| Author |
Topic |
|
 Night owl posting,Subie driving, backpacking Dad who is perpetually trying to catch up to his kids on the trail.
Vancouver, BC
Canada
3052 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 12:16 AM
|
After one thing and another delayed our summer backpacking season, we started things with a bang on July 3rd. My daughter and I got a late start on a hot sunny day for our weekend objective being Ashlu. The highway improvements to Squamish are nearly complete yet we still met significant delays due to the sheer volume of traffic. No worries: we had the top down and simply enjoyed the beautiful day.
After gassing up at the Squamish Esso, we started our real drive. The next 55km took nearly 3 hours. It was easy going to end of pavement and then onto the Ashlu Main to the power project at 9km on the Ashlu.
From there it was time to engage 4wd and start some serious alder thrashing. Before long it was time for low-range as the road became rough and we encountered boulder gardens from slides, increasingly steep water-bars, wash-outs and 4 notable sink-holes (the last of which could swallow the jeep whole).
  
We arrived at the trail head and encountered a trail so steep from the road side that we stashed our trekking poles to keep our hands free for grabbing whatever vegie-belays were available. As things turned out, we never removed our poles from our packs on the entire hike in to the meadow approximately an hour and half from the road. Not so much a trail as a flagged route with a sometimes obscure boot track. Nonetheless, easy enough to follow and quite pleasant once it joined the upper part of Shortcut Creek.
The meadow area was a great camping spot with great views both up and down the valley.
    
During the entire drive from the power project and the entire hike to the empty meadows we didn't see a soul and were convinced that we had chosen a sufficiently remote location that we were probably on our own for the entire weekend.
Saturday we awoke a little before the Sun hit our valley and started to really warm things up. We had a leisurely breakfast and then began our ascent loosely based on the Scrambles route. At the start we took the slabs to the left of the creek coming off the glacier above which saved a lot of time. In the dry conditions it was an easy ascent to the basin above.
    
From there we headed up and over the moraine described in the Scrambles book, but from there the route finding became a little obscure. Quite frankly, we never found the gully described. The only thing that seemed to match at all didn't seem passable between creeks and an undermined snow field. We made our way a long way around to hikers left of the bluffs above the moraine and up into the snow filled plateau above. From there it was an easy approach onto the ridge leading to the col and the true approach ridge to Ashlu's sub-summit and, ultimately, the summit. The views went from spectacular to astounding.
    
The ascent from the col is a mix of talus slogging and scrambling with no particular difficulties other than those due to our lack of fitness: it seemed like a lot of hard work. However, the summit washed all that away with an amazing panorama (in spite of some haze) that took in everything from Princess Louisa Inlet to the Tantalus, to Garibaldi, Whistler, Wedge, Weart, Sampson, the Pemberton ice fields and on and on.
     
Then came the descent with more great alpine sites and lots of time wasted unsuccessfully casting about for the infamous gully back down.
   
 
On our descent from the sub-summit we encountered another couple heading up. Then at the upper plateau we saw two tents. Back in the meadows there was yet another tent and the stashed gear of the couple we had encountered earlier.
Given that this was our first trip of the season, we were not moving very fast. It was a very full day starting at 9:15am (OK, we're not big on the whole "alpine start" deal) and ending at 8pm. Still, we had a great sense of accomplishment and were thrilled with this great destination.
Slept solidly Saturday night and got up late this morning. Had a brief chat with the couple we met on our descent from the summit. Felt a tad sheepish to learn that not only had they done the summit the same day they hiked into the meadows (we already knew that), but they had already hiked the last almost 7km of the drive where the road got really rough! Now that's a solid day! |
Edited by - ChuckLW on 07/06/2009 01:05 AM
|
|
|
Peak bagging, bushwhacking, zamboni driving, snowshoeing, self portrait artist, and speed demon who loves to hang out on Mt. Seymour
3994 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 01:12 AM
|
| You guys are pretty solid yourselves, that's a great looking trip. |
|
|
|
Fast hikin, carrot chompin, always grinnin, gear scatterin recipient of the Theta Lake manouver
Burnaby
2039 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 06:28 AM
|
| Congrats on a great summit! |
|
|
|
bandana wearin', pole huckin', view lovin', dog herdin', 4x4 navigatin', lake huntin', butt-slidin' bridge crosser, who enjoys postholing with an overnighter pack
Surrey, BC
Canada
4646 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 08:17 AM
|
This one's been on my list for a while now. I really want to try to get it done this year  . Great first trip you two. Good way to start off the season  |
|
|
Abbotsford, BC
Canada
1005 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 08:28 AM
|
| Thanks for the heads up on road conditions, but more than that, congrats on a fine mountain adventure! |
|
|
|
Simpson quoting tree hunter and canyon rapping rockhound who longs for the return of his trapped Toyota
Salt Lake City, UT
USA
2268 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 10:27 AM
|
| Nicely done, Chuck and co. Good to see the Ashlu road hasn't changed much, despite it's perpetual state of "should be toast with the next heavy rainfall". |
|
|
Kimberley, BC
Canada
257 Posts |
|
Surrey, BC
Canada
947 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 12:59 PM
|
| Ashlu is such a nice trip, glad to see the road is still surviving kinda |
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
631 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 2:21 PM
|
what a fantastic trip to do with your daughter!  thanks for the report. |
|
|
1355 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 3:14 PM
|
Nice trip !!
Ashlu is a good mountain to bag. |
|
|
Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
1762 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 5:55 PM
|
| Spectacular pictures. well done! |
|
|
|
Trail running, bike hucking, fast packing, beer drinking collector of pine cones on a day pass
AKA
Dances with Trees
Forest Gnome Cabin
Canada
13016 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2009 : 6:58 PM
|
Awesome! Way high on my list
Great report! |
|
|
|
Night owl posting,Subie driving, backpacking Dad who is perpetually trying to catch up to his kids on the trail.
Vancouver, BC
Canada
3052 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2009 : 12:27 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by matosan
Nice TR!
I think I recognize that sinkhole from my buddy's trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowislife/1101782825/in/set-72157601440628102/
Ouch! Looks like your buddy actually tried what I initially contemplated (straddling the hole). It's bigger than it looks. There is just enough room to squeeze by on driver's left on the way up. |
|
|
Kimberley, BC
Canada
257 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2009 : 12:41 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by ChuckLW
quote:
Originally posted by matosan
Nice TR!
I think I recognize that sinkhole from my buddy's trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/snowislife/1101782825/in/set-72157601440628102/
Ouch! Looks like your buddy actually tried what I initially contemplated (straddling the hole). It's bigger than it looks. There is just enough room to squeeze by on driver's left on the way up.
Believe it or not, the sink hole actually opened up under his vehicle! |
|
|
Coquitlam, BC
Canada
342 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2009 : 08:41 AM
|
RAD. Ashlu is a beautiful area. Thanks for sharing.
Corey |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Ashlupalooza
