Hat Mountain Photo Essay
Hat Mountain is a small peak in the North Shore Mountains near Vancouver that is not as popular due to being dwarfed by it’s neighbour summits of Brunswick Mountain and Mount Hanover but also because it is not heavily featured in hiking guidebooks for the area. I’ve found that mountains that are well documented and detailed in guidebooks will almost always grow in popularity. The description for Hat Mountain on the popular mountain database bivouac.com reads: “A minor bump located on the NW shoulder of Mt. Brunswick.”. Wow, I wonder why hardly anyone goes there! These lesser mountains have always interested me, I guess because I like a good underdog story and none of the “minor” or “insignificant” summits I’ve visited have disappointed me yet. They’ve always been highly enjoyable to climb and offered amazing views out towards the other summits nearby that would be considered “significant”. Check out my photo essay below to see what you can expect to encounter if you climb Hat Mountain. Directions: If you’d like to visit this mountain for yourself you can find instructions at this link: Clubtread: Hat Mountain We followed the 3rd option, ascending the mountain via the Hat Pass Trail. We highly recommend it....
Scrambling Blackcomb Peak
This season myself and Spring decided to bite the bullet and buy Ski Season passes for Whistler/Blackcomb. Last Winter we simply didn’t get to ski near as much as we wanted. Very little of the fluffy white stuff fell early in the season and then a few weak layers appeared in the snowpack creating persistant avalanche concerns. A lot of our free time was spent waiting out bad weather, waiting for more snow or waiting for the avalanche risk to drop. We’re total ski novices, so we didn’t want to push our abilities under those conditions. This season, even if the weather is bad, we can ski at Whistler inbounds at the resort. We only really visited Whistler for the first time last Spring and we were amazed by the amount of terrain it gives access to. We expect to use it for ski practice under bad conditions and access to backcountry terrain under good conditions. A benefit to buying the Ski passes was that we got free Summer passes for hiking from the Gondola tops. Initially we imagined we’d be using these a lot this season but things didn’t work out that way. We didn’t use them at all. We’re still bitten with that West Coast ideal that mountains have to be earned and that requires hiking them from the bottom up and not using gondolas to bypass the slog to get above the treeline. However, with the hiking season coming to a close, and the mountains beginning to feel like the snow is about to fly any day now I wanted to use my free Summer pass at least once. Similar to my Mount Cook report, I had a free day when Spring was working so I decided to visit the summit of Blackcomb Peak solo. I actually imagined I’d be accompanied by other scramblers but that wasn’t to be the case. I arrived in Whistler late in the morning, joined the throng of tourists heading up Whistler Mountain, then took the Peak2Peak gondola across to Blackcomb. The place was buzzing with tourists. It’s not usual that my days in the mountains begin at 6200ft, surrounded by people in cotton and denim and the buildings and machines of modern society. I’m glad that this experience is still novel and not the norm. Fine day for a gondola ride A hungry snafflehound I headed out quickly on the trails. I knew that my time was limited. I had been tardy and it was already close to noon and the last gondola down the mountain was at 5pm, and I wanted to be on it. I could of course...
The Copilot: How civilized!
We have had more than a few hikes/scrambles around Southwest B.C. that have made us earn our right to be there. They consisted of either an approach on miles of logging road that is so graciously referred to as a “slog”, a heinous bushwack or alder thrash that scratches and slaps at any exposed skin or sometimes if we were really lucky we have had to ford some sort of raging ice-cold water to further our progress. But we have slowly become accustomed to the ways of the wild in B.C. and you could say we have developed a special fondness for them. The scenic ride to the top Looking at our objective The views just don’t get old However, since the arrival of the Sea to Sky Gondola a certain civility and european feel has been brought to one of our local mountain areas: Sky Pilot. The trail has been tamed. We no longer have to endure miles of approach on logging road or thrashing through alder to arrive at our destination. No, now we have a scenic 10 minute ride up in a cable car, a cafe at the top should we need one more caffeine boost before we set off and a well-groomed trail that leads us straight to the alpine. If you didn’t know any better you might actually think you were in a little European town in the Alps. Going up… and up Copilot This August, however,our sights were set on a lesser named bump in the area, The Copilot. Next to Sky Pilot it looks much less intimidating, as it doesn’t quite take up as much of the skyline as it’s better known, better half. But, seeing as we had already scrambled Sky Pilot a few years earlier (If you want to see how our first trip went in this area, pre-gondola, take a look at our successful attempt to climb Sky Pilot in 2011.), we set our sights on this smaller objective and what turned out to be a mini alpine adventure, only minutes from our home. Climb on Summit Selfie Lounging up top More views Despite it’s smaller stature this is still a stiff scramble and should only be attempted by those with the experience,gear and skill to do so. The climb itself is short, approx 90m up the Northeast gully. It’s an obvious line that is filled with loose rock halfway up, so wear a helmet. There were no issues scrambling this section and we made a note of the rappel stations, good sturdy trees, on the way up. We brought the necessary equipment to rappel the route as...
Descending Monmouth Canyon, Squamish
Last year we started to see more and more mentions in our news feeds and social channels of Canyoneering in Southwest BC. It was enough for me to investigate it further to see who was doing it and where. When I discovered that these Canyoneers were coming to Squamish and descending Monmouth Canyon (known locally as “Jump for Joy Falls”) I was shocked. I’d past by some of the waterfalls of Monmouth before on a previous adventure and I remembered them being not only large, but powerful. I couldn’t imagine people trying to rappel anywhere near those things. We’d never really Canyoneered before. On a past holiday in Scotland we’d experienced “Gorge Walking” which, I’m not going to lie, felt a little contrived. We basically just walked around in shallow pools in wet suits and did a few short jumps into the water. I was always aware that I could just step out of the river onto the banks. It lacked the feeling of commitment that I imagined rappelling waterfalls in a tight canyon would provide. I contacted one of the BC Canyoneers and gave them my best elevator pitch to see if they’d allow us to join them on their next trip. I wasn’t hopeful but they accepted! We rented swimsuits, figured out what waterproof gear we’d need, and, slightly nervous about stepping into an unknown activity in an unknown environment, met up with them to cross over the Squamish river and explore Monmouth Canyon. I’ll let the photos below do the rest of the talking, and check out the video at the bottom, made from the plethora of GoPro footage I recorded on this adventure. For more information about this Canyon check out this website: BC Canyoneers Photo Credit for some of the pictures in this set goes to the awesome Kevin Swanson. The 30ft jump after rappel 6 Touchdown! Video from this...
Tears on Mount Harvey
A few weeks ago we did a popular North Shore hike that we had previously done for the first time in 2011, Mount Harvey. It has spectacular scenery, on one side of the ridge the Pacific ocean with a chain of islands stretching out as far as the eye can see , and on the other side a sea of beautiful coastal mountains with no end in sight. But it wasn’t just the fantastic scenery that had me reminiscing on this trip. This years summit shot! View of the Lions Stealthy selfie The first time I hiked Mount Harvey I was training for my first road marathon. I was following a strict 5 day a week running plan and feeling the effects on my body and mind. I was feeling overwhelmed with the training and the physical toll it was taking on my body. It was important to me to still be able to train for the marathon and to also be able to spend time in the mountains, so I felt the need to always be pushing myself. That day in April 2011 proved to be the breaking point for me. The day prior to the hike I had run an 18km training run, which at the time was a long distance for me. I felt tired starting the hike, but felt pretty good, until we started the uphill section. I slowed down to a snails pace and Leigh shot past me, making his way up the hill. Looking up the steep incline,allowing the tiredness to weigh so heavy on my mind and body and watching Leigh move in a seemingly effortless way up the hill, proved to be too much. I stopped in my tracks overcome with frustration and feelings of not being able to continue. At that moment I felt so tired, so heavy with emotion that I could barely breathe. Leaning on a tree, out of sight of Leigh, I started to sob. I felt useless, exhausted and irritated with myself and my physical limitations. Feeling pretty sorry for myself, I said to myself, between sobbing breaths,“I can’t do this” “I’m too tired”. Taking in the view The smile before the meltdown Up, up and up It lasted a few minutes before I had to tell myself that no one feels sorry for me but me. I chose this and I can’t expect anyone to have sympathy for me. In my own words of tough love I needed to “suck it up buttercup”. So in that moment I had to make a decision, I wiped the tears from my eyes, composed myself and headed up towards...
