails helps.
Above the waterfall, we came out of the trees and traversed into the
open slide path. The slide path heads in a northely direction and leads
to the back of the draw, 656274; climb up to the saddle between Shyster
Peak and Mount Crook. The summit ridge easily leads to the top.
It is worth visiting Mount
Crook while you're there!
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The equestrian camp
and trailhead. |
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On a broad trail for
the first couple of kilometers. |
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The horse trail is
washed out. |
Scramble:
RT 10.5; 5.5
up. When we ventured up Mount Crook, we were unaware the adjacent
mountain was also named; to stay true to the theme of the official
name Mount Crook, its neighbor was called Shyster!
This outing was exciting for us, last time we came this way was 6 years
ago and there was no information on the internet. This time around,
this
is familiar grounds; we're following the route we took for Crook most
of the way. We had no trouble driving to the equestrian camp. We
followed the wide trail, everything seemed the same until we got to the
washouts where the trail now crosses the creek at a couple of places
before
returning on the north bank. We reached the intersection and quickly
made our way towards the ascent drainage. I remembered the first
section, steep hiking circumventing vertical slabs; once above the
bluffs,
all we remembered was traversing. We vaguely recollected the pleasant
hiking in the drainage after the traverse, it was a nice surprise.
Higher up,
the other section of bluffs giving access to the
slide path came in sight. We took a different line up, closer
to
the waterfall;
Fab and I agreed that the bash through alders wasn't the best
way to go! We stepped on a game trail we had cairned years ago and
gained the open slide path. There was firm snow to walk on, we didn't
need our snowshoes, a very
enjoyable hike ensued. We couldn't help noticing the exposed
grassy ramp we'd climbed on our previous trip in 2009; I was glad we
weren't going there. In the back of the draw, we ascended a
steep
slope and
reached the Shyster-Crook Col. The walk to the summit is mercifully
short; we sat down for a very nice break, there was no wind and the
thermometer read 12˚ Celsius. Our return was delightful, we still
didn't need the snowshoes and we glissaded a short section. At the end
of the slide path, we found the better route through the bluffs we had
used in 2009. The weather remained dry as
we backtracked to the truck. We had no complaints today... blessed with
another great local outing!
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We travelled in the
creekbed until we found the trail again on the north bank. |
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After ascending the
overgrown cutblock, we locate the ascent drainage. |
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A wall of slabs
forces us to climb steep terrain on the left until we can traverse back
to the creekbed. |
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Negotiating minor
bluffs as we contour without gaining or losing too much height. |
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Fab builds a cairn
where we step into the drainage once more. |
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Despite the look,
the drainage offers good travel. |
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Pleasant hiking
along the creekbed. |
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Coming to the second
set of bluffs. |
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Fabrice likes to
build cairns! |
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Moderate scrambling
climber's left of the drainage. |
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Whoo hoo, we've
reached the open slide path; let the fun part begin! |
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Walking on firm snow. |
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The grassy ramp we
took to ascend Mount Crook
appears. |
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Fantastic conditions
as we continue up the draw. |
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No snowshoes
required! |
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Nice transition to
the saddle between Mount Crook and Shyster Peak. |
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Looking back. |
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Straightforward
ascent to the top. |
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12˚ Celsius, no
wind... aww, break time! |
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View over the
Columbia Valley. |
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Heading back. |
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Mount Crook. |
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Just about to sit
for a short glissade. |
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We followed a game
trail towards the bluffs. |
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Fabrice finds a
cairn he built when we came in 2009. |
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Short scramble back
down to the drainage. |
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After nice hiking in
the drainage, we traversed through the bush above the initial set of
bluffs. |
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Descending alongside
the slabs to the creekbed; we're close to the overgrown cutblock and
horse
trail. |
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Home stretch along
the main drainage. |
| Back
to home page |
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