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7706 Hits
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72.08% Score
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2 Votes
Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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49.47744°N / 125.6377°W |
Route Type:
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Mountaineering |
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Time Required:
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A long day |
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Rock Difficulty:
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5.1 (YDS) |
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Difficulty:
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Low 5th |
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Getting There
Refer to the Mt Tom Taylor parent page.Route Description
The 5th Class summit tower
From the camp at Baby Bedwell Lake, walk 100-200m west to pick up a flagged route around the west sides of Baby Bedwell and Bedwell Lakes. This route is getting progressively “booted in” but it is not an engineered trail and involves some rough going in places as it climbs up and down over the bluffs around the lakes. There are, however, some lovely open old-growth sections where travel is easier.
 Mt Septimus from the NE Ridge |  Mt Tom Taylor Upper NE Ridge |  Taylor glacier |  Climbing the summit tower |
Just after crossing a major river running into Bedwell Lake and approx 1.5h from the start, the route heads up through huckleberry and slide alder bush to an unnamed alpine lake on the Bedwell/Moyeha divide at GR 1085. This is a good place for a break. Thereafter follow flags through thinning bush and, later, cairns up onto the NE ridge passing the snowfield seen from the Baby Bedwell camp on the left (east). Depending on the choice of route, at least one 4th Class gully needs to be negotiated during this phase of the climb. The rope can be useful here during the descent. The going is now very open and the views south and east across the lakes to Mts Septimus, Rousseau, Big Interior and Nine Peaks truly spectacular. The ridge gradually swings around to the west before dropping into a small col offering easy access to the Taylor glacier. Rope up if you decide there is crevasse danger (it’s probably best to do so anyway) and cross the easy angled glacier southwest to meet the south ridge at its low point. Traverse the south ridge by dropping down initially to the left (south) below the crest of the ridge and then climbing back into the col at the foot of the tower. Climb the tower on clean rock with one exposed leftwards traverse just prior to the final scramble onto the summit. Descend by reversing the foregoing or by scrambling down the west side of the tower at Class 4 and traversing back eastwards underneath the tower to rejoin the glacier crossing near the low point on the south ridge. From this point reverse your ascent route.