GREAT alpine rock routes in SW BC

[Don_Serl]

michael layton and fern webb recently climbed the springbok arete on steinbok peak, which prompted the comment from me that this was one of the half dozen or so GREAT alpine rock routes around vancouver, and that it thus deserved much more traffic. that prompted michael to ask if i'd mind listing the other 5 or 6.

 

right!!! i know enuf about this site to know that this is like asking if you'd "like" to get out of trenches at gallipoli...

 

but, what the hell, you only live once. somebody in the BCMC had the temerity to list their view of the 12 great mountaineering problems way back in 1970; i did something similar in the early '80s; i followed that with a listing of about a dozen "great" alpine rock routes in Coast magazine maybe a decade ago [not that i remember what they were!]; so maybe i can take heart that the millenium is still reasonably young, and that the flak will eventually die down.

 

my standards:

1. long enough to matter

2. hard enough to challenge

3. easy enough for most to get up

4. mostly solid (this is the mtns, not squamish, so some loose rock is tolerable)

5. decent gear

6. minimal or no bush

7. pretty

 

this covers SW BC, same as Alpine Select. i did not take remoteness into account.

 

there turned out to be more than 6 routes that i'd consider GREAT: 13, actually. but the listing itself will have to wait till later, cuz i gotta go take in a smorgasbord with some swedish friends RIGHT NOW!

 

catch ya tomorrow, cheers,

[Alpinfox]

 

Tease!

[Dru]

I remember what Don's classics from Coast magazine were. I might even have the article filed away.

 

Fortunately or not new climbs and new opinions since then have perhaps altered the list somewhat. One of the climbs on Don's list was deliberately rejected by the author of Alpine Select for instance. I still don't know why

[Zoran]

I am looking forward to see the list!

Z

[hohm]

Bring it on....the alpine side of my mouth is already drooling (and its not a pretty sight).

[Dru]

As closely as I can remember it Don's list from Coast Mag was

 

Ashlu S face

Yak Check

Solar System on Habrich

Rexford East ridge

Slesse NE butt

Opus on Viennese

Tuning Fork on Bardean

Springboks

North Ridge on Clarke

 

only 5 of which were his first ascents...such understated modesty

[Don_Serl]

the smorgasbord was SUPERB! special highlight was the shrimp sauteed in fresh basil and papaya with lemon pepper (bet you didn't know papaya was a swedish fruit). honorable mentions go to the various varieties of "Abba" brand bottled herring (no connection to the band, apparently) and (of course) the meatballs!

 

so, my choices for the six GREATEST alpine rock routes around vancouver, more or less in descending order:

 

*** NE buttress on slesse: the finest alpine rock route around here: huge, impressive, committing, a bit vegetated but puts you in superb situations; not very hard (belay 6 pitches on the summit tower, plus maybe 2 low down and 2-3 more on the half-height pillar, and solo to no more than mid-5th) but challenging; don't even consider bivvying - sleep at the mouth of the cirque, get up early, take a light rack and travel like hell, do the crossover return - all in a reasonable day.

 

*** yak check on yak peak: my personal favorite - i cld climb this every weekend (but i love the apron at squamish)! a bit of chossy rock here and there, but it doesn't interfere with the climbing; roadside, south-facing, technical but not strenuous.

 

*** tuning fork on bardean: the most consistent and "representative" chehalis route. some mossiness, but superbly firm high-friction granite at the back of a wonderful valley.

 

*** W buttress of S peak on old settler: the best climbing rock imaginable. the easiest route technically on the list, by far, but just imagine the steeper sections on the W ridge of N twin sister for the equivalent of 10 pitches - not that you ever have to put the rope on!

 

*** life on earth on habrich: only 5 pitches, but every one is 5.10b or 5.10c; the nicest "line" on the peak; south-facing; sometimes feels a touch run-out, but then pro appears once you make a few more moves. rap the route.

 

*** springbok arete on les cornes: big, steep, physical - it just goes on and on without relenting - and (despite some graininess on the first 2-3 pitches), superbly solid for anderson river rock, which tends to decomposition.

 

honorable mentions:

** articling blues buttress on wahoo tower

** lillarete on randy stoltmann tower (athelstan)

** E ridge on rexford

** SW ridge on N nesakwatch spire

** DNB on bear mtn

** derektisssima on viennese

** N ridge on clarke

** Flavelle-Rohn or SE pillar on grainger (i can't choose between them, sorry! the F/R has the advantage of history, but i've heard stories of route-finding challenges in the initial corner systems. the SE pillar is one of my routes, so i'm biased towards it - i'll let it stand as a toss-up)

 

** cross-border bonus: W ridge of N twin sister

 

** an unknown "likely": SW buttress of N peak of hozomeen

 

so, that's 16 in all.

 

i've climbed all the GREAT 6 (to dru's point, 2 are my FAs, as are 2 of the other mentions, so my "interests" are public); i have NOT climbed the DNB on bear or the SW butt on hozomeen, but i've heard good things about them both. i have also not climbed derektissima, altho i've done 2 other routes on this aspect of viennese, and DT just sounds SOOOOO good...

 

let the spray begin!

have a good summer,

cheers,

[Dru]

I should point out for those unfamiliar with SWBC climbing history that my quip above reflects on the fact that at the time in the early 90's when Don wrote the list for Coast mag he was probably resposible for 50% of the technical rock routes in the alpine of SW BC so choosing 5 of 9 for a list is no big deal.

 

 

On the other subjects it is good to see the Old Settler made it on there. Hey I've done some of those lines now!

 

I dunno about the SW ridge on Hozomeen - Don mcPherson's report in the BC Mountaineer spoke of gravel, belays with no gear just stances, and some rotten rock.... but it's such a cool looking line... maybe I can report in person on its quality in the near future.

[Mer]

but it's such a cool looking line... maybe I can report in person on its quality in the near future.

 

--thanks for the list Don, also the recipe tips.

[jefffski]

ever grateful don.

[j_b]

great list don. i can't wait to see what i have been missing.

 

imo the dnb on bear is arguably better than the ne ridge on slesse. i don't really like the metamorphic rock on the upper ridge of slesse because it does not present clear natural lines and i am dubious of rock strength (at least as far as pro is concerned). the lower buttress has great rock but it is lower angled and often vegetated (at least last time i climbed it). in turn, even though the lower buttress on bear is not very high quality (so so rock and not sustained), the upper part has great rock (at least as good as anything on stuart). i do admit to a bias toward granite/diorite type rock. beside the views of the peak from afar (the fang!), the other attributes of the climbs seem comparable.

[Don_Serl]

tks j b.

an inspiring recommendation - gotta get there this summer!

 

1. is the topo in red fred volume 3, 2nd edition, pg126 accurate? (i presume so, cuz Alpine Select follows it almost exactly; however kearney in his Classic Climbs is a bit different, and he did the FA)

 

2. do u need crampons (say, in july or 1st half of august - likely thereafter in typical conditions as the neve ices up and the nites cool out, i presume...)

 

cheers,

[snoboy]

Well, I've done a couple of those routes, and they were both great adventures.

 

Looking at lists like this always makes me feel like I need to get out more though. Not that that's a bad thing...

[Dru]

a few that aren't on Don's list probably because they are unrepeated or somehow he forgot about them

 

Kindl Buttress on Judge Howay

SW Buttress of Robie Reid's Pup

Pacemaker

Navigator Wall

 

just outside the boundaries of what some people call SW BC the Beckey/Condon/Must south pillar of Macabre Tower looks very, very good indeed.

 

The northeast buttress of North Illusion Peak

Memorial Pillar

[layton]

derektissima "beta"

 

Bear DNB "beta"

 

here ya go Don!

[j_b]

the topo in beckey seems allright to me but i haven't seen alan's to compare it with (are the missing pitches that mike mentions in his tr past the large shelf?). the climbing between the loose alcove at the end of pitch5 and the large ledge half-way up the climb is certainly confusing, but it is moderate and there is more than one way to go.

 

we did not need crampons (in early august) and it was relatively easy to get on the rock in light approach shoes (accessed the moat via a crevasse) but everybody else i heard of seems to say they were glad they had poons. you probably should listen to someone who has done the trip more recently.

 

i've heard rumor of a .10 independent line all the way to the half way ledge. it supposedly starts further to the west on the front face of the lower buttress. it could be very wet due to the ubiquitous snowpatch above it. unfortunately, i haven't seen a topo.

 

have a good one!

[specialed]

Tuning Fork is ass. One of the most uninspiring routes I've done. Its Wandery and doesn't follow a natural line. Beautiful area though.

[Dru]

stfu lawyer don't be dissin our routes after u come begging for beta

[specialed]

I'm sure the beta will be better this time.

[jordop]

There is also this thing which repeating parties should find to be quite good:

[Dru]

STILL no repeats huh

 

maybe you will have to pay up $$$$$$ or or

 

[spencer.shields]

I don't know how I found this 20 year old thread, but I want to bump it.

What belongs on an updated list of the half-dozen best alpine rock routes around Vancouver?

Mighty Mouse should make the cut for sure. What else?

Edited July 31 by spencer.shields