[TR] Uto, Eagle, Avalanche, Rogers Pass, BC - SE-NW Traverse 7/4/2013

[mikebromberg]

Trip: Uto, Eagle, Avalanche, Rogers Pass, BC - SE-NW Traverse

 

Date: 7/4/2013

 

Trip Report:

Because I had such a nice outing on Canada Day exploring Mt Tupper a few days prior and because I need to continue the "terrain familiarization" tour of Rogers Pass while conditions are favorable favourable, TBAM and I headed up for the Uto-Eagle-Avalanche traverse on Rogers Pass.

 

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An early morning start (0230) from Revelstoke, burrito number one, and a nice casual approach on trail led us to the Sir Donald/Uto col. Sir D (Syndicate Peak) looks like, and is reported to be, in fine climbing shape (see below).

 

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Eager for mileage on good rock, we set off up the SE Ridge of Uto Peak. Excellent alpine quartzite and some really nice views and exposure the whole way to the summit.

 

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[img:center]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3741/9237277846_5ede392ee2.jpg[/img]

 

 

 

We climbed to the top of Uto Peak by 7am. It was here I ate my second burrito of the day b4 we continued on and down the NW ridge of Uto to the Uto/Eagle col. Uto/Eagle col is some kind of contact between excellence and choss where we encountered the end of alpine rock greatness and encountered something less than fantastic.

 

[img:center]http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5521/9237279246_aba8de12d8.jpg[/img]

 

We marched up to the top of Eagle Peak on choss and snow, then relaxed on top about 2 hours later. Here is my partner arriving on top in #instagram fourth of july style with Syndicate Peak (isn't that a better name?) in the background.

 

[img:center]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2877/9237282098_ef4819622e.jpg[/img]

 

Descending the NW Ridge of Eagle Peak was not fun. We brought along a tiny glorified cordalette of a rope and used it twice to make 2 mini rappels. I would expect that a longer cord would help alleviate some of the misery of this portion of Eagle Peak, of course it could be even more dangerous to pull a long rope through all of that loose rock.

 

[img:center]http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5516/9237284370_80c85b6c1e.jpg[/img]

 

The chossy ridge on Eagle with Uto and Syndicate behind.

 

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Three hours after lounging on the summit of Eagle, we arrived on top of Avalanche Mountain. I drank a lukewarm can of coke on the summit. It was fantastic.

 

The Abbot-Afton-Todd'sHead-Dome-Jupiter-YoungsPeak traverse is partially showing in the background and can be combined with this traverse by following Abbot-Afton-Done-Castor-Pollux-Leda-Youngs-Illecillawaet-terminal-sirD-Uto-Eagle-Avalanche for a mega traverse around the entire Asulkan/Illecillewaet cirque. I'm not sure if the megatraverse has been done in a single push, but someone should give it a shot.

 

Anyhow, we descended via Avalanche Bowl and the Avalanche Crest trail before I consumed my third burrito and we eventually made it back home to Revelstoke 13.5 hours after we left.

 

All in all, this was a really nice high alpine traverse. Lots of scrambing beyond the best part, Uto Traverse (SE-NW ridges). The Uto traverse would be a fantastic afternoon climb after hiking into camp for a Sir Donald attempt and I'm sure it is most often done as such...

 

 

 

 

 

Approach Notes:

Approach on trail to the Sir Donald/Uto col bivy site.

[sepultura]

Thanks for sharing! Looks like great fun, going to have to make these climbs a priority!

[JasonG]

Yeah, keep the Selkirk TRs coming!! Great images, engaging stories, and tons of high quality moderate climbing. I've enjoyed every one of them, and have added to my Roger's Pass tick list.

[mikebromberg]

Nice! I'm glad you guys are pumped on the Selkirks and the TR's. The bugaboos sound like they are in great shape, these are all great options for quick alpine missions on the way too and from western WA.

[Le Piston]

Thanks for the inspiration. Just did Uto SE ridge sunday. A really fun climb. I'm glad we went back down the same way and avoided the choss. It was some of the nicest downclimbing I've done in Canada...especially after doing Temple the day before.

[mikebromberg]

nice one! some of the best rock in the area for sure.

[mountainsloth]

all burrito powered ascents. That's what I call style!