Forum Index > Trip Reports > Begbie 8967' & Tilley 8691' - Monashee Range BC - October 4, 5, 2017
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 10:38 am 
Went with Steven and Alan to climb Begbie and Tilley near the headwaters of the Columbia River in the Monashee Mountains. The Monashees are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains. These ranges extend into Washington. If you have ever driven through the town of Revelstoke on a clear day, you have seen Mount Begbie.
Revelstoke and Columbia River
Revelstoke and Columbia River
On day 1 we hiked up to the slabs at the base of the northeast glacier. Begbie features a narrow exposed north ridge with small glaciers on either side. We ditched our overnight gear and crossed the glacier.
ledge visible
ledge visible
party of 2
party of 2
At the margin we climbed steep ice. Another party of 2 made it this far but turned around. My aluminum crampons were not ideal. The glacier was separated from the rock wall by a moat. Walking along an icy knife edge brought us to the start of the ledge.
The crux of the ledge was near the beginning. Several narrow sections about a foot wide have an overhanging roof. Some crawling is required. I was not able to photograph the best part. Our beta indicated that two old pitons could be found along the ledge, but newly placed bolt anchors were a nice surprise.
The second half of the ledge was just a walk, but still thrilling. We came to the crest of the north ridge and began the scramble. The entire upper mountain is quartzite which chunks off in nice blocks and makes for great scrambling. There was more snow present than we anticipated.
After the summit we returned to the ledge and decided to skip the first crux crawl area with a rappel back to the glacier. We returned to camp on the slabs around dusk and a full moon was rising. Steven slept under the stars, with no bivy sack. I wandered away from camp in the dark to catch a glimpse of the lights of Revelstoke far below.
On day 2 we crossed talus and slabs below the northwest glacier. This glacier forms a natural hourglass with vertical ice between the upper and lower half. On the way down to Tilley Lake we began noticing signs of bear activity. Mount Tilley was visible and looks similar to Luna Peak from this vantage.
Beyond Tilley Lake we descended further to reach Revelation Lake. The Davis peaks and Big Apple across the valley are quite a sight. From the west shore of Revelation we ascended brush to reach a small basin below the east face of Tilley. Some minor cliff bands to negotiate.
Above the upper basin we traversed a half kilometer to the west to reach the south ridge of the main peak. Near the top of the ridge I could see a large diagonal ledge blocked by a cliff. I suggested we traverse left below the cliff to access this ledge, but the guys wanted a more direct line. Both Steven and Alan are more accomplished climbers and couldn't care less about loose 4th or what some people in WA might call low 5. We came to a very exposed corner and the guys went up, trundling a rock or two. I needed a belay here. Above the crux there was some more class 3 and 4 and then we were on top.
Big Apple
Big Apple
English
English
Begbie
Begbie
Views from Tilley are better than Begbie. The Sir Sanford group, Rogers Pass peaks and other very isolated Selkirk peaks further south are beyond my ability to describe with words, so just make use of the photos. Take home message: Mount Sir Donald is a drop in the bucket and not even moderately impressive when you see the rest of the surrounding area.
towards Odin
towards Odin
Tilley summit
Tilley summit
Revelation, Heart, and Surprise lakes
Revelation, Heart, and Surprise lakes
We found a small metallic register, complete with lightning entry and exit hole. The lightning also burned two holes in the ziplock baggie inside, but was considerate enough to spare the paper register. I rappelled the crux while Alan went to explore the class 2 ramp alternative and Steven made a bold down-climb to save the sling.
It was unusually warm for an October day in central BC and I even contemplated swimming in one of the lakes. We returned to camp around dusk and prepared for the descent. Unfortunately we missed the time cut-off to stay with my family nearby, but the 2nd peak was totally worth it.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
smmslt
Prominencian



Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Posts: 89 | TRs | Pics
Location: Vancouver, WA
smmslt
Prominencian
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 10:56 am 
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Eric
Peak Geek



Joined: 21 Oct 2002
Posts: 2062 | TRs | Pics
Location: In Travel Status
Eric
Peak Geek
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 11:10 am 
Nice, that looks like a really beautiful area. You definitely picked a winner.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
dundeel
Member
Member


Joined: 14 Jun 2010
Posts: 15 | TRs | Pics
Location: I wish I knew.
dundeel
Member
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 11:15 am 
Great looking trip, Adam. Thanks for the wonderful pictures.

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up and going anyway. - John Wayne
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
Member


Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 7687 | TRs | Pics
Location: Shoreline
olderthanIusedtobe
Member
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 11:26 am 
Damn. I visited Mt. Revelstoke NP years ago, don't remember seeing interesting alpine stuff nearby. I guess I was really missing out. Looks like some outstanding terrain, beautiful lakes and tarns up there. Interesting variety on Begbie--slabby approach, glacier, narrow ledges. Canada....yep, lots of good stuff there.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
xuanxier
Member
Member


Joined: 09 May 2017
Posts: 80 | TRs | Pics
Location: Vancouver, BC
xuanxier
Member
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 11:43 am 
Nice photos dude. I've been waiting for a couple years to do Begbie and finally went to pull it off. It's at roughly halfway between Vancouver and Calgary so grabs attention from everybody whether you are based in Vancouver, Interior BC or the Canadian Rockies. Tilley was a bonus but turns out to be much more than what I expected. That exploration down to Revelation Lake itself is worth a shot.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
awilsondc
Member
Member


Joined: 03 Apr 2016
Posts: 1323 | TRs | Pics
awilsondc
Member
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 12:02 pm 
Gimpilator wrote:
Ahhhhhhh. I needed that this morning. I miss conditions like this in the mountains. Glad you had a good trip. That ledge route looks fun! up.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Gimpilator
infinity/21M



Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
infinity/21M
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 12:18 pm 
Steven, I forgot to say thanks for inviting me to join you guys and thanks for all the driving you did. I had a great time.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Fletcher
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Jul 2009
Posts: 1870 | TRs | Pics
Location: kirkland
Fletcher
Member
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 12:22 pm 
Very cool looking trip.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
RichP
Member
Member


Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 5628 | TRs | Pics
Location: here
RichP
Member
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 3:01 pm 
Man, those are some crazy looking mountains! up.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
joker
seeker



Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Posts: 7953 | TRs | Pics
Location: state of confusion
joker
seeker
PostSat Oct 07, 2017 3:25 pm 
Nice! I love that area - have done various ski touring trips at some of the huts scattered about the viewshed you were pondering. Did you conclude the trip with any Nasty Habit or Tall Timber beer from Mt Begbie Brewery?

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Andy D.
Member
Member


Joined: 19 Apr 2004
Posts: 209 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bow, WA
Andy D.
Member
PostSun Oct 08, 2017 11:38 am 
Wow awesome pictures! Looks like a really nice area. You've been getting some epic trips this year 👍

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
raising3hikers
Member
Member


Joined: 21 Sep 2007
Posts: 2343 | TRs | Pics
Location: Edmonds, Wa
raising3hikers
Member
PostSun Oct 08, 2017 4:59 pm 
up.gif thanks for sharing!

Eric Eames
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks



Joined: 13 Feb 2007
Posts: 7216 | TRs | Pics
Location: Stuck in the middle
puzzlr
Mid Fork Rocks
PostSun Oct 08, 2017 7:58 pm 
Good looking mountains up there.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Bryan K
Shameless Peakbagger



Joined: 29 Sep 2005
Posts: 5129 | TRs | Pics
Location: Alaska
Bryan K
Shameless Peakbagger
PostMon Oct 09, 2017 8:10 am 
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trip Reports > Begbie 8967' & Tilley 8691' - Monashee Range BC - October 4, 5, 2017
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum