March 18, 2023
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
On March 18th, I led 7 Island Mountain Ramblers on a club trip to El Capitan Mountain. The weather more than cooperated, giving us crisp cool air, blue skies and so much sun!
The snow conditions were ideal for snowshoes. The snow compressed little more than 4 inches so breaking trail was pretty easy. On the lower slopes the bush was dry and the trees had no snow. As we climbed we could see the snow bombs high in the trees. It wasn’t until we got the Service – El Capitan saddle that they started to fall.
After a quick safety discussion and final preparations, we began our climb through the ledges leading to the summit. The snow was exceptionally stable with none of the common telltale signs of avalanche concern.
After a satisfying lunch on the summit, we turned around and headed for home. The only thing that would make this trip more enjoyable would have been having a key to the gate. I could have done without the 15 kilometres of logging road.
More images: https://photos.app.goo.gl/7XBjQn1dSsrQKC7W7