zoroastr Posted August 9, 2010 Posted August 9, 2010 (edited) Trip: The Citadel - C2C Date: 8/8/2010 Trip Report: Alex, a friend who's been working in Japan for the last couple of years, was in town over the weekend and wanted to take in some local alpine scenery. I'd seen The Citadel on a recent trek into the Mt. Daniel area and decided it might make a fun day trip. Our modification of the normal route included extensive 3rd and 4th-class scrambling, a single low-5th-class step, a very pretty ridge walk, and enough routefinding puzzles to keep things interesting. Some snaps... The peak, as seen from our cross-country traverse to the Circle Lake drainage. Arrow indicates the point where we accessed the main ridge. There's actually a nicely cairned path to Circle Lake from the main approach ridge to Mt. Daniel. We didn't discover this path until our return trip, so our cross-country approach was a bit of a 'schwack. Out of the jungle, and nearing the Circle Lk. drain... The drain... From the notch to climber's right of the small, obvious gendarme, a single low 5th-class step gains the main ridge. We didn't bring any gear, and so took turns on the first part of the loose, blocky ridge, which quickly gentles out and becomes a very pretty walk. We weren't sure how far we could follow the ridge, but committed to it knowing that we could reverse our moves if it cliffed out. Eventually, we were forced to exit the ridge short of the summit mound, blocked by small cliffs and spires. Below the upper ridge, the way to the summit climb is a pleasant mix of slabs and remnant snow patches. I don't think we lost any time by following the upper ridge, and I would tentatively recommend this mod for those who want to add a little spice to what is otherwise a pretty tame approach. The complex summit of Mt. Daniel from near the top of The Citadel. The final climb to the summit of The Citadel is mainly 3rd-class, with nice 4th and low 5th-class options slightly off-route. Care must be taken on the surprisingly narrow and nicely exposed final summit ridge... Some amazing geology is on display from the airy perch atop The Citadel, including this curious ridge... ...and another kewl lake... The careful down-climbing went quickly, and we boot-skied the snowpatches along the normal route down to the lake drainage. Heading back, we found the cairned path back up and over the main Daniel approach ridge and down to Peggy's Mosquito Nursery. MP3's came in handy on the pleasant, sunny hikeout. ...A great day in the hills! Edited August 11, 2010 by zoroastr Quote
genepires Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Nice photos. nice looking country. very cool "weird geological" ridge. Quote
grinter Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 cool pics, Is that Bear Breast Mt rising form the mist in the last photo? Quote
Good2Go Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Nice TR on an obscure objective! I often look at the Sentinel while skiing the opposite side of that valley during the winter (e.g. around Paddy Go Easy). Thanks for posting. Quote
zoroastr Posted August 10, 2010 Author Posted August 10, 2010 cool pics, Is that Bear Breast Mt rising form the mist in the last photo? thx..yup, pretty sure that's B.B. Quote
SmilingWhiteKnuckles Posted August 10, 2010 Posted August 10, 2010 Great shots and report. Wondered what this peak was in my own climb of Mt. Daniel just three weeks ago ( ). Cool to see how much snow has melted out since then (Peggy Pond was half frozen). Your shot "the drain" provides a great vantage of Cathedral Peak and you can even make out the Peggy's Pond trail traversing just below Cathedral's cliffs. Awesome. Quote
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