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Port Douglas, BC
Canada
430 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 4:40 PM
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The Stave Glacier Expedition
August 3-16, 2011
North Harrison Lake to Upper Pitt River
Evan Howard, Sydney, Australia
Adam Palmer, Agassiz, British Columbia
(half trip members; 7days with Evan and Adam- Kelly Legros and Matthew Baldwin)
The Plan: Terrarosa Glacier, Fire Spires, Stave Glacier, the Stave Peaks, exit out onto Upper Pitt River...Total Time: 14 days.
Day 1-2; the approach
We started from the highest spur above Fire Lake, accessed from the West Harrison FSR, then onto Fire Creek FSR off the Llilloet FSR, (as per usual, previously mentioned in the 2009 and 2010 Terrarosa Glacier/Fire Spire Trips. This again would give us great access to the Terrarosa Glacier and the Fire Spire peaks which we wanted to give Kelly and Matthew a chance to do before we ultimately proceeded to go onto the Stave Glacier peaks. Nonetheless, it was about 3.5 hours after leaving my front door when I found myself on day 1 of a 14 day expedition where we had the goal of basically going from Harrison Lake to Pitt Lake unsupported.
 I got my Revenge this year ...refer to 2010 Terrarosa trip.
We camped on the subalpine ridge for the first night, then dropped down to Terrarosa Lake for the second night where we would leave most of the gear and establish a higher camp for two days on the Terrarosa Glacier before returning to go onto the Stave Glacier. It was pretty easy going, considering we had the route perfectly dialed in now due to tow previous trips along this same ridge. Evan and I admired Matthew’s excitement as he caught glimpse of the glacier every once and while as it reminded it of us when we first came trekked along here in 2009. Kelly was super pumped as well, as this time he was actually going to have time to scramble up some of the Fire Spires before having to turn around as like in 2010 with Evan and I. Myself and Evan were willing to take an extra couple days on the Terrarosa so Kelly and Matthew could get a taste of a couple of the Fire Spires, as we had a few canyons and small subpeaks to explore on the Terrarosa left over from last year. Oh yeah…our packs were a little heavy; alpine gear and 14 days of food…the going was a slow leisurely pace.
     
Day 3-4; Terrarosa Glacier
We headed up onto the Terrarosa and found a small outcrop of rocks to set up on that gave us a central and dry location on the glacier. The next day, all four of us climbed Terrarosa Peak, and then we split up from the summit. Evan and I went onto the Southwest headwall and toward Glendinning, as Kelly and Matthew went on to do the Central summit of the Flames, and Ember Peak. We would later see them crossing from the Flames onto Ember, as Matthew climbed the south face of Ember, and Kelly took the standard ridge route…We sat down and watched the show until they both eventually met up with each other on the summit.
          
Day 5-6; The Upper Stave
Down climbing the valley between Terrarosa Lake and the Upper Stave River went smoothly as myself and Evan scoped out the route part ways last year. However, as we got closer to the upper Stave river, our descent slowed as we hit cliffs and alder…but really, what else do you expect?!? We reached a point of land out onto the middle of the large body of water after a 3 hour battle and set up camp for the night. The next day we continued onto the upper lake below the headwall of the glacier and found a nice beach where we relaxed in the sun and Evan went for a swim…crazy Aussie…meanwhile, Matthew headed up onto the ridge system that paralleled the glacier and did some beautiful photography in the late afternoon sun. He returned at around 7pm, completely blasted from a huge day. A great solo recon effort for us.
    
Day 7-8; The Ascent
All four of us started out towards the upper middle glacier, navigating around 3 crevasse fields but also taking the time to admire the fantastic landscape of such a powerful geological area. The sound of the ice under the rocks and the amount of material around the headwall towered over us at times.
We soon found a small outcrop of rocks and a low ledge off the side of the glacier that put Evan and I in a great location for doing Stave and Misty Peak the next day, as well as providing Kelly and Matthew a great location for starting their descent back along the ridge towards the truck way back above Fire Lake.
We said our goodbyes on the morning of day 8 and things became quite and lonely for Evan and I as we watched Kelly and Matthew slowly disappear onto the ridge heading back home. That morning, we took some day packs and went for Stave and Misty Peak. We arrived on the summit of Stave Peak in a couple hours and then headed down and taking in a little bit of the Misty Ice Field before climbing up the spires and pinnacles of Misty. However, the main summit of Misty was being blocked by a slight problem…The standard class 3 rock ledge that you access off the steep snow ramp below the summit had been melting away from the rock wall, and now a gap of 30 feet was between us and the route up. All that was left was a thin little snow bridge over a 300ft drop along the tower of the summit. Rather than risk crossing over it and it giving out, we crossed onto the face to the east and scrambled up some loose rock. The route came to a run out 20ft below the summit. We took one more look at the standard easy route up but thought that the risk of jumping onto the wall from the snow bridge and then negotiating a 10ft wall of snow that was jammed vertically blocking the route was not worth risking a 300ft fall down a moat. We choose option 2: a small subpeak pinnacle that was just as impressive, if not more than the summit block. Good thing about Misty Peak- it is composed of several different pinnacles and spire to choose for your liking!
            
Stave and Misty Peaks
          
Day 9-10 Across to Betstel Pinnacle and Nebula Peak
The morning of Day 9, we moved camp and headed towards Nebula peak. After setting up camp on a beautiful pinnacle of rock, we went out and climbed Halkomelem Peak (7500ft) via its east ridge. We arrived on the summit in bright blue afternoon skies after scrambling up and down the shark teeth and jagged pinnacle that protruded out of the glacier along the way.
On the morning of Day 10, we climbed Nebula Peak on hard frozen steep snow, kicking steps for a little morning cardio wakeup.
From there we headed to the Betstel Pinnacle and the 7000ft summit on the ridge to the south. Climbing a little below halfway up Betstel, we wondered if anyone had successfully climbed this thing yet, as the smooth and overhanging rock for the final summit section would take an afternoon of some problem solving, but I am sure could be done by someone who brings some pro and patients…to say the least!
We headed back towards camp underneath our own little pinnacle and packed up our ‘home’ once again and headed across to Katzie Peak (7600ft). Through a bowl in front of Halkomelem, we climbed Katzie across easy snow from the north and then a short little scramble to the summit on some blocky loose rock. On top, there was a cairn and inside was a note from John Clarke who returned to the area in 1999 with Shel Nuefeld on a trip for the first time since his original 1971 first ascent blitz in the area…very cool. Reading local BC mountaineering history in front of our eyes…love it! After Katzie Peak, we went and grabbed our big packs again and proceeded down to the col to find camp for the night.
                   
The Betstel
 
Day 11 Nimbus Peak and the Descent to Upper Pitt
We woke up to intermittent cloud and heavy mist rolling through camp. We packed up our gear and dropped it off below the ridge to Nimbus. We proceeded up the rusty red outcrops of Nimbus peak with light day packs. It began to clear and we found ourselves on the summit in less than two hours. There was another cairn on top and we opened the film case. Inside there was John Clarke’s original 1971 ascent note, curled up along with his 1999 ‘revisit’ note. We had a short break on the summit then headed down to collect the rest of our gear and make the descent down the Upper Pitt side of this glacier to put us in striking distance to exit out onto the Upper Pitt via Shale Creek.
In a couple hours we found ourselves looking down on a logging road, the first one we had seen in over 12 days. There is our exit! We camped for the night after reaching it and had a huge fire for a celebration!
             
John Clarke's notes
    
Day 12; The Upper Pitt River
We walked down the logging roads which were pretty damn good; compared to the 2010 exit on to the North Sloquet roads. Really can’t complain…a highway compared to that horror show last year. We reached the Shale creek main line in a couple hours off of the high spur and greeted Danny (owner of the fishing lodge) at his newly built house…First person we have seen in a little while and told him our story. We continued onto the hotsprings where we would wait for Larry and his Jet Boat to pick us up on August 16th.
  
Day 13-14 The Hotsprings and the waiting game…Starving…
With a night and two days to kill, we soaked in the hotsprings until we became light headed everyday and collected berries to help ward off the starvation that was setting in. We ran out of food, so we were getting a little hungry. A small black bear came and said hi a couple times as we hung out on the bridge, but would never stay very long to socialize.
However, sure enough, 11:05am on Tuesday August 16th, we heard the 200hp two stroke sport jet engine of the firefish screaming up the river to rescue us! Its good to have nice friends especially ones that also pack along a full lunch for you after completing a 14 day mountaineering trip!
          
Overall this 14 day trip could have not went more smoothly, and I would like to dedicate this journey to John Clarke for his solo travels in the area are truly inspirational in a landscape that is so close to home, yet so remote and untouched. A magnificent journey!
                             
Thanks to Daryl and Greg for driving in with us...Evan and I would also like to thank the other people involved, they know who they are! A journey through Legends!
              
...and also, huge, huge thanks to Larry for picking us up...damn good sandwiches Larry...
ok, ok...also a little thanks to Kevin for coming along with Larry...thanks kevin...it was almost frightening!
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Chilliwack, BC
Canada
841 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 4:42 PM
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Well documented ! Stay tuned for more adventure details folks...!
You captured the magic...nearly impossible to do...but you nailed it buddy! |
Edited by - kellylegros on 08/18/2011 5:08 PM |
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
667 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 4:45 PM
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That was an awesome trip.
here is a quick video I put together.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150361430915985&comments
Lots of pics to come.. Still working on them.
Day1_OnTheRidge
Day2_ApprochingTerarosaLake
Day2_camp2SunsetView
Day2_MyFirstSummit
Day2_Scramble
Day3_EvenUpAhead
Day3_FirstStepsOnTerarosaGlacier
Day3_HeadedForCamp3
Day3_QuickSummit_Messy
Day3_ViewOfTheStaveGlacierAndTwoUpperLakes
Day3_SummitShot_Ember
Day3and4_Camp_BestBedSpotOfTheYear_NiceShootingStars
Day3and4_Camp_BestBedSpotOfTheYear_NiceShootingStars_AAA
Day4_HeadedBackToCamp
Day4_HeadedBackToCamp2
Day4_TheDayOfPeaks
Day4_TerarosaSummit
Day4_Spark
Day4_CenterFlameSummit
Day5_HeadingForTerarosaLakeThenStaveLakeForCamp4
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Edited by - MatthewBaldwin on 08/23/2011 01:12 AM |
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362 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 4:57 PM
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| Wow, I was wondering what you guys were up to Great trip, can't wait for the other guys to post pictures! It looks like you had some beautiful conditions and an abundance of solitude, very impressive landscapes as well. I'm totally jealous! |
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
330 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 5:01 PM
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Amazing, classic trip done in the best style! Very cool coming across the "footprints" of John Clarke - something many of us have probably done without knowing; the man went everywhere.
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 Fast hikin, carrot chompin, always grinnin, gear scatterin recipient of the Theta Lake manouver
Burnaby
2041 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 5:05 PM
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| Great trip! |
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357 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 5:17 PM
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| Wow...amazing trip guys! |
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Abbotsford BC / Sydney, NSW
Australia
307 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 5:28 PM
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Great write up Adam! A great way to spend 14 days and another one for the books to read and the re read!
Thanks to Kelly for all his help over the year to plan this one. It was a pleasure to trek and climb with ya.
Thanks as well to Matthew for his driving to the drop point and his energy while out there. Hope you got your skidpad back on the truck! :)
I really have nothing more to add here on club tread as Adam has covered it.
One final shout out to Kevin, Larry and Larry's amazing do-anything-go-anywhere-jetboat. It was a incredible relief for two hungry and exhausted hikers to see it come around the bend on the Pitt River.
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Burnaby, BC
Canada
667 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 5:29 PM
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| Skid plate fixed. :) |
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 God fearin' music packin' animal BBQin' funny trip reportin'.... cheese lovin' MH lover who skinny dips in Ling secret lakes
Somewhere between pomp & circumstance, British Columbia
Canada
1402 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 6:28 PM
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Very nice! Slumach would be proud!
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Kootenay Bud
2695 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 6:29 PM
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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 - 08/18/2011 : 7:44 PM
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| Pretty f'd up! Awesome trip guys-a lot of work to get in and out of there. |
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11 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 7:49 PM
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| Epic. Thx |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1114 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 7:58 PM
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I'm choosing to read this TR in 3 installments just because it deserves it.
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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
4649 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 8:31 PM
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| AWE - SOME!!!! I remember your T/R from last year, well worth a return visit! Congrats on a successful trip |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
559 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 9:00 PM
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Like you say "...truly inspirational in a landscape that is so close to home, yet so remote and untouched. A magnificent journey!" Cannot agree more... Thanks for the great expedition report. |
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Port Moody, BC
169 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 9:13 PM
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| I love the pictures of the oxidized rock you came across. It's usually a tell tell sign to go rock hounding for minerals or ores. It's amazing there's such wild places so close to Vancouver area. |
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253 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 9:25 PM
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| Thanks for sharing. Those jagged pinnacles are amazing. |
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
1607 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 9:37 PM
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Awesome TR for an amazing trip. I referred to topo maps to follow along.
Good to see you had some revenge on that downed tree. If it is the same one I am thinking about, I was just barely able to squeeze my Outback past it earlier this year (but then got stopped by snow before Fire Lake) so I'm glad you finished it off. |
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Vancouver
109 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 9:44 PM
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| Wow what a great trip. Great photos. How about a GE image with your route overlayed? |
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Happy go lucky, plaid wearin, postholin, safeway gaitor sportin, old-school film shootin, giver of many regards
Abbotsford, B.C.
Canada
13470 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2011 : 9:55 PM
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Wow
That is a huge classic.
Awesome trip, report, and collection of photos of this beautiful land.
K |
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The Stave Glacier Expedition, Aug 3-16, 2011
