Category: Mount Waddington Regional Distrcit

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Mt Rugged: day trip

–submitted by Clarke Gourlay

1Trip went well with 6 of us, arrived to within 80m of summit (Donkey’s Back feature), but needed to belay from there and didn’t have enough time to finish and get back with all 6.  As it was we had a 16 hour day car to car.  Got beyond the bergshrund below the East Ridge by belaying lead climber over an ice bridge to test it.

On the approach down low (near valley bottom), we returned differently than we went up, and it was a mistake.  As the approach trail (really an old decommissioned logging road) becomes VERY DENSE, turn up hill and proceed at 45 degrees to the hill in the same direction on a climb/traverse.  Much easier than slogging through brush in the valley.  All this could change as more logging is imminent.

Possible to do in a very long day, but we did not complete.

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Mount Abel: A Great Spring Snowshoe in the Sutton Range

–submitted by Matthew Lettington, Read the full report on his blog

The Sutton Range holds a good number of peaks that I’ve included my Island Alpine Quest, including our goal for the day: Mount Abel. The names of the peaks and valleys follow a pattern – Mount Cain, Mount Abel, Mount Adam, Adam River, Eve River, and so on – that have some people referring to that portion of the range as the Genesis Range. Mount Abel, like most mountains, has both an easy or a difficult approach. The west aspect is a dramatic rock wall, but from the southeast there is a good variety of easy mountaineering options.

We parked a short distance down a logging spur, just off Adam Road (~850 m). Only the week prior, the snow was piled at least forty-five centimetres high on the place we were now parked. That’s a lot of snow melt in seven days! Seeing how fast the snow is melting brought a smile to my face, as it’s a sure sign of summer ahead. At the same time, I groaned a little, knowing that we would be trekking through some sloppy conditions.

Mt Abel Map and GPS Route
Mt Abel Map and GPS Route

 

 

Total Distance: 9.9 km
Starting Elevation: 886 m
Maximum Elevation: 1819m
Total Elevation Gain: 943 m
Total Time: 6 hours

Continue reading “Mount Abel: A Great Spring Snowshoe in the Sutton Range”

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Mt Cain — The Long Way Around

–submitted by Matthew Lettington, Read the report on his blog

Being focused on an objective is a great way to track progress and remember to celebrate when you achieve a goal. But sometimes, I get so focused on the objective that I forget about everything that goes into making the day a success. On January 22nd, I had a good reminder that getting to the destination can be half the fun.

I’m usually the driver for our adventures. Behind the wheel, I’m focused on the moment: making sure I don’t fall asleep, leave us sideways on a patch of ice, or take the wrong road. I try to take in as much as I can, but I often let the landscape slide past me without paying it much mind. On January 22nd, I was a passenger — Oh, the sweet passenger life! I scrunched myself into the backseat, propped my head against the window, and watched the landscape roll by. I took it all in – well, at least the right side of the highway. We were on our way to … well, I don’t even remember where. I recall that our destination was past Gold River — a long drive, for sure! But where we were headed isn’t important, because we didn’t get there. In fact, we rerouted several times and ended up far from our original destination.

Mt Cain Snowshoe in the Dream Chute
Mt Cain parking area, Genesis Range

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Kick of to 2017!

–submitted by Matthew Lettington, read the report on his blog

2016 is remembered by most as a year full of foul events, a year that just kept kicking people when they were down! From my perspective, the year looked pretty okay. My family welcomed a second child, I went back to university (AGAIN), and I amidst the mayhem still managed to adventure with many friends. In December, I examined my GPS trip data and discovered that I hiked, kayaked and/or snowshoed more than 60,0000 metres of elevation gain, and more than 700 kilometres of horizontal distance. More importantly, Phil and I checked off more than 30 peaks on our Island Alpine Quest. I was eager to add Mt Derby and Mt Peel to that list of completed peaks.

The Island Mountain Ramblers have a New Year’s Day tradition of hosting a hike to celebrate a new year of adventure. To kick off 2017, I joined my three club-mates on a three-day winter trip to kick of 2017. If successful we would summit Mt Derby and Mt Peel. The trip included two days of alpine winter camping, my first true winter camping experience. As our day of departure approached the forecast brought an arctic outflow, we were looking forward too -if that’s even the right term- temperatures as low as -24 C!

hiking on Vancouver Island
route map and GPS track

 

Total Distance: 12. 4 km
Starting Elevation: 420 m
Maximum Elevation: 1160 m
Total Elevation Gain: 825 m

 

 

 

 

Continue reading “Kick of to 2017!”

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Mount Ashwood & Bonanza Peak

–submitted by Matthew Lettington from his blog: explorington.com

Each summer I look forward to one of two longer multi-day trips, mountaineering through Vancouver Island’s back backcountry. I set the time aside and plan most of my summer around these trips. They become the focus of the summer. This summer we planned a 7-day trek through Strathcona Park, along the Wolfe/Cervus Divide. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans.
As the day of departure came, the long range weather forecast looked bleak: three days of heavy rain. It’s not the rain that doused our trip plans, we’ve hiked and camped in many a deluge. However, along with the rain the forecast predicted multiple days of lighting! Instead, we traveled farther north, to avoid the inclement weather, and used the days to do some climbing in the Bonanza Range. This report is for the first day Mount Ashwood and Bonanza Peak!

Mount Ashwood and Bonanza Map and GPS Route
Mount Ashwood and Bonanza Map and GPS Route

 

Total Distance:10.9 km
Starting Elevation: 690 m
Maximum Elevation: 1746 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1488 m
Total Time: 11 hours

 

 

 

Continue reading “Mount Ashwood & Bonanza Peak”

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Unnamed Peak in the Genesis Range

-submitted by Matthew Lettington, Read the report on his blog

On September 11th I joined three friends on an unsuccessful attempt at Mount Sarai, a peak in the Genesis Range. We were hastened by fine weather, and though we didn’t make our primary objective, we eventually summited an unnamed bump and enjoyed stellar views.

The clock ticked past 8:00 am as we turned off the Island Highway and onto the logging road. It was another 45 minutes of easy driving before we were forced to stop the Jeep, not far from the end of the road. A huge old-growth log crossed the entire road; it must have slid from high up on the steep slope. It’s here that we prepared for our adventure and proceeded on foot.

hiking and Mountaineering on Vancouver Island
hiking route and GPS track

 

Total Distance: 4.4 km
Starting Elevation: 770 m
Maximum Elevation: 1482 m
Total Elevation Gain: 716 m
Total Time: 3h 45m

 

 

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Peak 5769: Day Three in The Bonanza Range

–submitted by Matthew Lettington; originally published on explorington.com

This report is one chapter in a longer series that chronicles a multiday car-camping and mountaineering expedition, done in the summer of 2016. This report is for Day Three, July 17th. We hiked Peak 5769 and several other numbered bumps (read Day 1, Day 2). I came to call this day The day that couldn’t make up its mind — we had blazing sun, heavy rain, wind, more sun, low cloud, sun again, hard rain, lightning, and finally sun as we descended back to the car.

hiking in the Bonanza Range to Peak 5769
some weather rolling in again.

Every summer, I plan multiday adventures on Vancouver Island. I often find myself trekking along the coasts, mountaineering through the backcountry, or paddling the rugged west coast. These trips become the focus of my summer, around which everything else is planned. Arranging for our group members to have the same days off is usually one of the biggest planning issues. So, when we finally get our schedules coordinated, these days become sacrosanct.

This summer, we planned a trip through Strathcona Park along the Wolfe/Cervus Divide — but Mother Nature had other plans. As our planned trip approached, the forecast turned to three days of lightning and rain. We reconnoitred and decided to travel beyond the weather, finding adventure in the Bonanza Range.

Total Distance: 13 km
Starting Elevation:906 m
Maximum Elevation: 1682 m
Total Elevation Gain: 1549 m
Total Time: 9 hours 30 minutes

Continue reading “Peak 5769: Day Three in The Bonanza Range”

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Whiltilla Mountain, Day two in the Bonanza Range

–submitted by Matthew Lettington, Read the report on his blog

This report is a chapter in a longer series of reports from a multi-day car camping and mountaineering expedition done in the summer of 2016. In this section, day 2 July 17th, we climb Whiltilla Mountain.

Every summer I look forward to one of two long trips trekking and mountaineering in Vancouver Island’s backcountry. They become the focus of the summer because it’s difficult to get 7 days where I can head into the backcountry with friends so these days are sacrosanct. This summer we planned a trip through Strathcona Park along the Wolfe/Cervus Divide. Mother nature had other plans. As the day of departure came, the forecast called for three days of lighting. We changed our plan and traveled farther north, and used the days to do some climbing in the Bonanza Range.

Whiltilla Mountain, Bonanza Range, hiking on Vancouver Island
Whiltilla Mountain Map and GPS Route

 

Total Distance: 7.8 km
Starting Elevation: 948 m
Maximum Elevation: 1698 m
Total Elevation Gain: 782 m
Total Time: 5 h 20 m

 

 

Continue reading “Whiltilla Mountain, Day two in the Bonanza Range”