South-west winter routes

[gertlush]

Hey all, any suitable winter climbs round the lower mainland where I won't get into too much trouble? I like the looks of the ramp route on Mt. Harvey & it seems reasonable. Also maybe the NE butt of the Lion but that might be a step up. Anything else around that has similar access, good for a newbie to cut their my teeth on? Howz about Chilliwack area?

 

Ryan

[jmace]

The ramp on Harvey is just so perfect..even as a quick romp before work TR

 

NEB would really fun

[fern]

what's your background in assessing avalanche hazard?

[gertlush]

Absolutely nil...Harvey seems safe but I've heard that the area around the Lion is pretty dangerous. I plan to take a course possibly through Canada West but minimal avi hazard would definitely be a consideration.

 

P.S. That TR is what's inspired me to try Harvey!

Edited November 17, 2006 by gertlush

[G-spotter]

Ski up to Alouette Mountain and then climb Blanshard Needle. Good winter time fun. For extra fun ski up and down Fly's Gully instead.

[G-spotter]

PS It takes about 1.5 hours to Harvey NF and 3-4 to Lions NEB under similar winter conditions. That's the main reason why Harvey is better!

[fern]

 

The Mt. Harvey ramp is not 'avalanche safe' all the time, safe climbing is condition dependent as with most steep snowy terrain. An avalanche course is a great idea. Be sure to use the opportunity to do some extra-curricular quizzing of your instructor about your climbing objectives. Often those courses will be focused towards backcountry ski-travel with no consideration for winter climbing.

[gertlush]

Thanks for the ideas & advice, winter travel is still pretty new to me so I'll be taking it easy but it is nice to have 1 or 2 objectives beyond just ice climbing. Now I need everything to freeze up

[Don_Serl]

the normal route on the W Lion is a good outing in a pretty wide variety of winter conditions, especially early when there hasn't been too much snow accumulation on the approach. I've been up it several times and always come home with a grin. of course, I did avalanche Peter Croft and myself out of the approach gully once too, but that was a combination of foolishness (the snow was 'whumping' even down in the trees) and laziness (it's shorter and faster to climb directly to the notch than it is to traverse south and then gain the ridge); plus it's more aesthetic and offer way more 'climbing' to go direct. overall, if the snow allows you to climb up there at all, it's generally firm enuf to be reasonably avalanche-safe. but for sure, if you're gonna be out there winter mountaineering, getting some avvy knowledge is mandatory.

[btw, when i say "normal route", really I mean S face, directly above the notch.]

check your PMs...

cheers, don

[Bigtree]

Gertlush, here's an June '06 picture of the N/W chute on the West Lion. I found it to be a straightforward variation of the usual approach:

 

Of course here's the conditions you'll likely encounter for the next few months (this was taken during an earlier March '06 trip) - take care: