Mt Allan Brooks and Mt Elma

–submitted by Pete Hrkac

We started from Raven Lodge at 8:15am. The weather was perfect: clear, sunny and no wind. Our route took us up the North side of Allan Brooks, then down to the col between AB and Elma, up Elma’s west face, then down the NE side and back via Battleship Lake. No snowshoes were needed, given the icy, firm crust. The group used a mix of microspikes and crampons, and the ice axes stayed attached to our packs. Conditions were made for efficient moving, and our total moving time was just shy of 6.5 hours. Overall, a beautiful day with unusually great conditions given the time of year.

Mount Becher via Boston Ridge

February 4, 2024
~ submitted by Pete Hrkac

Solid, consolidated snow made for easy travel. Traction was very useful for ascending and descending the steeper sections. Although we brought axes, we only used them once, briefly during the descent from Boston Ridge toward Mt. Becher.

It was a great loop, easy route-finding.

Tower and Meadow Cabin Loop

March 3, 2024
~ submitted by Evan White

We started the day by parking on Jordan Main when the snow levels were too high to continue.

We hiked to Tower Cabin where we met four ladies that were on their way out from an overnighter. From there we headed to Meadow cabin, breaking trail in up to 3 feet of fresh snow. We arrived at Meadow cabin, made a hot lunch while melting some snow to replenish our water supply.

From Meadow Cabin we broke more trail while heading out on Matty’s trail in more waist high snow.

Our day was a total of 9.5 hours with 6 hours of moving time over 19km. A good day was had!

Mount Becher New Years Day Celebration

January 1st, 2024
~ submitted by Greg Deabler

Our New Year’s Day stroll up Becher was thoroughly enjoyed by seven Ramblers: It was +2 at the trailhead with slight traces of snow along the plowlines of the road up and no snow at the parking lot.

Given that there had been rain during the previous week and little fresh snow, we made the decision to leave the snowshoes behind and trust our microspikes. A good decision, the snow was hard and supportive all the way to the summit. No wind and and lots of fog as we ascended and came down served to negate most of the views but made for perfect hiking comfort conditions for the day.

A lingering lunch on top, a few photo shoots involving an igloo constructed by a group who had spent the night, as well as the resident and persistent whiskey jacks made for a nice stop. Headed down at a good pace and arrived back at the cars by 2:15 pm.

A great day with even better company!

–submitted by Brian Fleming
Jack’s Peak – 15.7km, 1345m elevation gain, 7.5 hours.
On May 13th, We started around 7:30am at the trailhead, a yellow gate at 300m elevation.  From there it was a pretty steady climb up the service road.  There was plenty of bear scat and we eventually saw one run across the road.

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