Mount Weart via Wedgemont Lake by Night

In August I went up Mount Weart. Because of my scheduling and also fear of sunburns I decided to try this trip at night. It was a great way to try something new and make a standard trip more interesting.

I left the car at 6:30pm and made my way up the Wedgemont Lake trail as the sun was setting

Looking across the valley towards Rainbow Mountain

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There's a trail around the lake on climber's left. Last bit of light went down just as I passed the lake.

Dusk at Wedgemont Lake

Past the lake I continued beside the glacier and up some slopes. Mostly I moved by moonlight. A few times I turned on the headlamp for routefinding. The photos from Matt Gunn's scrambles book were helpful. I made the summit at 1am. I was back at Wedgemont Lake for sunrise.

First light at Wedgemont Lake

I was back at the car for 9am, drove home and had a snooze.

A few notes:

-I was surprised to find the camping fee box not there. I called BC Parks, they told me that you can no longer pay cash for overnight trips. What a bummer. I explained that I would not be sleeping, they still charged me $15 for the trip, I paid by credit card over the phone. Lucky I had cell signal in the parking lot.

-I was thinking I might like to take a nap in the hut on the way back. But it looked like it was full.

-It was extremely pleasant on the ridgeline with a clear sky and a full moon. The light of the moon reflected off the glaciers prodivded ample light.

Sun God Mountain

On Saturday Matt and I bushwacked up to the lake between Seven 0'Clock and Sun God Mountain. On Sunday morning we went up Sun God, then headed home. This trip is well described in the Matt Gunn Scrambles Guide.

We parked near 7km mark of Tenas Creek Forest Service Road. The road is in good shape with large water bars.

Most scenic parking spot I have ever seen.

Then we bushwacked up alongside the creek.

Matty on the bushwack.

We got an awesome sunset from our campsite.

Small lake is just to the right.

The scramble up Sun God was very pleasant.

Matty makes the final move to the summit.

A few notes:

-I have never seen so many mosquitoes in my life. This trip might be better suited to late spring or early fall.

-After the bushwack, the alpine is extremely pleasant.

-Do-able in a daytrip,  I was happy to enjoy a sunset up there.

Mount Sproatt Hike

I recently moved to Whistler. The view from my patio looks towards Mount Sproatt, so I decided to go up to the top.

View from my patio.

I hiked up different mountain bike trails, using Trailforks as a guide. I made my way up the "Sproatt Alpine Trail". Some friendly guys from WORCA were busy finishing this new trail. After I passed them I bushwacked my way up to the alpine.

The sub-alpine here is very pleasant.

I made my way up to Sproatt summit where there is a summit cairn. From here I could look down to my house.

View from the summit, looking towards Whistler.

Overall a pleasant day. I was out for about 10 hours. Next time I would bring a mountain bike for a quicker trip up and down the bike trails.

Joffre Peak with BCMC Group

During the first week of July I was lucky to join a BCMC group for an ascent up Joffre Peak. On day one we hiked into Keith's Hut. On day two we ascended Joffre Peak. This turned out to be a 15 hour day.

Joffre Peak as seen from the hut.

There was still tons of snow in the alpine.

We scrambles some slopes up to a notch near the summit. We rappelled down into the notch, Ian climbed the sub-summit, and the rest followed on the fixed line. We left both ropes in place for the return.

Rappel and fixed line in the notch.

From the notch, it was a short scramble to the summit. We did not spend any time at the summit and headed back for a lengthy return. We tied both ropes together for some 60 m rappels.

Tomas rappels

Then we descended the same snow-slopes. Moving backwards because they were so steep.

Slow and steady on our way home.

Overall a great day!

Mount Baker via Coleman Deming

During late June I went up Mount Baker with Michal, Harvey, and Graham. We went up the Coleman-Deming route. It's pretty standard so I'll keep this brief with just a couple of thoughts on the subject.

The hike up to the alpine is relatively short and enjoyable. Then we camped on the glacier.

Looking towards summit from camp spot.

We enjoyed a spectacular sunset at camp.

Then we woke at 12:30am, departing camp at 1:30am to catch sunrise from the summit. Heading up in the firm early-morning snow was more pleasant than afternoon slush would  have been.

Summit

Overall a very enjoyable trip. A few notes:

-This would definitely be doable as a day-trip. It was however very pleasant to enjoy both sunset and sunrise.

-We roped up for the glacier and that seems like the most prudent thing to do. I saw a couple of skiers unroped.

-There's some more photos on my Instagram @RaberPhoto

Bella Coola to Tallheo Hot Springs by Kayak

I bought myself a birthday present this year. A round-trip flight Vancouver to Bella Coola with 4 days in between.

About 3km each way,

I flew with Pacific Coastal to Bella Coola from YVR South terminal. I was lucky to buy a sale-price ticket. Views from the flight were phenomenal.

I met up with Matt Bruce, he's living in Nimpo Lake and drove over to meet me. For two days we waited out heavy wind. We did some hiking instead.

Great mountain views in all directions.

Finally on day 3 we had our weather window. We woke up at 3 am and headed onto the water right away.

Great views on the water once the sun came up.

Tallheo hot spring felt like paradise.

We woke again at 3am the next day to beat the wind on our paddle back. We got back early and did a small hike called "Medby Rock".

All together a great trip!

Sky Pilot Attempt

In early June, Michal, Ryan and I went to Sky Pilot Mountain.

We parked at Shannon Falls, hiked up, and took the gondola down in the evening.

We started at Shannon Falls parking lot around 7am. We hiked up the Sea to Summit Trail.

A view point on Seat to Summit Trail

Then we hiked a well marked trail towards Sky Pilot. Eventually we popped out of the trees and into snowy alpine.

We kick stepped our way up snow slopes.

Eventually we made our way up to rock near the summit.

Ryan scrambling the pink slab as Michal looks on.

We deviated from the normal Matt Gunn route by replacing the chimney with a sketchy traverse. I decided not to continue. Michal and Ryan headed up to the summit and quickly returned.

Sketchy traverse... more difficult than it looks.

We rappelled the pink slab and had a fun slip-and-slide on the way down snow slopes.

We were happy to arrive at the Gondola just before it closes at 7pm. We each paid $10 for a ride down then walked a few minutes to the car. All together about a 12 hour day. Very nice trip and highly recommend it. Next time I would stick to the Matt Gunn route.