[TR] Tantalus Range- Niobe, Pelops, Iota, Alpha 7/25/2004

[PaulB]

Climb: Tantalus Range-Niobe, Pelops, Iota, Alpha

 

Date of Climb: 7/25-28/2004

 

Trip Report:

Spent three fantastic days at Lake Lovely Water with three of my buddies. For two of us, it was out first time in the area, and we had been looking forward to the trip for awhile. After flying in on Sunday, we climbed the NE Ridge of Niobe (a nice route with great exposure ) and scrambled up Pelops and Iota. Monday was a big day on the E Ridge of Alpha, which was fantastic !. Tuesday was spent relaxing on and around the lake, taking in the views and enjoying the sunshine, before hiking out on Wednesday. All in all, it was a great trip with great weather. As it turned out, the climbing was the easiest part of the trip, while logistics proved to be a learning experience.

 

To get up to the lake, we took advantage of the fact that a large ACC group was flying out on Sunday. This seemed like a chance to get a cheap flight by sharing costs with the ACC group. However, the heli company had different ideas... since they had given the group a flat rate for getting everyone (about 15 people) in and out, they felt that they had already discounted the flights, and wanted $300 to take us into the lake. Not that $300 wasn't a good deal compared to the regular cost (about $400), but it was more than we expected to pay for what would otherwise be an empty flight that had already been paid for by the ACC group. On top of that, when we got to the airport on Sunday morning, there were two other people waiting to fly in, who were being charged $100/person.

 

In the end, we figured that for about 25 minutes of flight time (two round trips to get six of us in), they got about $1400 from all the parties involved. As one person observed, "Really, what can you say? It's their machine, they can charge whatever they want."

 

The most frustrating part of the trip revolved around our accomodations. We had tried to get reservations for the ACC hut, but had been told that it was fully booked for the whole week, and the next two as well. As it turned out, there was absolutley no one in it the entire time we were up there . This weighed heavy on our minds and bodies as we hiked down the trail on Wednesday, with packs full of tents, stoves and other camping equipment.

 

Our exit strategy was to hike down to the river and get picked up by Jay Bicknell who can be hired to ferry people across the river. Now, for this to work, the boat actually has to show up at the agreed upon rendezvous time, which in our case, did not happen. We had called and left a message before leaving the lake to say we were on our way down and that we would call again when we got to the river. We arrived an hour ahead of schedule, left another message and settled in to wait. When the agreed upon meeting time came and went, we made another call and left another message, fully expecting that he would soon show up. However, after an hour, and a couple more unanswered calls, we got the distinct feeling that we had been stood up.

 

We called Murray at Valhalla Pure to see if he knew anyone else who might be able to pick us up, but he couldn't think of anyone right away. This left us with the options of using the cable to tyrolean (although we didn't really have suitable gear) or someone could suck it up and swim/float across and go in search of someone with a boat.

 

Just as we were about to make a decision, we heard a small boat that had earlier gone upriver, coming back down. We waved him over, and soon made the aquaintance of Patrick Lewis, a member of the Squamish Nation. A quick bargain was struck, and for the sum of $10/person he took us two at a time down to his fishing camp on the east bank of the river, complete with cold beer! One of his friends then gave us a lift to the airport to pick up our vehicle, which in our absence had had the rear window smashed in. This was somewhat ironic, since we had figured it would be safer to leave a vehicle at the airport, rather than parked near the cable crossing at the river.

 

Despite all of this, my first trip to the Tantalus Range was great , and I'll definitely be back.

 

Gear Notes:

NE Ridge of Niobe - some folks might want a rope

E Ridge of Alpha - Standard rack for the crux pitch, double ropes useful for a group of four

 

Approach Notes:

Can't say that I'd recommed Mr. Bicknell and his ferry "service" . Give Patrick Lewis a call at 604-898-9107, he'll be happy to give you a ride across the river.

[Dru]