Forum Index > Trip Reports > Tricouni, Sun God, Castle Towers, Sampson and more - August 3-8, 2019
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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostFri Aug 09, 2019 5:34 pm 
8-3 Tricouni Peak - 6962' My second Tricouni peak, but this one in BC. Went with Steven and Mel. We did a non-standard approach via High Falls Lake. We crossed over the south ridge and traversed north to join the standard route at the steep gully. Mossy wet scrambling ensued.
Tricouni
Tricouni
High Falls Lake
High Falls Lake
Tricouni far right
Tricouni far right
standard approach lakes
standard approach lakes
gully visible far left
gully visible far left
Cayley
Cayley
Fee, Brandywine
Fee, Brandywine
Pelion, Ossa
Pelion, Ossa
Icecap Peak
Icecap Peak
Serratus, Tantalus
Serratus, Tantalus
Black Tusk, Castle Towers
Black Tusk, Castle Towers
High Falls Lake
High Falls Lake
Ashlu, way back there
Ashlu, way back there
Cloudburst
Cloudburst
8-4 Sun God Mountain – 7943' North of Whistler is grizzly territory. I was anxious about hiking solo and not entirely convinced it was a good idea, even with bear spray. Hiked the trail up to the small lake south of Cerulean Lake. Continued eastward through meadows to the west ridge of Sun God. Minor easy scrambling.
Ronayne
Ronayne
Sun God
Sun God
false summit
false summit
Sun God
Sun God
Ronayne
Ronayne
Seven O'Clock
Seven O'Clock
Goat above Tenquille Valley
Goat above Tenquille Valley
Longspur
Longspur
Sir Richard far distant, and Wedge group
Sir Richard far distant, and Wedge group
Sun God
Sun God
Seven O'Clock Mountain – 7680' Returned to the small lake and then up the east ridge of Seven O’clock.
Sun God
Sun God
Cerulean Lake
Cerulean Lake
Sun God, Birkenhead
Sun God, Birkenhead
Ogre Lake, Seven O'Clock
Ogre Lake, Seven O'Clock
Bluevault Glacier
Bluevault Glacier
Sampson
Sampson
Ogre Lake
Ogre Lake
Rhododendron, Sugarloaf
Rhododendron, Sugarloaf
Elaho, Overseer, Spidery
Elaho, Overseer, Spidery
Chipmunk
Chipmunk
Whitecap
Whitecap
Big Dog, Peak 2220m
Big Dog, Peak 2220m
Beaujolais, Sockeye Horn, Dickson
Beaujolais, Sockeye Horn, Dickson
Sun God
Sun God
8-5 Fuscian Peak – 7218’ Frances came to join me for an overnight trip. We hiked a mile of Cheakamus Lake trail to the Helm Creek trail and then left it to get onto Gentian ridge. Two high points on this ridge. Descended to the pass between Fuscian Peak and Gentian Peak where we dropped our overnight gear.
Black Tusk
Black Tusk
Panorama, Tantalus
Panorama, Tantalus
Helm Horn
Helm Horn
Castle Towers, Fuscian Peak
Castle Towers, Fuscian Peak
Castle Towers
Castle Towers
Fuscian Peak
Fuscian Peak
Castle Towers
Castle Towers
At this point we discussed whether to do Castle Towers this day or the next. I thought it might be too much, considering it would be a 9000 foot gain day, carrying heavy packs. I was also concerned about bushwhacking back to camp in the dark, but Frances wanted to keep going. Polemoneium Ridge – 7543' We descended a thousand feet to Gentian Pass and then went up the ridge to the summit of Polemoneium. You can’t go directly from Polemoneium to Castle Towers. Getting down off the south side of Polemoneium was a hassle, with steep choss gullies. We found a better traverse lower down on the way back.
Polemoneium
Polemoneium
Castle Towers Mountain – 8780’ After ascending excessive amounts of large boulders, we came to the west summit. I could see some guys were doing a technical route on the main central peak. Steven had told me about a class 3 bypass ledge which traverses the very exposed north face. But first there’s the matter of getting off the west summit.
west summit
west summit
climbers on the main central peak
climbers on the main central peak
north face glacier
north face glacier
Frances rappels down the west peak
Frances rappels down the west peak
overlooking the west peak
overlooking the west peak
summit block above
summit block above
moat
moat
scramble finish
scramble finish
We descended an exposed diagonal ramp/rock ladder, class 3 and 4 with loose rock at the top. I set a 30 meter fixed line. We scrambled/rappelled down using ATC and backup prussiks. The north face ledge had snow on it as I had seen earlier in the day from Gentian Ridge, but fortunately the moat was wide enough for us.
Phyllis's Engine, Carr, Mamquam
Phyllis's Engine, Carr, Mamquam
Mamquam, Spire Peaks
Mamquam, Spire Peaks
Pitt
Pitt
From the central peak, the east peak looks equally high. The BC peakbagging community has accepted the central peak as the highest and I was operating on that information. With more time we might have explored the east peak. However it was 5pm and time to get back to camp. During the night a bear passed within 30 feet of our tent, leaving tracks in the snow.
8-6 Gentian Peak – 7208' We crossed the icy Helm Glacier and went up the northwest ridge.
the wall in the north
the wall in the north
Price, Tantalus, Garibaldi Lake
Price, Tantalus, Garibaldi Lake
Castle Towers
Castle Towers
Garibaldi, Frances, Price
Garibaldi, Frances, Price
Guardian, Garibaldi, The Table
Guardian, Garibaldi, The Table
Panorama Ridge – 6998' This peak is popular for good reason. Perhaps the best view of any peak in south BC with a trail to the summit. There were droves of people and we had fun talking to a young couple visiting from Germany.
Black Tusk
Black Tusk
8-8 Mount Sampson – 9222' Did my best to sooth my grizzly anxiety enough to get one more peak. Bear scat all around my camping area didn’t help. Exercised care not to spill any food onto sleep wear, leaving everything odorous in the car. The old northwest approach is a bad bushwhack now, requiring multiple days, but a south route is getting some recent action. Right off the bat it’s a bad bushwhack, but that doesn’t last long. Then 3000 feet of open slope with burned trees on the lower half. I ate some good huckleberries on the way up and down this section.
From the top of the first ridge I traversed the east side of Zorah peak on large talus. Crossed a glacier with a few crevasses opening up. The south gully and south face of this peak has a lot of loose rock. The scrambling is easy class 2 and 3, but with more people, you would have to exercise a lot of care. I was very happy to finally find some running water up high.
Sampson
Sampson
Luxuria, Delilah, Sessel
Luxuria, Delilah, Sessel
Luxuria
Luxuria
Delilah
Delilah
Sessel
Sessel
south gully and face
south gully and face
Shulaps far distant
Shulaps far distant
Thiassi
Thiassi
Athelstan, Stanley-Smith Glacier
Athelstan, Stanley-Smith Glacier
western false summit
western false summit
Dalgleish, Lilooet, Delta, Mu
Dalgleish, Lilooet, Delta, Mu
Manatee, Wahoo Tower
Manatee, Wahoo Tower
Frozen Boot, Madhorse, Overseer, Spidery, Uriah's Heap, Pika (climbed these with Steven August 2017)
Frozen Boot, Madhorse, Overseer, Spidery, Uriah's Heap, Pika (climbed these with Steven August 2017)
Face, Faceless, Handcar
Face, Faceless, Handcar
Sloan
Sloan
after large talus traverse, exit through notch
after large talus traverse, exit through notch
On the return trip, within the last mile, I heard a strange chuffing noise 100 feet below me. 2 bears had heard me coming and were running away. They stopped to look. I called out to let them know I was a human and then a 3rd larger bear came out of the brush. This larger bear started moving directly toward me, so I yelled much louder and waved my arms, standing my ground. Mortality was on my mind. Is a single can of bear spray sufficient for 3 bears? When I roared, the two other bears stood up and we all stared at one another for a moment, without moving. Furthermore, these animals were still a bit aggravated and clearly startled by my sudden appearance in the berry patch, hence the running amok and continued chuffing.
2 of 3
2 of 3
They sort of regrouped and ran up an adjoining ridge together, keeping a close eye on me. As they started uphill, I started downhill. My last glance up at them revealed that they had crossed over onto my rib, but were continuing upwards, so I hoped. When I got back into the dense brush, just below the encounter, I made record time getting back to my car, despite slide alder, knee and chest high log piles, and invisible foot placements. I regret that neither of my two photos show the larger bear, but it all happened so fast and in that moment I lost my composure as a photographer.

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raising3hikers
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Joined: 21 Sep 2007
Posts: 2343 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, Wa
raising3hikers
Member
PostFri Aug 09, 2019 5:58 pm 
you've been getting in some nice b.c. trips this year up.gif your TR's will be useful whenever I get up there

Eric Eames
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Michael Lewis
Taking a nap



Joined: 27 Apr 2009
Posts: 629 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lynnwood, WA (for now)
Michael Lewis
Taking a nap
PostFri Aug 09, 2019 7:49 pm 
Excellent gimp! So beautiful up there. I should have a passport.

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BeardoMcGrath
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Joined: 16 Jan 2018
Posts: 143 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snohomish
BeardoMcGrath
Member
PostMon Aug 12, 2019 2:55 pm 
4 of us spent last week in the Slim Creek Headwaters/Griswold Pass area (west of Gold Bridge), and up high we could see the icy north slopes of Sampson far to the south! Felt the same way about being in grizzly country, but despite almost a week up there we saw nothing more than some intimidating looking tracks.

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Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostWed Aug 14, 2019 2:56 pm 
Thanks Eric smile.gif Get a passport Mike, and come with me. You doing some peaks at Griswold Pass? That is some remote country.

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BeardoMcGrath
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Joined: 16 Jan 2018
Posts: 143 | TRs | Pics
Location: Snohomish
BeardoMcGrath
Member
PostMon Aug 19, 2019 4:33 pm 
Gimpilator wrote:
You doing some peaks at Griswold Pass? That is some remote country.
Yes, we spent 6 days in that area in early August. Beautiful weather and wildflowers. We did some light scrambling but that area is really nice for alpine rambling. I'll get it together on the trip report some point soon, hopefully....

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Forum Index > Trip Reports > Tricouni, Sun God, Castle Towers, Sampson and more - August 3-8, 2019
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