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The Red Lobster Journal for 1980
Singing Pass - Whirlind Col, Diamond Head Ski, Blackwall Ski,
Three Brothers Traverse Day Trip, Squamish Rock Climbing, Mt. Slesse,
Snowcreek - Leavenworth, Sphinx, Uto - Roger's Pass Area, Judge Howay
Whirlwind-Fissile Col in Winter
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| I remember having to place the skis on the ground carefully outside the hut so they wouldn't blow away. I remember having to wear goggles a lot up high and attaching my mitts to my jacket so they wouldn't get lost to the winds. I remember a long line of skiers in front of me, skiing out of Singing Pass up towards the Himmelsbach Hut and thinking that I was going to have a very nice trail to follow. ;-) |
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We started low, just above what is now Whistler Blackcomb Village. That's when it was still a gravel pit/garbage dump. We made it to the hut in fading light and enjoyed the wintery look to the area I had seen only in the summer. It was spring break.
In the picture to the left, Chuck McCafferty is just starting to climb out of Singing Pass on the way to the hut. Black Tusk is in the background.
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The ski up to the Whirlwind-Fissile col was made in ever worsening conditions. The snow was blown in near horizontal sheets, but visibility allowed for glimpses over to Castle Towers just below the dark gray clouds. The eyes hurt without the goggles, and stopping below the col, I remember having to be careful going into my pack for a drink that nothing got blown away. I decided against going up the even windier col, and soon everyone was on their down.
Even though it was uncomfortable, being out in those conditions
was wonderfully stimulating. I love the mountains and to experience
its wild side from inside the comfort of good clothing, a hut,
and with friends. It makes you feel alive.
The picture above includes Bob Needham, Chris Cooper, David Harris, Alan Lizee, and Chuck McCafferty. Also included besides myself was Corina Achison.
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Diamond Head Ski - Garibaldi Park
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| I have no idea how many trips we have made to Diamond Head above Squamish, although it would be true that Chris has made more. Suffice it to say that we have been there quite a few times. Here my wife Lynn enjoys a break at high point. This picture was part of a Carleton catalogue in the early eighties. |
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Blackwall Peak
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| Ken Willis and I skied up the road opposite Manning Park Lodge in hopes that we could do the traverse over to Big Buck Mountain. When we finally got to the end of the road where the microwave relay tower is, we were tired and it was time to pitch tent. When we looked over towards the Three Brothers, we realized how far it still was. The was to do the traverse was to start from Cambie Creek. The picture above shows Blackwall in the background, and in the foreground the small hut that a person can get shelter in during the winter. This is also where the parking lot is. The relay tower is off to the left. |
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Three Brothers Traverse Day Trip - Manning Park
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| In the spring Chris Cooper and I did the three brother's traverse as a day trip. This also included going up the highest brother. It was a long day but possible because of the spring conditions - firm snow and lots of daylight. We were also younger then. ;-)
The map below shows our normal route for the traverse. Depending on conditions, it is usually done as an overnight trip.
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Squamish Rock Climbing
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| We did a lot of climbing in the "Little Smoke Bluffs". We scraped a lot of moss. Here David Harris climbs somewhere around the Burgers and Fries area. |
Yes, we did quite a bit of aid climbing. Here Randy Wheating is aiding some route higher up in the bluffs. |
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Mt.
Slesse - Regular Route
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Mt. Slesse had held a dark mystique about it ever since I
had learned that an airliner had crashed into its east side.
In 1956 a west bound plane had disappeared from radar scopes,
evidently caught in a powerful downdraft and slammed into the
sheer eastern face of Slesse. The crash site wasn't discovered
until some time later. (See report at http://aviation-safety.net
(Thanks to Todd H. for a date correction and the pointer to this
site.)
David Harris and Corina Acheson had suggested we climb Slesse
so one late afternoon we started up the relentless trail on its
west side. Somewhere below the shoulder at tree line we found
some snow and some fairly flat ground so he stopped for the night.
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The next day we did the regular route by first going almost up the gully that heads for the north side of Slesse and then took obvious ledges across the west face and onto the big bench below the upper west face. A gravelly gully headed up to the base of the final south ridge. We roped up and did the short class 4/5 pitch and were soon on the summit. Going down the trail was probably the worst part. By the bottom my thigh muscles were screaming. I had trouble walking down stairs for many days after.
For me, climbing Slesse felt like a real accomplishment. Its dark brooding demeanor had intimidated me for some time, and now that I had been to its summit, I had conquered some of my demons. It was very satisfying.
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Top of Page
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Snowcreek Wall - Leavenworth - Washington State
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| We made a number of trips to Leavenworth. This trip was on May 18, because it was on this trip we thought we heard blasting up in the hills above our campground on Icicle Creek, only to discover later that afternoon that Mt. St. Helens had exploded. The haze in the afternoon was volcanic ash!
This picture shows Barb and Chris Cooper, my wife Lynn Rajala, and Chuck and Terri McCafferty. The little baby was Justin, Barb and Chris's little boy. The picture was taken after we had done some scramblining around the base of Snow Creek Wall.
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Sphinx - Garibaldi Lake - Garibaldi Provincial Park
We flew by float plane from Squamish into Lake Garibaldi on a beautifully sunny day and hiked up on to the glacier just north of Sphinx. We had lunch and headed for the 5.8 north ridge of Sphinx.
We were Ryan Shellborn, Chris Cooper, Chuck McCafferty, and myself. The rock was nice granite with good cracks for climbing and protection. Unfortunately the weather was starting to turn for the worse.
The crux was on the last pitch. It was kind of an awkward overhanging move but the jams were good and it took you to the summit. The views were great, but the clouds were coming. We headed back to our tents for supper.
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The next morning was socked in. So much for Phyllis' Engine. We traversed around towards Castle Towers in the mist, found Gentian Pass, and camped just above it for the night.
The next day we hiked out in more mist down to our cars and headed home after a shortened, but memorable trip.
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Uto - Roger's Pass Area - Selkirk Mountains
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| Chuck and I drove from his parents place on Shuswap Lake in my violently orange Maverick to the Canadian Alpine Club Hut at Roger's Pass and hiked up to a campsite at the base of the small glacier that comes down from the south side of Sir Donald. We were contemplating Sir Donald but the weather that night and the next day changed that.
During the night a thunderstorm rolled in until the flashes of lightning and the crash of thunder were separated by a blink of a nervous eye. At that point, we quickly crept out of our bivi sacs and started throwing ice axes and climbing hardware away from our little campsite. Then there was a brilliant flash of light through the fabric of the bivi sac followed almost immediately by a thundering crash of sound. It made me feel very small and vulnerable. Then it started to pour. The feel of the rain impacting on the fabric that was pressed to my face was remarkably forceful. After a short while it let up. We were still dry. Sometime later we fell asleep.
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| The next morning me made a breakfast and hiked up to the col between Uto and Sir Donald. It was cold, windy, and cloudy. Sir Donald was swept by clouds. We thought Uto was a better choice. After about an hour of trying to decide what the weather was going to do, I finally got motivated to climb. I even asked for the first lead! |
Uto was a fun climb. The holds were always there and putting protection in was never challenging. |
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| The top of Uto was a great viewpoint. By the time we got to the top the weather was better and you could see the whole of the north side of Sir Donald. We were to climb the right hand skyline (in the photo above) to the summit of Sir Donald in 1982. We descended the north ridge until an easy gulley allowed us to descend back to our camp. A good climb. |
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| Ryan, Chris, and I chartered a plane from the Pitt Meadows airport on afternoon to scout out some of mountains just north of where we live, but are not easy to get at. After flying around the Golden Ears recollecting many hikes and scrambles, we fly north a few kilometers to Judge Howay.The picture above is looking at the north side of the north peak of Judge Howay. Mt. Baker can be seen on the horizon. |
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| Mt. Judge Howay is named after a man who came to B.C. in the mid 1800s. One of his close friends was Robie Ried. Pictures and more information can be found at the UBC library. |
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The south face of the west peak seen here in the picture is awesome. The ridge coming towards the camera is also spectacular.
Even though it's only about 7300 ft above sea level, the base of the mountain is very low, creating a LOT of relief.
Kobus Barnard and party climbed the south face of this west (or south?) peak about nine years later.
We never did set foot on Judge Howay, but Don Serl used some of our pictures in a slide show in Vancouver to show what was on our collective doorstep.
Rugged, remote, yet so close.
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