Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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51.12949°N / 117.66975°W |
Route Type:
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Scrambling |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Time Required:
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One to two days |
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Rock Difficulty:
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Class 3 |
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Overview
A casual scramble with a lot of cross-country bushwhacking. This route starts at the valley floor in old growth and rises through avalanche swaths to brush-choked high country and eventually tops out in alpine meadows, scoured rock, and finally ice.Getting There
From the decomissioned Flat Creek trailhead find a decaying bridge across the Illecillewaet River in the Southeast corner of the parking lot and use it to get to the Canadian Pacific Railway. Follow the tracks West for about a kilometer then cut south into the forest while looking for signs of human traffic. A vague footpath and possibly some flagging should be found and followed until a more discernible trail is found after a kilometer or so close to Flat Creek in old-growth forest. This trail will take you to the cross-country route.Route Description
Follow the vague trail through old-growth and across avalanche paths choked with alder, vine maple, and devil's club from wherever you happened to pick it up from the railroad tracks. It is likely that the path will be lost in brush, streams, or blowdown in various places, but find a manageable way around and through the obstruction and you should be able to regain it in easier terrain on the other side. The path rises consistently up the East side of Flat Creek all the way to Flat Creek Pass, 8.5 km from the trailhead where the track disappears completely. A cabin makes an excellent landmark here, but it appears to be stocked for winter use by a local organization, so there will be no pre-existing shelter for your use here. Be sure to make good use of the outhouse though.From the pass it is generally best to stay close to the valley bottom as it drops South towards the Slick Creek Drainage for about a kilometer or so. Eventually you will have to leave the open forest of the depression and pick your way through denser brush to the West, making your way for the first drainage south of the pass spilling off of the North side of Patience. Find a way to cross the creek coming from Patience and make your way to a bench which follows the south side of the stream for about a 1/2 a kilometer.
The bench ends at a headwall with a forbidding cascade tumbling down where the last of the brush-bashing lies. We found it easiest to make our way uphill through steep alder to the right of the falls. The trick seemed to be to stay close enough to the trees to be able use them as handholds while keeping enough distance to avoid becoming stuck in their intertwined branches. Once above the headwall cut through the last of the alder for a hundred meters or so to the south to emerge in alpine meadows. Water can be found in several places here throughout Summer and it makes an excellent campsite.
The meadows are cut with deep gullies that should be crossed with care but otherwise offers an easy walk to the base of the glacier. Cross rock and ice to the summit from the base of the glacier, avoiding the ice cliff present at the top of the glacier most easily to the South. Some loose class 3 with very little exposure leads to the summit ridge.