Don_Serl

...as well as groups from the Mtneers and Boealps. was there something in the water when it came to picking a weekend? oh well, there'll be a rope every 2m strung on every available chunk of steep ice, so i suppose there'll be lots of climbing going on - not to mention socializing! cheers,

it's all Ade's fault. every mag he ever subscribed to has bitten it. they shoulda refused to accept his sub. (right, Ade? you warned them...)) darn... nice guys... great publication...

pretty standard these days to TR on the seracs off two screws and a V-thread. even on cloudy days, the energy from the sun cuts thru and the screws loosen dramatically by the time the afternoon comes to an end. don't want to miss those beer... eh? cheers,

OK, I know it's not in BC, but it affects BC climbers... I'll have a group of people down from Vancouver for our annual newbie sortie onto the seracs on Sat and Sun Oct 18-19, so don't expect solitude if you go. Cheers,

I'll have a group of people down from Vancouver for our annual newbie sortie onto the seracs on Sat and Sun Oct 18-19, so don't expect solitude. Cheers,

I'll have a group of people down from Vancouver for our annual newbie sortie onto the seracs on Sat and Sun Oct 18-19, so don't expect solitude. Cheers,

how 'bout the couloir on rethel, right above the outlet of Wedgemount Lake? that seemed pretty fat back in early august, altho it always is in danger of melting out up top. as for other ice lines, the NE couloir on Joffre was melted out in mid-august this year - very early. N face on castle towers now features about half crappy rock above the remnants of ice. i suppose the bush makes whitecap inaccessible (not that it was ever easily accessible!). getting tough to find an ice route to do lately... without heading for the Niut or Waddington ranges... cheers,

Trip: Crazy Mtn - Paymaster couloir Date: 10/12/2008 Trip Report: In October 2002, on successive weekends, Drew Brayshaw, Steve Harng, and I did the FA's of two of the finest autumn alpine ice routes in SW BC. But while I love this sort of climbing, it's difficult to find occasions on which weather, conditions, and weekends coincide, so I find it's rare to get more than one route of this sort in per season. In fact, often the 'monsoons' set in with such vigour that the routes get buried in 'freshies' and the crampons (and calves) get a holiday. Luckily, not so this year! Graham Rowbotham and I had walked up into Crazy Crk valley in Oct 2006 hoping to repeat Paymaster (the best of the pair), only to find a big middle chunk of the route melted out. A big snowpack last winter, however, seemed to have re-filled the gully, at least as far as Drew's photos of the Plutocrat couloir in the neighbouring valley could be extrapolated. And the forecast, while mixed, appeared to show Sunday as pretty good - so Graham, Jesse, young Marc, and I set off, Marc getting a lift from Scott Pick, who wanted to poke around in the area and do a bunch of mountain photography. The drive up Saturday afternoon was slow but uneventful, but the spotty drizzle on the Hurley was unexpected and worrisome. After a filling dinner at the Gold Bridge hotel we drove towards Bralorne, then branched off onto the Kingdom FSR for 11km to the Crazy Ck branch. This led in about a kilometre to a landing where we camped. The camping was enlivened by me forgetting my tentpoles at home, but four 5-foot poles inserted into the corners of the tent and tied together at the top teepee-style solved the problem. Good thing too, cuz it rained (!) overnite, which had us pretty dubious about the morrow. Unexpectedly, the skies cleared late in the night after the front passed thru, and it was starry and crisp when we got up at 5:30. Breakfast, repacking, and so on delayed us till 7am, when we set off into the gloom. It takes about an hour to climb the forested slope above the clearcut right of the creek, and there are plenty of windthrows to test your patience and agility. (Angle a bit left till you reach the crest, then follow the crest rightwards.) A gently descending traverse into the valley eventually intersects a flagged roadline from a decade ago, and while there is some messy bush to deal with, it's simplest to just more or less follow the copius taping. A couple scree-fields are crossed before one finally breaks out of the trees and angles up pleasant rocks and scrub to the rim of the upper valley, 2 1/2 hours from the car, and time for 2nd breakfast. The route looked great, although the coating of a couple inches of fresh snow everywhere had us wondering about conditions. Another hour-and-a-half saw us to the moraine crest, and we 'suited up'. The couloir, which looks so fierce face-on from a distance, lays back as you get to its base. And the neve was soft and compliant, considerably less hard and brittle than in 2002. Graham, ever-fit, disappeared into the heights, while Jesse, Marc, and I made slower progress. The climbing became tiring in the upper third, as the ice got crispy and a bit less well annealed, requiring more front-pointing and less 'splaying' of one flat-footed-crampon, but we three finally dragged ourselves over the top just after 2pm, about 2 1/2 hrs after starting. There was a chilly wind, but extensive clear views, from Matier and Black Tusk all the way to the fringes of the Tchaikazan, where clouds were starting to well up. I set off down after a bit cuz I needed to get more to drink and cuz I reckoned I'd be slower than the younger guys, while Graham and Marc scrambled to the summit. The descent follows the ridge down west, then loops northeast into the second valley north of the peak. We exited this side valley on the left (there's a nasty gully straight out the front) to regain the main valley midway thru the upper meadow section. By the time we regained the 'rim', it was 6pm, and it was obvious we would soon be thrashing in the bush by headlamp once again. Getting to the ridgecrest above the clearcut wasn't bad, but picking a good route thru deadfall-laden terrain in the dark is not possible, and much thrashing ensued. Jesse got the 'form and style' prize for a beautiful header complete with half-twist and calf-spearing branch-stub. Where DOES he find the time to train to such a high level? Eventually we started to get glimpses of the headlights that Scott had thoughtfully switched on below to guide us home, and finally we stumbled out onto the landing, 13hrs after setting off. And by 2am, after a rainy drive home and a hot shower, I finally fell into bed and yet another fine autumn adventure came to an end. I'll post some photos when the guys get 'em up. And/or Cheamclimber will do the same... Cheers,

redoubt is great, but the ice face is short. joffre-matier-slalok area is good. but best is wedgemount lake. highest altitude, snowiest terrain: wedge: NE face, N face, Driscoll-Legg, NW couloir all on N side, or slot couloir on W face. parkhurst: N face rethel: outlet couloir (easy day-trip solo) weart: n face owls: snowy owl couloir, Down - (?) couloir

west buttress on N spire is full value too, altho there's an easy section mid-height. cheers, don

to my knowledge, there is no other coverage. but it's an easy walk up - as you say, just scout around. the only routefinding necessary occurs near treeline - continue angling up left towards the lower glacier, rather than taking off up the zigzags straight up slope. cross the creek in another few hundred metres, then on the ridge beyond you can either: a) cut off downhill at 90 degrees, then cross the 2nd creek to gain the flat spot on the wooded ridge which bounds the glacier on the west. this is often used for camping. the trail down to the glacier descends a wooded gully from the NE end of this camping area. this approach involves several hundred feet of descent (and re-ascent on return), but is easier, especially for newbies. or, b) carry on up the trail; cross the 2nd creek, and angle up to the bottom side of a rock knob; then traverse across to the glacier from beneath this knob. this approach is shorter, but glacial recession is making it more unpleasant every year, and one generally has to traverse some quite complicated terrain once on the ice to reach the best TR'ing areas, so it's not good for those inexperienced on crampons. as fishstick says, baker is vastly superior to any other venue, but you CAN find places to TR above Joffre Lakes and elsewhere. all you need is ice with easily accessible holes in it... cheers,

i suppose the keenest skiers have already seen this on ski-focussed sites, but maybe that hasn't reached everyone. the snowpack seems to be spontaneously approaching the centre of the planet with great enthusiasm at the moment. reminds me of 'spring' back in the 70s - heavy snowpack, extended cool weather, big climax slides - a time for great care. see: http://telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=37594&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=465 most impressive... cheers,

i think those boys better check on the return policy for their "hut". there's no way BC parks is gonna tolerate this. anybody know who these guys are? cheers,

yup, joe. Hwy 99 north from Vancouver 160km thru Squamish and Whistler to Pemberton; maybe 2 hrs early in the morning with no traffic on dry roads, longer in snow. breakfast available reasonably early (7am) at Pony Espresso. then 7km east (still on Hwy 99) to Mount Currie; then 20km east and up the hill towards Cayoosh Pass (STILL on Hwy 99). NJC is on the left (north). approach and routes are covered in 'West Coast Ice', so pick up a copy if you're planning on coming north next year. there's hasn't been much luck in finding good ice in NJC early in the season (altho some of the FAs have taken place in early Jan - depends on the year...), but it's plainly a place to keep in mind in february and march. this year was unusual - I'm sure once the sun gets going mid to late march most years, the ice will rot out - most routes face northeast, but get sun in the morning. cheers,

not to mention the hordes of back-country skiers headed for place glacier, eh?

cool! no sign of wolves for us, but when we were in there 3 wks ago there was some sort of canine who walked a km or so of our tracks between the time we went in and out - probably a fox, judging from the stride length. aside from than, TONS of rabbit tracks every trip, plus the ocassional squirrel and shrew, which is why the canines are keen about the place i suppose. cheers,

Peter, As always when there is an accident and someone loses their life, the natural human response is to a) wonder what happened and b) to wonder if something could have been done differently that might have changed the outcome. Those of us on this forum, whether we knew Paul or not, would like to understand the circumstances of this accident better, as would you. Our motivation is to learn, so as to be safer ourselves in similar circumstances - your motivation is to 'settle your mind' around your brother's death. Unfortunately, I doubt the events will ever be clear, much less that the "what ifs" will be resolved. Paul cannot inform us, and his partner knows only what HE did, which is only a small part of the story. Like G-Spotter, I have wondered why Paul left his pack, extra clothing, and gear when he went on alone. One can only presume that he felt very comfortable with the situation and the terrain, and that his 'goals' were modest. However, again as with most accidents, something unforeseen occurred, with drastic consequences. What triggered his fall? Was it a simple slip? A small snow-slide? A piece of falling ice? Nothing I've heard begins to answer this question, nor do I think the question CAN be answered. Paul is gone, and the S&R team were on-site much later, and in the dark. As to what Paul's partner did or did not do, only he can answer those questions. What is plain is that he was scared, uncomfortable, and in doubt. To investigate would have required him to go onward into a situation which he had already decided he was uncomfortable with; to leave would undoubtedly have seemed like an abandonment - so he waited until he could wait no longer. Pretty natural... For your peace of mind, I'm sure the Lions Bay S&R guys who were involved would share their experiences and observations privately with you. It would also seem obvious that you should privately discuss the incident with the partner - but I need to utter a caution. When I read your posting, I sense a tone in it of "if X had just done Y, Paul might not have died". I have to say that, while this is understandable, if you hope to get more information and to better understand what happened to your brother, you need to overcome that mode of thinking, which will not be easy. The urge to understand, to analyze, and to 'do better' is deep in all of us, but in this case it's in conflict with your need to know. This is not an inquest. And it might even be that the best thing to do is simply to let the matter rest, and to get on with life. The past cannot be changed, only our reactions to it. Accept, try to become tranquil, and focus on the future. The mountains are harsh masters. Little mistakes can combine in unforeseen ways which result in horrendous outcomes. Paul chose to go on beyond the point at which his partner became uncomfortable. Paul decided to leave his pack and extra clothing and some gear behind. Paul climbed into terrain on which a fall would have serious consequences. I'm sure these decisions seemed minor at the time, but once another factor was introduced (Paul's fall, whatever its cause), the outcome, unfortunately, was fatal. Those of us who partake of the joys of climbing also learn to live with the traumas of death. It comes to all of us, you know, and while it might not be desirable, it IS unavoidable. One of the great "joys" of mountaineering, in fact, is that very factor: the self-control, focus, strength, skill, judgement, and responsibility that each of us takes unto ourselves in order to succeed, and even to survive. This is a rare and precious event, and to attain the outcome requires risk - and exposure to risk occasionally results in disaster. I'm sorry for your loss, and I hope you find the means to come to terms with this blow. Paul was a 'bright light', and while that makes his death even more bitter in some ways, his legacy is positive and broad, and one could ask for little more. Best Wishes,

actually, while I didn't go out there AGAIN last weekend (i DO occasionally have to deal with 'home' stuff...), i'd reckon the ice is not yet falling down. just watch the whistler forecast: http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/weather/forecast/index.htm daytime freezing levels have been valley bottom to 800m or so for the past 2 weeks. just a brief period of warmth last saturday (2000m). now at 1400m - 1600m daytime (much colder overnite) for tues/weds/thurs, then forecast to drop again. and it has not been very sunny. remarkably, i think there'd be no problem at all with the ice surviving as long as these cool cloudy conditions last - how about local ice in MAY?!?! i may give it a try, just for the laugh! certainly seems like everyone has 'hung up the tools', tho... is it the girls in the sport tops on the beach walkways? cheers,

Trip: North Joffre Creek - the ice doesn't quit... Date: 4/5/2008 Trip Report: The ice in NJC doesn't know it's spring! After success on Fromage Suisse with GR on 03/23 (see earlier TR in this forum), we decided to return the following weekend. Ade and Robert kept us company. Again, the ski-in was about 2hrs, and both the snow conditions and weather were good. Graham and I headed up onto Schneidelwurz, which was really attractive but which we hadn't had time to climb the previous weekend, while Ade and Robert set off up Fromage Suisse. Our climb turned out to be 2 pitches, 1st 45m Gr3, then 58m again Gr3. The 'bolder' line would include about 20m of Gr 4 to start p2, but it was quite wet, so we went 'the mountaineer's way'. Graham starting p2 on Schneidelwurz Ade and Robert got up FS, and as with us the previous weekend they found the ice a bit on the sketchy/platey side in places, and the climbing at the hard end of Grade 4. Well, despite pretty torched heels, I was still super-keen to keep climbing ice - I've NEVER done an ice route in April, much less out here on the Coast! S-o-o-o-o, turned out Gord Betenia and Magdalena Rucker (Betenia) were also very keen, and we did the early drive on Sat Apr 5. There was no change for the ski-in, altho the weather was warmer than before and pretty unsettled. There was a fine looking pillar of blue ice in the centre of the broad "Gee Whiz" flow which was our objective. Gord approaching Gee Whiz The ice had obviously seen the sun over the previous week, cuz while it was basically sound, the outer inch or two was kinda flakey and insubstantial. That said, the placements were bomber, and the smoothness of the surface was more reminiscent of seracs than waterfalls. Did I mention that Gord likes to run it out when conditions are good? There was a big horizontal crack at about 35m, then the angle laid back to a belay at 50m. I guess Gr3 is about right... Once we'd followed, we left the belay in and TR'ed a while on the steeper pillar ot the left of the line we'd climbed. The skies dumped snow from time to time, the face above dumped spindrift avvies now and again, the surrounding views came and went. Did I mention this was another fine day on the ice? Magdalena on the steeper line: Will it ever end??? Cheers,

yah, i flogged in with BK maybe a decade ago, and spent quite a bit of time and energy fighting alder - then the ice was wet and pukey. went back in the late winter before publishing the guide with some other friends, but the alder was bad enuf we had to ski around the road in a cpl places, plus there was quite a bit of new soft snow - then the ice was rotted by the sun. so it's a bit of a risk. just happens right now the road is totally clear (new cutblocks a bit further up-valley), the base snowpack is settled, and the ice is copious - plus it has NOT been sunny, so everything has come together this spring. i'll be back... p.s. the REAL message here is that there IS a shitload of potential climbing up this valley - it's just gonna take getting out and checking 'when the time is right' each season. and then sharing the info - again, many tks to bruce for passing along the beta. cheers,

choices, choices...

guide says 1300m-1500m. basemap shows junction off Duffey Lake rd at 1026m, end of spur at 1142m (~3750ft), swiss wall bluffs at abt 1300m-1500m (plus or minus 4500ft). 3.5km on road, 1km further up valley. bluff faces NE, so loses sun around mid-day. certainly still winter at those altitudes and aspects. very similar to last weekend on Yaksmen: leave hwy at 1200m, lake at 1289m, route at about 1400m. 3.5km approach. i can't believe how stupid i've been in ignoring these higher places in the past (esp NJC), but in my defense i'll plead two previous long approaches in poor snow conditions with bad alder on the road (abt 4hrs to swiss wall), with crap ice as the reward (too much sun, and/or too warm). and you DO need stable avvy conditions... just couldn't 'face it again' for a while. however, i won't make this mistake again - NJC is definitely 'on the list' for mid-feb on out, once the snowpack has deepened, settled, and stabilized, and as the days lengthen. i'm VERY impressed by the quantity and quality of the ice - and by the ambience. this is NOT marble canyon! cheers,

Trip: N. Joffre Ck. - Fromage Suisse Date: 3/22/2008 Trip Report: Bruce Kay (many thanks!) had posted a couple encouraging reports on westcoastice.com of good ice remaining at the high altitudes in N Joffre Ck, and the weather remained cool and not very sunny, so Graham and I decided to have a look. We got out of town around 5:15, grabbed a bite at the Pony Espresso in Pemberton, and skied off up the nearly flat, bush-free road at about 9. We were at the end of the road in less than an hour-and-a-half, where I spent a while patching my abused heels, a souvenier from the previous weekend's ski approach. The ice on the nearby Swiss Wall was copious, and looked to be in superb shape. Another 30 or 40 minuts of skiing brought us to beneath the Schniedelwurz - Fromage Suisse gully, which caught the least sun and looked (perhaps) to be the most attractive ice on the wall. The flog up to the base of the routes was deep, soft, and slow, but was mellowed by the pleasant ambience of the whole valley, high, isolated, and peaceful. I won the draw and chose the right-hand pillar. We soloed to the base and found a sheltered belay at a little shrub behind a nose of rock on the right. The ice at the base of the column was quite poor, but it then improved, with many single swing sticks interspersed with 'platey' sections. The column was far more strenuous and unrelenting than it appeared from below, and I was happy when the angle eased at about 30m. I belayed just above the 'lip' where the angle drops to 'Grade 2', about 50m out. We rapped from there, as there didn't seem to be much point in climbing the final 20m of low-angled ice. There was a possibility of climbing Schniedelwurz too, but since it had now turned 3 and we weren't anxious to turn this into a super-long day, we headed down. We were back at the road just after 5, and home by 8:30. North Joffre makes a long day-trip, but it's nice to be able to still climb local ice at Easter. Actually, I'd reckon there's several weeks more to go, provided we don't get a really warm wet rainy spell - there is a HUGE amount of ice, and it's in superb condition. The avvy threat to the Swiss Wall doesn't seem very hazardous, but big slides were thundering down the sunny opposite valley-side gullies continuously from noon till 4pm. Typical springtime in the mountains - choose your places and times! Cheers,

good to see u at the JB show, lee. inspiring, eh? jmace is right, there WAS a long report from phil fortier. and here's the link on his site: http://www.mtnphil.com/Whitecap/Whitecap.html unfortunately (a) no photos of the mtn - but LOTS of the bush! and (b) you're planning to ski it, so there's a chance the bush will be covered to some extent, plus © you need to talk to someone in the ministry of forests to suss out the status of the roads up Whitecap Ck and Connell Ck. i understand your idea is to approach via Connell, which makes sense - the maps show the road on that side to above 1500m - only 1350m to go! good luck. remember, anything Trevor could do, you... oh, wait a minute... WHO was that again? cheers,

simple: buy the guide (West Coast Ice). then watch this forum and westcoastice.com to stay in touch with what's in. mostly it's limited to 3 areas: the duffey lake road, the bridge river canyon, and marble canyon and vicinity. there is virtually always an early freeze in late nov or early dec which gets everyone frantic, but that ALWAYS falls down again, and you can seldom climb in SW BC consistently till end december. used to be that there were lots of good climbs within 2 hrs of vancouver, out around Hope-Yale, and up Whistler - Pemberton way, but the warmer winters compared to the mid 90s and earlier greatly limit how frequently this stuff is in. on the other hand, even in 'warm' winters (like this year and last) you can climb every weekend from New Years till mid March if you go the right places - kinda like in Scotland. you end up repeating some of the 'classics' of course, but I'm still doing 'old' routes for my first time every winter, more than 30 years after getting started into this game. and a few new routes still get plucked every year. you'll find lots of people (and picked-out ice) at Marble Canyon and the Rambles, but aside from those areas, you'll seldom encounter others. and the Rockies are only 10 or 12 hours away... it ain't 'the best', but it's a hell of a good time (provided you don't mind desperately early drives). welcome. cheers,