[TR] Cheam Peak - NW Face (in the summer) 8/15/2006

[cheamclimber]

Trip: Cheam Peak - NW Face (in the summer)

 

Date: 8/15/2006

 

Trip Report:

I am posting this trip report on behalf of my friends Lorne Bleakney (aged 16) Allan Bleakney(aged 45)Vivian Bleakney (aged 21) and Dan Sluess (aged 21). I did not actually take part in this climb although I wish I had.The NW face of Cheam Peak had always been on my mind and probably all the other mountaineers in the valley as well, when my friend phoned me on August 16th I was amazed at what they had done, I then decided to post this report. At about 6 AM they awoke and left the house at about 6:30, they arrived at the foot of the mountain 10 minutes later and prepared for their climb. Their route would follow a creekbed that would become the East couloir leading into a giant scree slope dubbed the Angel. From there they would follow gully on the face leading to the North Ridge which they would follow to the peak. The hike through the creekbed was quick and easy taking little over half an hour. They reached a split in the gully and took to the right. The greekbed became a steep couloir consiting of about 2,000 to 3,000 vertical ft of cliff and loose rock. The most difficult and technical climbing took place in the couloir and the reached the Angel about 3 or 4 hours later (Dan was also fairly inexperienced and found the climbing more difficult than the others)The Angel is a short trudge taking little over half an hour, once they reached the top of the Angel they followed the incredibly steep scree towards the North Ridge, the scree became cliff and when thay reached the Ridge they were tired, hungry and still getting used to the exposure. The Ridge was fairly easy climbing for a while nad gradually steepened to near vertical 2,00 ft or so from the peak, they climbed slowly branching off the Ridge and moving onto the face a little with Allan leading for the most part until they reached the West ridge about 100 ft from the summit. They walked to summit and descended the regualr trail down the south face where they were picked up by family. The entire climb up the face took aprox 10 hrs. I intend to do this climb next spring with Lorne who intends to repeat it.

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Ropes reccomended.

 

Approach Notes:

If you want to repeat this climb you will need to find a small road branching off the highway about 1 km after the bridal falls exit on highway 1. follow this road for 1/2 a kilometer then hike through the forest until you reach the creek (5 mins).Also if you try this route be ready for a lot of exposure and loose rock.

[G-spotter]

The NW face of Cheam Peak had always been on my mind and probably all the other mountaineers in the valley as well

 

yeh... but it's way better in the winter straight up from the angel to the upper west ridge

 

 

You can see the part of the gully they took, above and right of Fred.

 

 

[cheamclimber]

 

My friend isn't interested in winter climbing but i would love to do that one day, aparrentlyits really easy climbing on crappy rock once you are above the Angel.

[Don_Serl]

hi. sounds like a fine adventure for your friends.

 

it may be difficult for you to answer, what with the report being 2nd hand and all, but i wonder if u could try to clarify a cpl things:

 

1. cheam has 2 big faces on its N flank. the "North" face truly lies north of the summit, and is the face one stares at when westbound on the freeway. it lies left of the summit in the view from Agassiz. the "Northwest" face actually lies pretty much west of the summit, and is the face one sees most prominently from Chilliwack, or right of the summit from Agassiz. it sounds like the "Northwest" face was the one climbed - can u confirm.

 

2. the directions are not totally specific. in particular, nothing on this side of the mountain cld properly be called the "East couloir". and (presuming the drainage ascended leads to the NW face, the access is about 2km east of the eastern highway access to Bridal Falls (i.e., out east beyond the auto-parts junkyard). this drainage does have two branches, and the right branch eventually leads up the the NW face. again, any confirmation?

 

3. on the climb, it sounds like they angled LEFT out of the "Angel" (in the NW bowl?) to gain the "North" ridge, then angled RIGHT higher up near the summit to reach the upper West Ridge, correct?

 

tks, cheers, don

[G-spotter]

Hey Don, the Angel is the local name for the snowpatch that hangs around into late summer in the bottom of the NW bowl. They climbed east out of that to gain the North or NW ridge (not the west ridge) up a couloir that is hidden from most places but very obvious when you are in the NW bowl, then up the crest of the N ridge to, it sounds like join your 1976 route. Sounds like they took almost exactly the same approach as Fred and I to the bowl, at least, it makes sense to me.

 

I'll make a little photo topo... hang on

[G-spotter]

OK, here we go

 

Original photo from Flickr by rog45, see here

 

Now in my topo,

red = Kay/Zozikyan West Face

green = shared approach to the Angel, which is where the lines split

Yellow = new summer line NW Face to N ridge

Purple = winter NW face

 

Edited December 5, 2006 by G-spotter

[G-spotter]

Although, it sounds like they went straight up the creek gully to get to the Angel whereas Fred and I were in forest on the left.

[chris]

nnniiiiicccceeeee

 

[cheamclimber]

ya in the pic the yellow line is perfect exept it goes straight up at the end. and don..count all your questions confirmed because i have climbed as far as the top of the angel on an attempt of the sub-peak AKA red tower. and what was sais about taking the forest on the right of the drainage creek, its alot easier than the nasty cliffy way up the actual creek (i descended it when i came down from the Angel.

Edited December 6, 2006 by cheamclimber

[Don_Serl]

tks. and u too dru. here's to perfect clarity in route descriptions.

cheers, don