Cuillin Ridge

Isle of Skye

Without great expectations of actually pulling it off Jos and Pip took a crack at a 1-day traverse of the fabled Cuillin traverse on our last day on Skye. We managed about three fifths, we figure, bagging about 15 peaks along the way between Gars-bheinn (southern end) and Sgùrr Thuilm (we exited the main ridge via the West ridge of Sgùrr a' Mhadaidh). A 5:30 start from the Glenbrittle Campground got us to the top of Gars-bheinn and the start of the traverse for 9:00 (we lost a bit of time traversing too far East under Gars-bheinn before starting up). Consistent with almost every mountain day we had during our month in the UK we were in the clouds and didn't get much in the way of views. However, we enjoyed a tonne of fun scrambling, including two technical pitches (TD gap and King Chimney) made more exiting by the fact that we had no pro (though plenty of slings). We moved well, and took few breaks, but eventually ran out of steam (and water), and when Guy (aka dad) intercepted us north of Sgùrr a' Ghreadaidh we faced a stark choice between A: continuing on for a guaranteed Sufferfest or, B: calling it a day and getting back to our families for dinner. Pip was only half-inclined to suffer (against Jocelyn's resolve not to call it a day; bailing at this point still meant another 3hrs or so on our feet) so down we went. Back to the Glenbrittle Hostel around 6pm where Gillian (aka mum) was waiting to give us a very-much-appreciated ride down the road to the campground.

Scramblers: the sister-brother team of Jos and Pip.

Guidebook: Mike Lates, Skye: The Cuillin (2011).

Photos | Strava

An Stac and the Inaccessible Pinnacle

The Cuillins, Skye

Midges notwithstanding our five days on Skye were a highlight of our month in the UK. The Glenbrittle campground is by the beach at the foot of the Cuillin ridge and, best of all, has a shop and cafe with croissants and genuinely good coffee. On our first full day we went up to Lochan (lake) Coire Lagan and then the more intrepid among us continued up for a scramble on An Stac. Jos and Pip did this a couple days later unroped as part of a longer traverse of the ridge, but today we all tied in (Andrew did so the old-fashioned way as we didn't have a harness for him). A straightforward but quite exposed scramble; it felt like a good intro to the Cuillins. At the top Jos and Pip had to take the opportunity to get up the 'Inaccessible Pinnacle', and then Oliver climbed / got hauled up the rappel route on the opposite side. A long descent down the west side of Sguur Dearg before Oliver, with Pip in tow, took off on a full-out run down the trail and then cross country in order to make it back to Glenbrittle for ice cream before the shop closed (we made it with about 9min to spare).

Scramblers: Oliver, Jos, Pip, Andrew, Guy.

Photos | Strava | Video of Danny Macaskill getting up the IP with his bike.

Tryfan

Snowdonia National Park, Wales

I had just enough time for a quick scramble up the north ridge of Mt. Tryfan on our first evening in Snowdonia. It was a short visit – just two nights camping at the Idwal youth hostel – so I wanted to seize the opportunity and it turned out to be a highlight for me of our month in the UK. Having never been to Snowdonia before it was a thrill to discover this place and I hope we get back with more time to properly explore it. The scramble was straightforward and a lot of fun, with increasingly good views back down into the valley. I was surprised to discover that Wales isn't into trail markers, but did go too far astray. The top was unbelievably windy (hard to stand) so I didn't linger. Down the south side and around to Llyn (Lake) Idwal where I ran into the rest of the gang coming up for a post-dinner walk in the rain.

Photos | Strava

Avalanche Mountain

Rogers Pass
Southwest Ridge (F 4th) - Southeast Ridge (F 3rd)
2,861m

The vision was of a 2-day early summer enchainment of the Sir Donald group, including (from North to South) Avalanche, Eagle, Uto, Sir Donald and the Terminal peaks. The reality was a 16hr winter adventure on Avalanche. Still, a fun outing with good friends and a chance to get more familiar with Rogers Pass (the following day we also took a day hike up to Hermit Meadows, which we will have to return to). An opportunity, too, to practice being safe in the mountains in less-than-ideal conditions. Pip kind of blew it near the end (losing control on a patch of snow in our descent gully), but otherwise we did well and made it back to Illecillewaet (where we had had the good sense to keep our tent site, 'just in case') shortly after dark.

Sir Donald and the enchainment await our next attempt!

Photos    Strava

Tomyhoi Peak

Class 3
2,266m

Thirty years ago Yellow Aster Bute and Tomyhoi felt like our family's private mountain refuge. No longer. Since the last time I was there (a couple decades ago) it has been discovered by everyone and their dog. Not a big deal. It remains a fantastic spot, and the crowd thins considerably in the evening when all the day hikers head home. The Okanagan, Vancouver and Hood River branches of our family met in Glacier (lunch at Graham's of course) for one more outing to cap off a great summer in the mountains. Some of us had to lug ludicrously big packs up to the lakes below Yellow Aster Bute (some in our party are still not carrying their share), but we managed to get up before sunset. The following morning we lounged about the lakes and did a short jaunt up to Yellow Aster Bute for lunch. Tomyhoi itself was our destination for the next day. I'd forgotten how involved this scramble is; it's not to be taken lightly. For those of us who made it up (Oliver, Eloïse, Guy and Pip) it was an all-day affair, and getting across the top of the glacier was a proper hassle with one ice axe and no crampons (crampons are probably overkill, but both adults should've had ice axes at the very least, and crampons certainly wouldn't have hurt). The other key issue is rockfall, which is a particular hazard when hiking with a six-year old. None of which is to say this wasn't an awesome adventure – it was – but there's always room for improvement and we could've been a little better prepared for this one!

Jos and I have a lot of memories of this place as kids, and bringing our own kids here for the first time was really neat. I think we'll be back again soon (hopefully with Gillian – who injured herself the day before this trip – and Lisa next time).

Participants: Luca, Sparrow, Oliver, Eloïse, Jocelyn, Andrew, Lisa, Guy and Pip.

Guidebook: Matt Gunn (Matt has also added his route description to Bivouac.com).

Photos   Strava   GPX   KML

Uto Peak – Southwest Ridge

PD 5.1.
2,927m

Finding myself in Roger’s Pass without a climbing partner for Mt. Sir Donald (at the top of my wish list this summer), I climbed up the SW ridge of Uto and down the NW. For a 5.7-8 alpine climber (and, perhaps, more to the point, a dad and husband) this was right near the limit of my comfort zone as a solo climb. I brought climbing shoes ‘just in case’ and ended up using them for the entire climb! A very nice route on good rock, though plenty of loose stuff to pay attention to. It’s been a smoky month or so in the Rockies and across the province, but I had a relatively nice day, and stunning views. I had Uto all to myself, and saw just a couple parties on Sir Donald. Pretty sure I also saw a wolverine at first light in the boulder field on the hike up.

Participants: Pip.

Guidebook: David Jones (2012), Rogers Pass Alpine Guide.

Photos   Strava    Bivouac.com    GPX   KML

Mt. Yuckness – South Summit, Northwest ridge

PD 4th Class

2,851m

Eloïse and Simon got their first alpine start this morning in order to get up Yuckness before catching our return bus after 4 fantastic days at Lake O’Hara. This is a super fun scramble with some very-real exposure that had at least one of the dad’s in our group questioning how he felt about having his son tied to him while he negotiated the trickier bits. Really, really good views of the Lake O’Hara area from the summit, despite pretty heavy smoke; a great way to cap off our trip.

The climbers trail to the West face departs (left) from the main trail shortly after climbing up above Opabin lake (3-5min from the lake). Though unsigned it is very clear. From there we easily followed the cairns up scree to the col between south and north summits, where we roped up for the summit push. On the way down we took the alternate, 3rd class scramble back to the col.

Participants: Pip, Aaron, Eloïse, Simon.

Photos   Strava   Bivouac.com   GPX   KML

Mt. Schäffer – Southwest ridge

F  3rd class.

2,691m

When it comes to getting a group of 8 adults and 6 kids up Mt. Schäffer the crux move comes 3 months ahead of summit day when you have to book the hugely popular campsite at Lake O’Hara. This is not a trivial matter given that the method Parks Canada uses for this purpose is a good old fashioned phone line that opens to all comers at 8am. Fortunately we had the numbers, and with almost all of the adults in our groups pressing redial for a couple hours on the appointed day we got the sites we needed. As for Schäffer itself, the Southwest ridge was the perfect outing for our group. A pleasant hike to McArthur Lake followed by a steep climb up talus to the base of the SW ridge, where we tied the kids up and headed for the top. 

On the approach we took the High-Level Circuit trail to the high point above McArthur Lake (marked by a huge cairn pile) and then left the trail and worked up right and around to the West shoulder. On the descent we took a more direct line back to this same point on the main trail, which I recommend for both ascent and descent. This is easier to nail on the way down as you simply follow the direction off southwest ridge and keep going; on the way up, put your back to the cairn pile and head up into the talus bowl; look for a small break in the cliff band ahead, through which you can gain the SW ridge.

Participants: Pip, Lisa, Eloïse, Oliver, Aaron, Lisa, Simon, Linnaea, Jocelyn, Andrew, Sparrow, Luca, Guy, and Victoire.

Photos   Strava (map)   Bivouac.com   GPX   KML

Wiwaxy Peak – Grassi (South) Ridge

AD+ 5.6-5.7 (10 pitches)
2,706m

Packing up for a family-and-friends hiking trip to Lake O’Hara I thought it was wishful thinking to throw in climbing gear. However, as soon as we got off the bus at the campground and looked across the road to Wiwaxy, We 3 Dads exhibited some quick decision making and got up Grassi Ridge before anyone else was the wiser (the rest of the trip was devoted to family-oriented hikes and scrambles, honestly). After missing the climber’s trail on our first pass (this departs from the trail on the north side of Cataract Brook; we beefed up the cairns a few days later), we had a straightforward approach and very enjoyable climb. As the guide says, most anchors are bolted, and those that aren’t are atop large ledges and can easily be protected with a bit of gear or by slinging a bolder (not all are rap anchors, however; you would need to leave some hardware to get off the route the way you came).

As we approached the West Summit (where the Grassi ridge tops out) we started looking nervously across to the East Summit and the descent trail that traverses beneath it. From our vantage point this looked like the sketchiest (steep, loose) thing we had ever seen, and with very little daylight to play with we were wondering what kind of epic lay ahead. In fact, it was nothing of the sort and we were simply being fooled by foreshortening.

The guide suggests 10-11 pitches. We lost count but ended up doing 12 or 13 including very short pitches 5 and 8 between close anchors. Not sure why these anchors were built this way; both are situated ahead of 3rd class terrain so perhaps the idea is to rig a quick belay without building a full anchor or dealing with the rope drag that would come from the leader continuing over this 3rd class terrain. Three full-length rappels (with a bit of scrambling between #2 and 3) get you to the col between West and East summits; very high potential for rockfall here. Traverse beneath East Peak on the aforementioned trail followed by a quick, very steep descent down to the Wiwaxy gap trail and back to the lake.

* David P. Jones (2015), Rockies Central: The Climbers Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada (Volume 2).

Participants: Pip, Aaron, Alex.
Gear: a small rack of wires and cams (small).

Photos   Strava (map)   Bivouac.com   GPX   KML

Markhor - Needle Loop

1,995m (Markhor), 2,095m (Needle)
Class 4 / low 5th, Gr. II

Having been up the standard route on Needle several times it was nice to approach from another direction, and this loop has been on my to-do list for years. Other than an initial bushwack up through the steep trees, which turned out to be less of an ordeal than I had been expecting, this was a fantastic route over fun terrain - mostly hiking and easy scrambling with some 4th and even 5th class scrambling with exposure thrown in. A hot, hot day, and we ran a little low on water. Otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable day out!

Participants: Pip and Alex.

Photos   Strava    Bivouac.com    GPX   KML

Liberty Bell – Becky route (SW face)

5.6, Grade I.

2360m.

Our first of many trips to Washington Pass I hope! Lucky for us, 4th of July fell mid-week this year and Liberty Bell (as well as adjacent climbs) wasn't crowded. Groups ahead and behind us, but we had the summit to ourselves. Jos did great. I taught her to belay at the bottom of the first pitch, so we had the safety thing covered. This was a pretty perfect alpine outing for us. A fun adventure made pretty stress-free by the low grade (mostly low 5th, with some 4th, and very short crux sections), length of the route, excellent rock, easy gear-placements, and rap anchors. 

We were about 6hrs car-to-car, including half an hour on the summit.

Also, Winthrop looks like a super cool town. Can't wait to get back.

Participants: Pip and Jos.

Strava |  Photos |  Bivouac.com  | GPX | KML

Mount Agassiz & Mount Price

Desolation Wilderness
Originally posted by Kyle at Dece Scouts.

Oct 15 - To Sylvia:

We left the city in a rented Zipcar around 10am and drove to the Lyons Creek Trailhead, which is located just before Wrights Lake in the South Lake Tahoe area. My dad flew down from Canada to join this Dece Scouts trip, so I picked a route that would include some off-trail exploring and possibly a summit.

We hit the trail around 2:30pm and hiked in for 5 miles to Lake Sylvia. It was a very gradual incline, which gained 1,400 feet over the course of the 5 miles. When we arrive at the lake we found a smoldering campfire with plastic bottles discarded in the ashes. The campfire was also located in a restoration area, so as you can imagine, we were pretty disappointed in whoever left it there. We pulled out our pots and doused the fire in water from the lake. With all the wildfires in the area, we couldn't understand how someone could just leave a smoking fire unattended.

We found a campsite just up from the lake and set up our tents as the sun was setting. The temperature dropped as fast as the sun set. Bundled in all our clothes, we ate dinner, sipped hot coco, and headed to bed.

Oct 14 - Mt Agassiz and Mt Price:

The morning consisted of heating up water for tea, coffee, and oatmeal, then packing our day packs for our scramble up to the summits. We headed up the west side of the bowl, over scree and moss which progressively got steeper until leveling out just before the rocky boulder summit of Mt. Agassiz. The summit required one or two 5.5 climbing moves with little exposure. On the summit we enjoyed some crackers, cheese, and snacks while Ash made an entry in the logbook.

We climbed off the summit (which was a little trickier than going up), and headed along the ridge that connected Agassiz to Price. Mt. Price was a less significant peak, but provided us with an amazing view of Agassiz's wave like profile. We took another break on Price, wrote another logbook entry, and chatted about epic survival stories. The wind started to pick up so we decided to head down and complete the loop back to our campsite at Lake Sylvia.

Our route took us down a neighboring bowl to an incredibly beautiful Lyons Lake. We stopped at the lake for a rest, where Mike and Stani took a very brief ice-cold dip.

At this point we were back on a trail which returned us to our camp. We had an early dinner and were in our tents by 7:30.

Oct 15 - Early Out:

Up at 6:30am. We tore down camp and cooked our oatmeal as quickly as we could, but it still took us around 2 hours before we were on the trail heading back to the car. We enjoyed the steady decline in elevation and fall colors as we soaked in as much "outdoors" as we could before returning to the city.

All Trails

Needle, Take 2

Grade I, Class 3
2,095m
Coquihalla Summit

Another visit to Needle, following our July trip. This one was envisioned as an overnighter but the logistics of getting ourselves up there after school on Friday, combined with so-so weather that precluded the stargazing we were hoping for, held most of us back until Saturday morning. Most, but not all. In a last minute show of bold determination, Aaron got himself organized and had himself, Simon and Linnaea at the trailhead at dusk, and up onto the ridge to camp. The rest of us came up in the morning. September in the mountains: it doesn't get any better.

This was the inaugural Scramblegs Peak for Linnaea (7yrs), Rosie (8), Leo (6) and Sparrow (5). Hat tip to Luca (2), who came up in a backpack.

Participants: Luca, Sparrow, Oliver, Leo, Rosie, Linnaea, Eloïse, Simon, Lisa, Sara, Jos, Pip, Aaron and Andrew.

Strava | Video

Diedre

5.8, 6 pitches

Squamish (the Apron)

The first time Aaron and I climbed Diedre (circa 2002) was also the first time Aaron had climbed anything. For some reason he didn't think it was an adequately gentle introduction to the sport and he decided that he would never be able to trust me again. Fifteen years later I had not only Aaron's life back in my hands, but that of his first-born, Simon, as well. Together with Eloïse (my own first-born) we had – I think even Aaron would agree – a delightful day out. Surprisingly, given that Diedre might be the most popular climb in Squamish, we also had the whole thing to ourselves for the morning. With excellent pro and rap anchors all the way up, it would be hard to find a better intro to multi-pitch climbing anywhere. Five hours car-to-car for our party (lead climber + second + third and fourth climbing together).

Participants: Eloïse, Simon, Aaron, Pip.

Strava   GPX   KML   Video

Mt. Tszil

Grade I, Class 2
2,377m
Joffre Lakes Provincial Park

Mt. Tszil is an easy scramble above upper Joffre Lake, where we were camped for a couple of nights. This was Oliver's (age 5) inaugural Scramblegs summit, and he was highly motivated to get to the top so he could earn his patch (we now have patches!!). This was an 8-hour round trip from the lake at 5-year-old pace.

Participants: Oliver, Linnaea, Eloïse, Simon, Lisa, Lisa, Pip and Aaron

Strava | Video | GPX  | KML

Needle Peak

Grade I, Class 3
Coquihalla Summit

An impromptu day in the mountains with the kids.  Needle is one of the most accessible peaks we have near us (two hours from Kelowna): a good trail straight off the Coquihalla highway. There are two sections of scrambling. Neither is particularly difficult, but the first is tricky enough that today it dissuaded a heap of hikers from going any further (and would've dissuaded us if we hadn't brought rope for the kids). Happily, this left the top of the mountain – including the nicest bit of hiking before the final scramble to the top – for us to enjoy alone. 5 1/2hrs return, at 7-year-old speed.

Participants: Eloïse, Simon, Pip and Aaron

Strava   GPX   KML

Cathedral Peak

Grade I, Class 3
Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park

This was the inaugural Scramblegs outing for Simon and Eloïse. Eloïse was battling a fever, which made it a little more arduous than it needed to be, but otherwise this was a perfect first trip for the two kids. It was also a good opportunity for the fathers to practice the dark art of short roping. The approach is an easy 4.5km hike from Tuolumne meadows (if you look at our track you will notice that we went further than necessary – more like 5km – on the trail before striking off towards the peak; our route down is more direct). Routefinding to the summit is straightforward, and the scrambling is technical enough to be fun without a great deal of danger. We short-roped the scrambling section to protect the kids (without them we would've gone ropeless) using a combination of simu-climbing and hip belays. Fantastic views for much of the day.

Participants: Pip, Aaron, Kyle, Simon and Eloïse

Strava   GPX file   KML file

Sky Pilot

Grade I, Class 4
Squamish, BC

Sky Pilot is an 18.5km (1,300m elevation gain) return trip from the top of the Sea-to-Sky Gondola (Matt Gunn's book and others describe the pre-gondola approach, which is considerably longer). The first (and last) 5km are the least interesting, following a wide gravel road then bouldery trail up through the valley to the base of the climber's trail. From there it gets good. The climber's trail is a great bit of new trail-building that quickly takes you up into the alpine with views, first, of Co-pilot and the amazing rocky tooth of Mt. Habrich. Next is some awkward climbing up steep and loose terrain to the base of the small Stadium Glacier. We had the option of skirting around the glacier on more of the steep & loose stuff, but the glacier provides the more direct route to the west ridge we were aiming for, and we had crampons, axes and ropes with us (I was comfortable scampering up in micro spikes).

The scrambling begins shortly after you get onto the ridge with the "pink-yellow" slab. This is the most technical part of the whole route, pushing 5th class for about 15m to a shiny new bolted anchor. We had a full length climbing rope which I set-up for top-roping, but we met a group of three rapping down on a 30m scrambling rope so that's all I'm packing next time! From the top of the slab the route makes its way around to the south ridge with plenty of fun scrambling to the summit. There are opportunities, particularly early on, to get off route, but it quickly becomes obvious when you do (above the initial slab there is nothing harder than moderate 4th class to the summit; if it looks harder than that you're going the wrong way).

We had some stand-out performances in our group from Tyler (10 years old) and Holly. Both got up the pink-yellow slab, and Tyler a little ways beyond it before calling it a day on some of the sketchy (loose) terrain above. They both then turned themselves inside out (actually, Tyler seemed like he could've kept going all night) to make it back in time for the last gondola at 7pm. Even though we were up on the first ride at 9:30am, our group was very hard-pressed to get back in time (we could've spent a little less time snapping photos before any hiking occurred). A good deal of uncomfortable running back down the valley trail was needed (Holly had some impressive blisters to show off the next day), and even then it was only thanks to the kindly gondola attendant that none of us had to face the long, steep hike back to the parking lot. Back at the base station we noticed that the gondola stays open later on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer. Note-to-self.

Participants: Pip, Guy, Jocelyn, Graham, Martin, Holly & Tyler.

Photos   KML   GPX

Recommended gear: 30m scrambling rope (material for bolted anchor if top-roping), harness & belay device for pink slab; helmet; ice axe & crampons or micro spikes for Stadium glacier.

Water: bottles could be refilled at the glacier.

References:
Matt Gunn's Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia
Topo 092G11
Bivouac.com
Sea-to-Sky Gondola Homepage and Interactive Map

Petit Dent de Veisivi

Grade II, Class 4-5
Val d'Herens, Switzerland

A little father-son excursion to the Val d'Herens, around the corner from Val d'Anniviers where we were staying with friends and family. On a five-week trip this was one of the few times we got onto steep rock, so it was a real highlight.

I am writing this post a year after the fact (precisely), and didn't have a GPS with me at the time, so won't pretend I can give proper directions. The trailhead is up towards (but not quite as far as) Arolla.

The approach is not overly long, and the climbing is easy 5th class, preceded by a bit of 4th class scrambling. Like most things in this part of the world, the route is bolted so nothing but a few slings required. We made things a bit more interesting, however, by only packing one harness.

Father did very well (who wants to fall when tied into the rope without a harness?), and we were up and down the technical climbing in a couple hours. From the top it is just possible to make out the Matterhorn. That will be for next trip.

Gear: full length rope; harness and belay device; 4-5 slings; approach shoes; good quality cheese and salami.

Participants: Pip and Guy.

Trip photos

Cathedral Core Area Circuit

Grade III-IV, 5.7
Cathedral Provincial Park, Keremeos, BC
7-8 AUG 2012 | Aaron, Kyle & Pip

After a bit of a hiatus (children were born, a house was built .. it wasn't all time wasted) Scramblegs is back in action with a return to Cathedral Park for attempt #4 at The Circuit, a goal that dates to the earliest days of Scramblegs and involves hitting every peak in the core area (map.pdf) from Lakeview to Scout Mtn. Although we still haven't quite got it all wrapped up in one day, we did manage the crux of it (the Matriarch – Grimface traverse, Grade III, 5.7) on this trip. We hiked up Lakeview Trail (.gpx) in the afternoon and camped at Quiniscoe lake. This is the last time Pip will use his bivy sac in any buggy conditions. Early start and off to Lakeview Mountain (rather than taking the most direct route to Matriarch, for the circuit we wanted to make the loop as big as possible). From Lakeview it was down and up to the Boxcar and across Denture Ridge (this took more time and route finding than we'd remembered from our last attempt). At the base of Matriarch we met up with a couple climbers who had come direct from the lakes and were starting up the first pitch of climbing. It was nice having them ahead of us, particularly for the Grimface climb as we weren't 100% sure about the route. Got caught in a hailstorm at one point in the morning, but progress was pretty good for a three-some. Up and down and up and down and up and down. Awesome! A pretty major screwup on the last big rappel off Matriarch and Pip had to prusik back up the rope to the anchor to get it untangled. Crazy how ropes can tie themselves in knots. Once off Matriarch we were into new terrain. Got over to the base of Grimface without too much trouble (one nameless member had to be babied across an exposed bit of ridge walking) and the climbing to the top of Grimface was fun and easier than expected. Back down the other side and started hoofing it to the lakes and all the way down the road to the car. Awful. An 18hr day all told. The full loop around to Red and Scout Mtns. remains to be conquered.

Gear:
60m rope, harness and belay device, helmet, small set of cams (Black Diamond 0.3, 0.5, 0.75, Metolius 7), small set of nuts (didn't place any), one hex, a little bigger than my biggest cam (placed it once), draws incl. a couple long slings.

Photos