hoppity

give me a shout at barry.mason@ubc.ca if you lost your rack on mt clarke. barry

huh, i guess the fluffy-white covered bolts cuz we only saw the fixed rope anchors and nadda more. is this route guided often? will definetly return next summer.

A quick post for now... Just returned from our attempt. Late summer along a rock ridge that gets good reviews, great . Well... Snow at the meadows at the head of Wall Creek(~4 inches) made our bivy cool . Snow-coverd talus (5-6 inches)made things fun for ankles and any other breakables , snow and ice along the ridge made for some interesting climbing and slowed us down enough that we could not complete the traverse (either that or we're just soft) . We had a great time and a good day of mountaineering but weren't really wanting snow in SUMMER. Ah yes, the hills never disappoint. Cheers

Thanks for the peak-porn dru. no worries alpinfox just got off the phone with glacier national park and it dosen't look good for an open trail at the moment. mama griz and two cubs are still in the area. mama has shown aggression toward hikers (bluff charge - but i think i would fill my drawers if i was charged). bummer. could be a moot point anyway, looks like rain this weekend for r's pass. perhaps a trip south instead of east... cheers

thanks alpinfox, i look forward to seeing pics if you got 'em.

hey guys, i've been reading many posts lately. always great info here! anyone have first-hand info on the condition of sir donald as of now? thinking of going at the end of july. saw the pics linked from cc.com from july 11 and burrr! thanks to all.

Jordop and PaulB, thanks for great pics, i haven't tried posting my shots yet. next lunch break i get... we didn't come across any fixed rope on the ridge. the hut info is appreciated, must go back for freshies when the snow flies. cheers and enjoy the pnw rain.

Climb: Mt. Thiassi-East Ridge Date of Climb: 9/3/2004 Trip Report: Ah, the long weekend climbing trip; so much anticipation. Sometimes expectations are met, sometimes they’re not. Approach: Brian and I set off Friday morning to Mt. Thiassi for a weekend of long approach and nice climbing up the Southwest Buttress (SWB). The road approach along the Hurly, Bridge River and McParlon creek FSRs were extended and bumpy but without problems. McLane’s Alpine Select suggests that a 4x4 hc vehicle is needed. Not true, those with 2wd will have little problem (it may take a bit longer on the climb up the Hurly but that’s it) so go to it. The reported boulders blocking McParlon Creek FSR at ~7 km have been partially removed allowing further access but the road is blocked approx 1 km before its natural endpoint as the bridge over ? creek has been removed. This adds about 1 hour of slogging on your feet (going in, you are fresh and could care less; coming out you are cursing a bit). To our surprise there exists a great trail leading up the valley from the road termination. Well marked and in good condition, this trail brings you through open forest, across slippery bog-logs and plops you at the base of McParlon creek (~1 hour). Turn left (keep the creek on your right) and brace yourself for an hour or so of classic coastal forest bushwhacking. Eye whipping, alder in your teeth, and more slippery death-logs. We were eventually rewarded by a beautiful alpine valley where a good camp exists beside the creek at tree line. 3.25 hours total. Climbing: Saturday = rain. We hiked up to McParlon Glacier and got wet. We returned to camp and got wet. We waited for the rain to stop and got wet. Did I mention it was wet? Sunday, hiking by 4:30 am, reached the base of the SWB at 6:45. Hmmm, that route looks a bit mossy in the cracks; lots of lichen too. A closer look sealed our fate: icy granite, icy lichen. Fun, icy 10a climbing on lichen at -4o C with cold feet in rock shoes and mossy cracks. We went up the East Ridge instead. Leaving a trail of jetsam (rock shoes, crampons, lead rack etc.) we scampered up and along the Ridge. Great exposure, 4 inches of snow, fun moves inspiring some less-than-graceful solutions. Placed one piece of gear just below the summit on a chossy low 5th class section. Said cheese on the summit and headed home. Then we hit the bottleneck. Given the remoteness of this summit we laughed as we bumped into a party of three and a second party of two; 7 of us all within the same 30 ft of rock. Who woulda thought? Graeme and Chris had attempted a new route up a dihedral on the south face but retreated b/c of icy, mossy conditions. We chatted and heckled and then went down making sure we stopped in their base camp where they were adamant there was no Scotch. Summit day from tree line = 12 hours return, taking our time and scoping routes up the south face. Be sure to enjoy the nuances of the boulder hopping enduro on the descent. We packed camp and were back at the car 2 hours later enjoying a frosty brew. Summary: Approach not so bad. Don’t need 4wd, good trail, short and spicy bushwhack. Beautiful terrain. SWB a bit more vegetation than optimal and not fun when icy. Climb this route when warm and sunny. East Ridge is nice with fun moves and perfect exposure. A good breakfast at the Gold Bridge Hotel will fatten you up again. Barry Mason, Vancouver

cheers Dru, thanks for the feedback!

Hey there, imma new guy on the board and it looks like a great resource. i hope i've posted the following question in the correct section. i'm thinking of heading to mt. athelstan, upper lillooet river, b.c. this weekend and was wondering if anyone knows if water is available at the athelstan bivey area. i haven't been before and McLane's Alpine Select suggests getting water could be an issue at this time of year. thanks in advance for any feedback.