Tsuius Mountain

elevation: 2,487 m.	height gain: 875 m.
area: Cherryville,BC	map 82 L/9
2022-Jul-16

Drive on highway 6 to Cherryville. At Frank's General Store, turn left on Sugar Lake Road. Follow this road for about 65 kilometers to the Monashee Powdercats Lodge turn-off, 046202; continue on this road to the lodge, 026190. A trail to Mirror Lake exists, but due to snow cover, we made our way described as follows. From the lodge, hike west on the service road for approx. 70 meters, then veer left on the ATV road, 024190. That leads to the lodge's water intake, 020191. From there, we bushwhacked in a south-west direction for a short distance before ascending towards a saddle indicating Mirror Lake's drainage. Once at the lake, we headed west and climbed the headwall; then, we travelled to the foot of the mountain and climbed the south-east ridge to gain the first summit. The traverse to the second summit is straightforward. We came down steep snow slopes from the saddle between the two peaks.
		Tsuius hiking trail map.

		Monashee Powder Snowcats Lodge.
Scramble: RT: 9.0; 5.0 up. Following our previous visit to Mirror Peak a couple of weeks ago, we had a good idea of the route we would take for this objective. We were hoping the snow cover on the approach to Mirror Lake hadn't melted too much as we planned to forgo the trail and go the same way we had travelled. We got an earlier start than the last time and hiked the ATV road to the lodge's water intake. Then, we roughly followed the drainage on its left; luckily, the snow cover had only receded slightly. We reached Mirror Lake in about half the time of our previous visit. From there, we executed a climbing traverse via the steep snow slopes at the back of the lake. Once at the foot of Tsuius Mountain, we opted to ascend the south-east ridge to the first of the double summits, then traverse to the second summit. Before gaining the ridge, we climbed a steep snow slope; Milan led the pitch kicking nice "buckets" for me. Then we scrambled to the first peak; a couple of sections offer excitement but never exceed easy scrambling. The weather was amazing; we traversed to the second summit while enjoying the view. At the top, we took our boots off and lazed on the helipad. We took advantage of the long days of summer and relished in the moment of standing atop such a wonderful Monashee peak. The descent was thrilling; Milan got to experience the use of crampons and travel techniques on steep snow. It was a joy to share my experience and passion for the mountains. Tsuius Mountain is a very nice objective for scramblers wanting to tackle straightforward snow travel.
		Veering left onto the ATV trail.

		The lodge's water intake.

		Bushwhacking to Mirror Lake's drainage.

		Aiming for the saddle ahead.

		Ascending Mirror Lake's drainage.

		I love the colour of meltwater on ice.

		Mirror Lake and Tsuius Mountain.

		Climbing traverse on the snow slopes at the back of the lake.

		Reaching the rim of Mirror Lake's headwall.

		Making our way to the foot of the mountain.

		Tsuius Mountain's double summits.

		Looking back at Mirror Peak (center) and Cross Over Mountain on its left.

		Climbing to Tsuius' south-east ridge.

		The pitch steepens as we crest over the ridge.

		A nice walk on snow precedes the first summit.

		Easy scrambling interrupts the snow walk.

		Looking back.

		Atop the first summit with the second peak in sight.

		Traversing to the second summit.

		On the helipad of Tsuius Mountain, whoot whoot! Picture courtesy of Milan Kubik.

		To the north, Joss Mountain stands directly behind East Tsuius Peak.

		The north-eastern view includes Revelstoke's Mount Begbie.

		Looking south-east along the traverse to the first summit.

		Blanket Mountain (left) and Cranberry Mountain to the right.

		Choosing an alternate descent route from the saddle between the two summits.

		The snow slope coming off the ridge is steep.

		Exercising a short traverse to avoid rocks below.

		Looking back towards the saddle. Picture courtesy of Milan Kubik.

		The terrain is too steep and firm for safe glissading.

		Looking at the lower slopes with Mirror Peak in front of us.

		Back on flatter ground.

		Backtracking to Mirror Lake below.

		Dipping down Mirror Lake's drainage with the lodge in sight.

		Re-entering the forest.
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