klar404 Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 (edited) Climb: Chaval to Snowking loop-Chaval Snowking Date of Climb: 6/19/2005 Trip Report: I've always wanted to do a loop trip in the Chaval-Snowking area.Had three days and after looking at the forcast on Saturday moning at 4:00 am decided to go for this one. Dumped a bike at Enjar lakes trailhead and drove to the "trailhead" between Illabot and Jug lakes.There are many routes up Chaval but we choose to take the ridge route.It was raining and my buddy "invented" the Hefty Kilt! Hike up through some old growth to the base of Chaval in eight hours. Got up and did the scramble route from snow ramp straight to the summit.Here is a picture I took on the way down. Did the long traverse from Chaval gaining and droping elevation until we got the head of Buck creek.This is where you drop 2000' and then gain it again because the ridge is screwed.Go far right into the basin and don't do it the way we did! The basin is sweet! Animal tracks all over the place and you know you are in the middle of nowhere.Climbed up talus and passed over another ridge into the Illabot drainage. Traversed into the basin below Snowking and decided to camp after walking for 10+ hours Woke up and easily climbed Snowking from the south and then decided to head for home.downclimbed Snowking and then got on glacier and sauntered over to the pass above Enjar lake. The glacier was in great shape and we were able to drop down onto it from higher than normal.Got in some weeds and then got to the lake. I'm sure there is a route but we blew it. Got down to the trailhead at 3:00 pm and rode down two miles to the car. Its a great trip! We saw two people the entire time. Most of the travel is reasonable and the alpine setting is top notch. Its also nice only bringing one vehicle. Would not recomend the trip latter than July because of lack of snow. More pictures in my gallery. Gear Notes: used a rope and ice axe. Brought pickets for Chaval-no need this time of year. a mountain bike Edited June 22, 2005 by klar404 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_Yngve Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
To_The_Top Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Thats a great area and a trip I've wanted to do. TTT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klenke Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Glad it worked out for you, Karl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshK Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Wow, awesome trip in a great area. Well done. That last picture of the lake is gorgeous!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtveld Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Great TR and shots. Brings to mind a similar Cheval/Snowking loop we did a couple of years back, but our route stayed mostly in the Illabot basin. I figured your Cheval approach was different from ours since there was no mention of the horrendous brush hole or the patch of ultra-steep forest where I should have had my axe out in case I started sliding. Sounds like the Jug Lake start is a lot better than ours (near the Illabot bridge). We also camped below the icy little lake south of Snowking – and had a few nips of sour mash on a cube-like boulder. Your dawn photo of it with Chaval is a beauty. Did you see the enormous eroding gorge below the lake? I also remember some slippery slabs getting up to Snowking from the lake. Anyone imaginative enough to make a “hefty kilt” is probably a better route-finder than us, so you might have missed it. Pretty amazing area though – glad to hear more about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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