This is a winter route
description, other approaches are possible.
From
Brisco, head west on Brisco Road and drive along the lumber mill then
across the Columbia River until you get to Steamboat Mountain Road; at
the intersection, go left (south). Continue for 2.8 kilometers to
another major intersection, 502284, we parked here. We used a
snowmobile to reach a landing off of Bryanton North; at 504265, head
west (indicated on the topo), continue for about a kilometer, 496267;
go up a side road (west) to a landing, 495260. We left the sled and
aimed for another service road 400 meters south; that road leads to the
southern end of Steamboat Mountain. We left the road and ascended
towards bluffs that we handrailed climber's left to a shallow saddle.
From there, we gained the ridge crest and travelled the undulating
ridge to its north end. A GPS can be useful to locate the highest point
among the trees. |
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Leaving Bryanton
North for the short side branch on the
left. |
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Steamboat Mountain's
treed summit ridge in the
background. |
Snowshoe trip: RT 11.0; 6.25 up. Bahahaha, this
puny
mountain sure gave us a run for our money! Steamboat sits in the middle
of the Columbia Valley, several access options exist; we chose the
route we thought to be the most feasible in winter time. We used Fab's
sled for the 4-kilometer approach on Braynton FSR. From the landing,
where we left the sled, we aimed for another service road that leads to the south end of Steamboat. The night had
cleared
giving us a decent freeze; now the sun was upon us as
we hiked, stripped down to our thermals. The service road was
untracked with a strong crust, we experienced countless whumphing along
the way; snowpack stability is less than ideal presently... We reached
the base of the ridge in good time and started ascending towards some
bluffs, traversing
climber's left to gain a shallow saddle and the summit ridge; these
south facing slopes warrant caution in the winter... On the summit
ridge we encountered variable snow conditions which slowed progress.
The undulating ridge never seemed to end as we travelled from one end
to the other. Standing on a highpoint, we would notice yet another
through the forest; we pulled out the GPS to check our position a
couple of times. With perseverance, we eventually reached a highpoint
that appeared to be the tallest at the north end of the ridge. Very
happy with our accomplishment, we found a large open area in the trees
and sat in the sun for a long break. The view at the top is
somewhat restricted but the ridge does offer several viewpoints en
route. Backtracking was pleasant, following the trench was mindless and
easy. Back at the
south slopes, we handrailed the bluffs to minimized avalanche hazard.
We decided to shortcut through a newly planted cutblock instead of
following the road the long way; moments later we stepped on the road
saving a couple of kilometers. The rest was uneventful, I was happy to
hop on the sled for the last stretch. I only recommend this outing to
dedicated peakbaggers!
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At the landing, we
put on snowshoes and aimed for
another service road that leads to Steamboat's southern end. |
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Snowshoeing
conditions are mostly favorable. |
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A decent freeze
grants pleasant trekking on the
untracked service road. |
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Looking north along
the Columbia Valley. |
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Perfect mild day
with no wind, feels like spring time! |
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The road continues
towards the bluffs. |
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Ascending to the
bluffs, which we skirted climber's
left to a shallow saddle. |
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View south from the
southern end of the ridge crest. |
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The ridge is
sparsely treed at best. |
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Horeb Mountain and
Mount Ethelbert (right center)
beyond Hidden Valley. |
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We dip in the forest
before reaching the false summit
(left center). |
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Finally on the
northern highpoint and official summit,
standing on a huge boulder! |
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Well-deserved long
break in the sun, yeah! |
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Mindless return. |
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As we break out of
the trees, we see the false summit
(right center). |
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So much easier
coming back. |
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Along the false
summit, the terrain is more open.
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Hugging the bluffs
traversing back to our ascent rib. |
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The rib quickly
takes us to the clearings below. |
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Back on the service
road. |
| Back
to home page |
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