[TR] Mt Robson - attempt 8/17-23/2007

[Chriznitch]

Trip: grey times on Mt Robson

 

Date: 8/17/2007 thru 8/23/07

 

Trip Report:

I recently took a trip up to British Columbia to attempt Mt Robson. I met my friends Brad (Ontario) and Mark (Colorado) in Calgary, and we drove the awesome roads through Banff and Jasper up to Valemount.

Hoping to maximize our chances, we decided to "cheat" and heli in to the dome to be in place for an attempt on either the Kain Face or the North Face. Unfortunately, we were off schedule with the weather patterns. We ended up flying in at the end of a high pressure zone and then escaped at the beginning of the next one. Although the weather forecast said 30% chance of showers, that translates to whiteout, soggy, & winter conditions on the Dome. In total we spent 5 nights below the Kain Face waiting for the weather, and had plenty of time to think and read. The precip was mainly snowy drizzle with occassional wind gusts. After 3 days of storm we had over a foot of fresh, heavy snow. We actually made an early attempt to descend. We packed up everything, roped up, and began down the upper glacier. Not long after pushing through minimal visibility, Mark dropped into a hidden crevasse up to his waist and we decided to return for another night on the Dome. We actually slept better that night after repacking the snow pads for our tents. Finally, the next morning dawned with some visibility and we descended for good. We traversed the ridge towards Mt Resplendent and then moved down the Robson Glacier from the Resplendent-Robson col. After trying a few other traversing routes we successfully descended the glacier negotiating the lowest point in the cirque. There were a couple thinning snowbridges here but things were passable without too much zigzagging.

After a long day and evening getting to Berg Lake, the next morning dawned clear as the amazing summit teased us in our camp. The views from the rest of the trail out definitely inspired me to mentally obligate a return trip in the future. Incredible area!

 

Lesson learned:

-wait for a "sure thing" high pressure zone before heading in to the upper camp for a summit attempt

 

Pictures:

 

elk driveby near Banff

 

view of Robson before the flight in

 

ready for the flight

 

getting a look at the summit

 

flying over the camp on the dome. Thanks to the previous group for the tent spots.

 

trading spots with a guided group on the Dome

 

farewell to the helicopter

 

looking over to Mt Resplendent

 

early in the storm

 

first rap along the ridge

 

Brad descending the ridge

 

downclimbing the ridge, making progress with temporary views

 

 

 

lower glacier panorama

 

awesome, clear views from camp near Berg Lake

 

this is why I will return

 

beautiful Lake Louise

 

Columbia icefield snow bus

 

Gear Notes:

Great test of soggyness for my marmot helium eq down sleeping bag. It passed with flying colors.

 

Approach Notes:

according to the BC parks ranger, flying in to the Dome is cheating. She said you must have at least 3000' of gain to claim an ascent.

[Ponzini]

I agree with the ranger. But nice pics!

Edited August 28, 2007 by Ponzini

[sweatinoutliquor]

That sucks about the weather... Lame! Otherwise I would say it still looked like a sick trip. Those photos are sweet! Next time better luck!

[David Trippett]

that thing is awesome, good work just attempting it.