Ref: Sonny Bou's scrambles
archive
Note: We ascended a different rib to gain the west ridge. We left the
Kimpton Creek Trail around 742096 reaching a treed
saddle at 755105. In order to avoid the crux on the west ridge, we
dipped down to the main drainage (north). It is possible to regain the
west ridge beyond the crux or continue in the gully. |
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Kimpton Creek Trail,
that way! |
Snowshoe trip:
RT
10.25; 6.0 up. With the recent deluge and snow
across the Rockies, creeks are running high and some areas are flooded;
that made planning an
outing slightly more challenging. In addition, Fabrice had tickets to
see Steve Earle that night; he had to be back for 7 PM. We would have
to find an outing in the near vicinity. The Columbia Mountains are
still very
much snowbound, some people are still sledding! But south of here,
where it's a bit drier, the mountain's southern aspects are free of
snow up to
treeline. We chose to try out Mount Sinclair despite the estimated
duration of the trip and some uncertainty about the snowpack on the
north aspect. We left early for this one! We also planned to avoid the
crux along the west ridge, not willing to take a chance and be turned
around with time constraints... The approach trail is well maintained;
we reached our ascent rib quickly. Most of the height gain is along the
rib, it is steep for a long time! The bushwhacking is not tedious and
numerous trails assist the ascent, this area is obviously popular with
ungulates. We reached the saddle and put on our snowshoes for the
descent in the main draw. The snowpack on the steep northern slope was
quite firm; we experienced very little postholing but the
recent snowfall (turned to mashed potatoes) made travelling down
tricky. After lots of slipping and falling, we got to the
drainage. We pleasantly climbed on avalanche debris and eventually
veered up a grassy slope to the west ridge. With the crux behind us and
the antennae in sight, I started to feel excited. A
short plod on scree and we stood by the repeater. We
continued to the summit, which is a couple of minutes away. We were
very thrilled to be standing at the top; we enjoyed the sights
with the neat cloud formations. We would have loved to stay longer but
we were pressed for time, so we started descending after a brief pause.
The climb back up to the saddle was surprisingly easy with no slipping
like earlier on. Once at the saddle, after tabulating our extra
time, we had a good break as we packed up snowshoes and ate some lunch.
We returned to same way and made it back to the car with 20
minutes to spare. This was a great trip on a seldom-visited
mountain.
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We cross a drainage
before we veer off
in the woods. |
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Bushwhacking is easy
in the open forest. |
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Ascending steep
terrain. |
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Nearing the saddle. |
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At the saddle, low
clouds reduce visibility towards Mount Sinclair. |
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Heading down into
the drainage, we're lucky the snowpack is firm. |
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In the drainage,
visibility improves as the clouds lift. |
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We circumvent the
west ridge's crux from below. |
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Trekking on old
avalanche debris. |
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Looking back, the
weather is getting better. |
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The summit and
west ridge. |
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Going up to the
ridge. |
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We can see the repeater from here. |
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Looking back towards
Redstreak Mountain (center). |
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Almost there. |
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From the repeater,
the summit is minutes away. |
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Northern view from
the top. |
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The approach on the
ridge requires some scrambling. |
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Fab is standing by
the cairn with the view south. |
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The cloud formations
add texture and a surreal feel. |
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Unfortunately we
must leave soon after reaching the top. |
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Back down the draw. |
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Retracing our steps
up the steep treed slope. |
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Now we can see Mount
Sinclair. |
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Coming up was
easier, less slipping and sliding! |
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Back down the ascent
rib. |
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Fab is
retreiving his flags. |
Back
to home page |
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