ScottPick

I'm trying to cobble together a trip into Nabob Pass which is located east of Waddington between the Tiedemann and Tellot glaciers. Been trying to get to that spot for a couple of years but never managed to find the right people to share the BIG heli bill (with tax its about $3K for the in and out flight with Whitesaddle). Wanted to go last year but the people with money who were supposed to come with pleaded poverty at the last minute therefore we drove onto Bella Coola and did a much cheaper trip into the hills above. So I try again for 2011! I already have one other guy committed and have space for 2 others who could hitch a ride into somewhere nearby including the Plummer Hut, Sunny Knob etc. I'm going in to take pictures and enjoy myself therefore Nabob is calling me big time.....one of the most places in BC, Canada and the world!! (that doesn't require $500 in immunizations and doging islamic terrorists..). Nabob Pass would not be a great basecamp for climbing but for hiking and scrambling it would be superb. Hard-core climbers will want to be tucked in closer to Wadd and its nearby granite spires. Going (as I usually do) in the week of the BC Day long weekend which is the first Monday of August (I think). Usually go in for about 5-6 days. Never flew with 4 people before so you'd have to pack fairly light. If you want to go and climb in the Waddington Range this summer, here's your chance to do it and save some serious $$. Best way to reach me – scottpick@shaw.ca or 604-834-2388. If you want to go we will make something happen.

Hitched a ride with Mike. There is a big nasty drop at the twist/hell raving pass. don't know how someone would get over that. long scary rap. then its WAY down the valley (losing a ton of hard-won elevation) then up and over Osaris? Hmmm..Looking at my topo now it looks better to veer north and around the backside of that little 8'000 foot peak (passing a small lake) then down into the Hell Raving headwaters. That would avoid the serious gap at the pass mentioned above. We trundled rocks off that pass and its a doozie. Rocks took many seconds to hit anything. Have you thought about building a trail up Hell Raving? Its long but gentle.

WOW....but I selfishly dislike this idea..I sent 6 days in 2008 in the meadows below Siva and kind of thought of this place as my private paradise...untouched and epically beautiful...Hummingbird Meadows, Quicksand Lake, Siva's Dagger (all our names)..But who am I to oppose? Also how is party supposed to get from there over to Nirvana Pass??Over the Vishnu/Bayamee Col? Not easy... Marc might disagree with me? By the way I will be up in the Niut Range in about a week right accross the valley.

Yo all. For the 3rd time I want to take the long relaxing drive up to the Chilcotin and hitch a ride with Mike King into the Waddington Range this summer for about a week of mountain fun. Want to go (as usual) last week of July or first week of August...get that freebie vacation day on BC Day..plus the weather is usually pretty reliable then. Have room in the heli for 3 (myself + 2 more) with lots of room to bring all your kit, toys and mungo food. My destination is a bit flexible but I am really hoping to hit Nabob Pass which is right above the Tiedemann Glacier at about 5,500'. Other possible desinations include Bifrost Pass, Sunny Knob, etc. The more you are willing to pay, the more say you have. If you are a dirt-bag climber who can barely rub 2 nickels together, first I will have to sell one of your kids and second you will go where I bloody well want to go! No seriosuly, all is negotiable. realistically you'd have to budget at least $500 per person for the round trip heli ride. If you are willing to be a camp slave and also pose for my camera like joe climber, we can cut a deal. But you'd better be good looking and have a nice set of patagucci. Anyways, best way to reach me as I might forget to check back here: scottpick@shaw.ca

Is this the one that Andrew Boyd and McLane are working on? Heard from Dan at cluimb on that they have teamed up on a new guidebook, but I thought he said it was for the sea to sky area? In any case, the more guide books Guidbooks are the bomb.

I'm pretty happy with the photos that I took 'cause I was fighting a cold and almost bailed on the trip. I never realized that spending all day outside then sleeping in a car then spending the next day hiking in cold winter rain was a cure for the common cold. Go figure....last time I did this I got pnuemonia

I've flown into the Pantheon and Niut ranges in the past couple of years with Mike. I am interested to see if next summer our plans can overlap and we can split a ride. Contact me: scottpick@shaw.ca

Hey drew I meant to say mike king is $1750 per hour. So its cheaper than in hagensborg by a bit. shared a few ways the difference is small but with 1-2 people its more significant. For some reason he seems to have the cheapest rates in BC. I have never found a cheaper ride anywhere. last summers fare was $1500 on the nose for the flight into Siva/Vishnu/Byamee. The time before with mike in 06 it was about $1100 for the ride into the Niut range at the backside of Whitesaddle mountain. the cheapest flight I ever had was $250 into Tantalus in an a-star. this summer I'm budgeting about $3-$4k for heli and plane rides. another place I am trying to figure out is the Toba Inlet. there's a heli from oceanview in there on the plutonic power project and they are there a lot. If I can figure out the logistics it would be awesome to get to the real remote stuff back in there for a photo shoot.

Hey Jesse I called West Coast Helicopters and I wrote down the following: Astar B2 (larger capacity) Heli = $1900/hr. Fuel = $295/hr. Total is $2300/hr. inc. GST....ouch. Astar BA (smaller capacity) Heli = $1700/hr. Fuel = $295/hr. Total is $2100/hr. inc. GST....a little less ouch. These are their quoted times (1 way): Ape Lake = .3 hrs Mt. Monarch = .5 hrs So to fly to Ape Lake and back you you are looking at 1.2 * $2100 = $2500. So with 4 people it would be about $630 each. Mike King is a lot cheaper. Last summer it was about $1750 all in if I remember and thats when feul was crazy expensive. He's a deal....and hmmmmm....Waddington Range or Bella Coola....Hmmmmm now thinking....... Here is their website: http://www.westcoasthelicopters.com/aircraft.cfm

Hey all, I have my sights on a mountain-photo bonanza this summer in the Bella Coola valley area. I'm thinking last week of July or 1st week of August. I need 1 or 2 people to share the heli costs with. I have picked out 2 locations that are sure to be off the hook beautiful. Both are short flights from the airport in Hagensborg. One is the NE shoulder of Mt. Arjuna and the other is the north face of Mt. Nyland. I plan to fly into one spot for 3-4 days then shuttle over to the other spot for another couple of days. Yes these are shitty Google Earth screen shots but it shows you where I am headed. Arjuna is on the top and Nyland on the bottom. This area is known for having some of the most outrageous peaks outside the Waddington/Pantheon/Niut hunk o' lands. Nyland in particular should be a sight to behold as its got a beefy 5,000 foot north face. I have planned a camp on a plateau overlooking the valley with a nice 2,000 foot drop to the valley floor. Now where's that 32 GB card I was looking for? Flight costs for the trip should be say 2 bills split 3 ways. This trip would be good for climbers, hikers or even beach bums. Hell if you like to take mountain pictures how can you refuse? Also plan to stop in at the King Ranch (Whitesaddle) for a couple of flights with Dave King. One to this area and past Monarch and the other out to Queen Bess. Damn this is becoming an expensive trip. So help a poor starving photographer out and sign up. Should be about a 10 day to 2 week trip Vancouver to Vancouver. This will be my 4th summer in a row doing this kind of thing in case ya wanted to know. Marc are you in?? :-) Best to call me 604-834-2388 or fire me an email scottpick@shaw.ca

Never heard of Trick peak before today! Well what is the world coming to. I thought I knew all the peaks :-) Seriously, some jaw-dropping, droool enducing pics in there!

Good job, brings back old like 20 year old memories. The Tusk in winter is cool.

Well it will cost you say $200 from Vancouver to drive to Bella Coola. Thats a lot cheaper than last summer when it cost me about $350 to drive to Bluff Lake in my gaspig Pathfinder. But gas is a lot cheaper now but then again its another 3 hours to Coola so budget $300 for gas from the border. Yes you can get onto the northern edges of the icecap from the Nusastsum River Road via the Ape Lake trail. I just called the heli company there (West Coast Helicopters) and they say its a .3 hr flight to Ape Lake and a .5 to Mt. Monarch (these are 1 way times - multiply by 4 if you want to go in and out or x2 if you are flying in and walking out). They have 2 different kind of Astar birdies. The cheapest one is about $1900 per flight hour. You can also apparently floatplane into Ape Lake but it has apparently shrunk. Last time I talked with a pilot from Tweedsmuir Air he said it was still doable. That's a lot cheaper than helicoptering in. By the way when were you going in? I'm planning to be there for 10 days in late/july early august and am looking for people to share costs.

Loved the high res photos on your blog. Nice trip and thanks for posting it. No place like the Coast Mountains eh?

Great trip guys. Anytime someone goes in by water its more pure and that puts you at a higher level than those of who for whatever reason heli in. You are following the path that the Mundays forged in the 1920's. While there is more information obviously available you still had to make your way up the inlet and through some pretty rough country to the peaks. Hopefully you'll get another crack at it soon. Keep us posted!

Ya Feck....Logan is FAT and SHORT! lol.

Ha ha Mark. Well hopefully Logan will crack the 20,000 foot mark someday. It bugs me that Canada doesn't have a 20,000 footer!!! Oh we use metric....Ooops.

Marc I found this photo from 2006 trip: The good thing about this potential line as its affordably accessed as its quite close to White Saddle Air's base. Oh just realized that the thin line is just out the pic to the right. The circled one is the left-most one in your photo.

This is the Apple River Spire:

Thanks for caring!

Who's going to give it a shot. Only the peak in the centre background has a name. The needle-like summit on the right is un-named. Your first clue: Its located in BC. Marc don't give any hints....!

That be from Marc's and my flight over the Wadd Range with Dave King on about August 8th. It is a couloir on the north-ish side of Quartz peak in the Niut Range. Don or Drew would know if its been climned or not. It sure is tasty looking if scaring yourself is how you get your kicks. The summit of Quartz is just out of view to the left and its about 9,600' high.

Hagwilget Peak - googled it and oh ya have seen that one. Damn now I just remembered the near-by "7 sisters range" and these are something else - like a northern version of the Picket Range. There's lots of kick-ass peaks in the Ecstall/Exchamiks (sp?) area to the SE of Prince Rupert. I remember seeing a John Clarke side show on this area many moons ago and oh boy it was scenic. Apple River Spire. Good call. Flew over that one this summer but I didn't see the "famous" side of it. We flew over the east side and didn't realize until its too late that the "twisted/crooked spire" look is more on the SW side. Seen the Needle Peaks from a LONG ways away so didn't really appreciate them. But I hear that they are well....needle like...which is like a good thing.

Reading the responses jogged my mind and I'll add a "Runner-up list": - Mt. Bute - Pointer Peak - Mt. Denman - Beartooth Mtn. - Klite Peak - Mt. Good Hope - Mt. Tantalus - Mt. Stanton - Mt. Raleigh I have not seen them in person (bad weather while passing through Petersberg Alaska prevented it) but the Devils Thumb area needs to be at the very top of anyones' list. Also from the few pics I have seen on-line the Devil's Paw is crazy looking. And Fairweather is notable but I am not sure if this is still techincally the Coast Mountains?

Since this forum is slower than the US housing market I thought I'd post this mind-stimulating poll to get us through these dreary, rain-filled and mountainless days. Name your top 10 list of the most beautiful, powerful, stunning and simply kick-ass peaks in the Coast Mountains. But here's the twist - you have to have had laid your own eyes on the peak. So don't work from a book or magazine or on-line picture. Rattle your "visual memory" and see what you come up with. I'm limiting my list to the mountains from Bella Coola south but if you have explored northwards and a peak is on your top 10 list, throw it in. Here's my list: 1) Mt. Waddington Have now been fortunate to see it from the ground 2x (Niuts and Pantheons) and 2x from the air, the second time being exceptionally close. From the northeast where it is most commonly seen it is not that attractive - a hump of ice with 3 summits, but when seen from the east and south/southwest it is a fantastic sight. And from due north (have to be over Hickson) it is also very spectacular. Its most dramatic flank is the SW one where it throws down dramatic walls capped by the spire-like main summit. Some pics from my collection: 2) Monarch Mountain Have only seen it from a distance several times (from Niuts and Pantheons). I dream to see it up close. It looks wild from all angles, especially the northern side. 3) Mt. Queen Bess Have seen it from the air and from near Whitesaddle Mtn. in the Nuits. Although from there it is only parlty visible it is a cray sight as evern from that distance its spire-like form is quite apparent. This peak is high on my hit list to photograph next summer. 4) Mt. Gilbert Circled it several times a month ago from the air. Never seen it from the ground (few have!). The southern flank is beautiful granite - and tall - and surrounded by steep icefalls. 5) Combatant Mountain Seen it from the land and air. Its northern side most commonly seen (Radiant glacier) is nice (all ice) but its S/SW side above the Wadd/Combatant col is simply the best rock wall I have ever seen. 6) Mt. Bell Seen from the Nuits in 2006 and 2x from the air this year. A beautiful, high and nicely symetrical pyramid that if not so close to Geddes and Waddington would be far more famous. 7) Stiletto Needle Only seen from the air. Is it BC's finest pinnacle of rock? Might just be! 8) Matterhorn Peak Seen only from the Nusatsum Creek logging road out of Bella Coola. This area is one of the most rugged in all of the Coast Mountains. 9) Mt. Judge Howay Seen lots of times. A singular, striking peak seen from almost everywhere in our part of the world. Hell I see it every day on my drive home from work. It looks like Vancouver's K2 to me and its so damn short! But it rises right out of sea level so its prominence is huge. 10)Nusatsum Mountain This wild looking peak is prominent from the Bella Coola Valley, towering over 8,000 feet above with its summit being a small pointy spire. Whew that was hard. So many peaks outside in SW BC are spectacular but really they do not compare to what is found in the "core" region in the wide arc around the Waddington Range. What is your list?