Don_Serl Posted February 27, 2005 Posted February 27, 2005 (edited) Climb: Welch Peak-South Ridge Date of Climb: 2/26/2005 Trip Report: I don't usually bother with TRs, but conditions in the alpine are quite fine now, and we might be going to have a good early season to make up for the lack of ice, so people ought to be encouraged to get out. Graham Rowbotham, Brad Winter, and I drove Foley Ck FSR and the Williamsom Lake Road spur (well described in bivouac.com; see: http://www.bivouac.com/RoadPg.asp?RoadId=234 ) to about 960m, where the road enters trees, and the shade has prevented snow-melt. There was a Ford Ranger parked here, so we obviously had company ahead of us. There was easy walking up the road to the basin at about 1150m (30mins). We followed old and new tracks left to the lower left corner of the forest-band beyond the upper clearcut and followed the well-marked trail (mostly on the duff, not snow) to the ridgecrest at about 1450m (1hr; onto snow here). Most of the tracks soon veered off left to traverse/climb to Williamson Lake, but we continued on up the crest, soon emerging from treeline into steep meadows, still mostly without snow-cover till we reached the shoulder at ~1750m. From this point we saw our 2 "companions" starting up the snow-slopes above Wmnsn Lk. We continued to the crest at 1925m (3hrs from the vehicle), where the S Ridge kinda turns into a "real" mountain feature. The other pair reached the Welch-Foley col about this time. There were tracks (maybe a week old?) still followable, which eased travel a bit, cuz the SE facing snow on the right flank of the ridge was softening a bit in the sun, but I was surprised it took 2hrs to reach the S summit [2365m] - but perhaps that's not too much of a shocker, as there is over 1km of terrain involved, with several sections of exposed rock-scrambling, a cpl short snow-aretes, one exciting cornice bypass, and a fair amount of pretty strenous step-kicking in semi-rotten snow. It was very wintry on the short descent from the S summit. The short, imposing-looking rock wall beyond goes easily enough on the right, then there is a section of rock/snow arete that demands care. The final challenge is a rock section on the ridge - from my earlier ascent, i recalled downclimbing a cpl bodylengths to the right, then traversing the E-facing slopes beneath this rock, and this still seemed the right thing to do. The snow was worrisome, so we broke out the rope, got a superb LA belay in a fine crack on the left, and dispatched the slope. I kicked off a couple point-source surface slides, but nothing worse. The ridge was regained after 50m, and with "terrain protection" (and 2 slings along the way) we carried on to the summit [2431m]. The upper section (only 250m long) had taken us nearly 2hrs (7hrs total from car). Views were superb, of course, and we enjoyed ourselves for a half hour before tackling the descent. The easiest line lies down the SE face, but this is steep snow (which had been baking in the sun) with cliffs below and no possibilities for belays. However, it was now 3pm, so the sun was oblique (or, in parts, off) the face, and as we tentatively started down, we discovered conditions were safe. There were some quite icy sections, but mostly it was sugary snow over a hard crust. Steps were firm enough after 2-3 kicks, but the crust prevented effective shaft penetration, so we moved slowly to remain secure (unroped, of course), and it took 1 1/2 hrs to downclimb only 250m to reach the safety of the basin. (The S ridge and SE face are superbly shown in Pat Graham's shot of Welch at: http://www.bivouac.com/PhotoPg.asp?PhotoId=5210 The downclimb lies directly beneath the summit, between the minor snow-ribs, then angling right.) There ensued a frustrating bout of intermittent plunging to mid-thigh in rotten snow to reach Williamson Lake [1650m; water in the creek here], from which we dropped directly down the headwall to the road. The car was regained just at dark, 11hrs after we set off. There was evidence of several parties on the mtn. There were (astonishingly) tracks coming up out of Airplane Creek onto the SW spur, then joining the S ridge. There were also (probably 2) set of old tracks following the lower crest, and tracks climbing snow NW to the S ridge from Wmnsn Lk. Plus there were a set of old tracks up/down the SE face. Good to see there are others out there! We found an ice-axe low on the descent below the lake (perhaps from the pair in the Ranger?) - the owner can claim it by identifying the model... A final word: a personal perspective (if you have patience to read further). This climb comes 27 years and 1 day after I made the FWA of Welch via this route, way back in '78. I had intended to have a look up around Rexford, but the weather was coming in from the south, so I just took off to see how high I could get on Welch, which had looked superb in the sunrise light from the Chilliwack River road. There were no high logging spurs - the trail left from the outlet of Foley Lake [550m], but conditions underfoot were superbly firm - I had my crampons on less than an hour up the trail. Up on the ridge the snow was that lovely punky stuff, with easy steps and excellent security. I recall doing the traverse up high (which we belayed) with no hesitation. Ditto the downclimb of the SE face, which I kinda "felt" my way down. There were no views - the weather had crapped to the point where I could barely see the S summit by the time I reached the main summit, and I didn't tarry before setting off down. I was fitter and faster back then than I am now, but I was shocked by how quickly the day progressed: 6 1/2 hrs to climb 1900m, and only 3 hrs to get down. There's really nothing better than good conditions in the mountains in the winter, when (and if) you encounter them! A shame they are so rare... Cheers, Gear Notes: 60m 8mm rope, 1 long thin Lost Arrow (we took 4 pitons), a couple long slings and a cpl regular length, a few krabs... Approach Notes: see TR... Edited February 27, 2005 by Don_Serl Quote
Blakej Posted February 27, 2005 Posted February 27, 2005 cool TR but whats with having to be a paid member to look at your pics? Quote
Don_Serl Posted February 27, 2005 Author Posted February 27, 2005 cool TR but whats with having to be a paid member to look at your pics? not my pics - i don't shoot digital. brad may fwd me some shots, which i can post if they're decent. as for the refs to bivouac.com, yup, u gotta pay - which i'd encourage anyone interested in mountaineering in BC to do. there is a huge amount of info available, which has taken many people unimaginable amounts of time to compile. cdn$25 for a year is enough to cause some people pause, but i'm into supporting the efforts. p.s. the alternative - for me to simply copy the photo from biv.com and re-post it here - disrepects the photographer and his copyright. the net may be redefining such things, but i'm old enuf and trad enuf that this still matters to me. so i'll contact Pat and see if he'll give me permission to do so... cheers, Quote
jordop Posted February 28, 2005 Posted February 28, 2005 Cool you found a piece on that chossheap! How did the NW buttrash look Quote
bobw Posted February 28, 2005 Posted February 28, 2005 don that was my ranger and me and pat still got our axes but thanks,was a very good day up there yesterday nice TR....bob..... Quote
Dru Posted February 28, 2005 Posted February 28, 2005 Welch is the mountain of booty. I got myself a new ski pole there on Christmas Eve. Quote
Don_Serl Posted February 28, 2005 Author Posted February 28, 2005 (edited) pat's happy to have the photo posted - now, let's see if i can do the business... cheers, Edited February 28, 2005 by fern Quote
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