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Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
558 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 12:17 PM
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Here's an account of how we spent the second of our three days in the Tantalus Range.
We woke up on Tuesday morning at 3:30 a.m. with the goal of making an attempt on Mt. Dione. This is not nearly as bad as it sounds when you have just slept somewhere as comfortable as the Haberl Hut, and can have a leisurely breakfast and coffee before heading out...
Anyways, we got geared up and rolling by about 5:15 a.m., with the sun already peeking over the horizon, and started the approximately 3km traverse across the easy Dione Glacier (lots of snow coverage, no open slots). Thankfully the snow was hard and mostly supportive, although some of the heaviest among us (i.e. me) would occasionally punch through the crust at the most annoying of times.
Traversing the Dione Glacier (summit of Mt. Dione visible in #2 & #4, the Haberl Hut and Serratus visible in #1 & #3):
   
A better view of the objective:
After about an hour and a half of this, my ankles had had just about enough of the steep sidehilling, but we arrived at the base of the obvious southwest couloir (snow filled, about 45 degrees). This couloir can be used to access a large snow pillow on the south ridge of Mt. Dione, a few hundred metres below the summit. However, there is a bergshrund here that can be very large and undercut later in the year - fortunately, due to all the snow this winter and the mostly cool temperatures this spring, we were able to simply walk across on a large and frozen-solid bridge.
From there, we used a running belay by placing all of our pickets and slinging some horns. The snow was nice and hard, and took crampons and ice tools very easily, so that we reached the top of the couloir around 8:20 a.m. (unfortunately, I did not take any photos while we were inside the couloir - I will post a few photos from the others, once I get them).
A view of the Black Tusk from the top of the couloir (sorry about the crooked angle):
Andrew, at the top of the couloir:
From the snow pillow at the top of the couloir, we now had to transition onto the rock of the summit pyramid. Thankfully, there was still enough debris in one part of the moat for us to simply walk across - according to the guidebook, this moat can also get very large and present a major obstacle to reaching the summit.
Cormac lead across onto the rock, and then set up a running belay along a rib of rock that heads up diagonally to the right, about 150 metres in length (this was, perhaps, low-fifth class in difficulty, but quite exposed...when we returned to the Hut and reviewed the guidebook, we realized that the usual route begins a little ways back down inside the southwest couloir, and is supposedly 3rd/4th class).
At the end of the rock section, we transitioned back onto the final snow covered slopes. By now (about 10:00 a.m.), the temperatures were waming up and the snow was quickly turning to slop, so it was nice to quickly cover the last 100 metres or so of steep and very exposed terrain to the summit. Up at the top, there was just enough room for the four of us, and the scenery was unreal.
Views from the summit of Mt. Dione:
Cormac and the summit of nearby Mount Tantalus
The top of the final snow slope to the summit and the Rumbling Glacier far below.
Alpha Mountain (on the left) & North Face of Serratus.
South ridge of Mt. Dione, with Alpha Mountain in the distance.
The very broken-up Rumbling Glacier.
Darrin at the top (and taking care of what's important).
The Garibaldi Massif poking out of the cloud layer.
Another look at the North Face of Serratus.
We did not stay long at the summit, as we had a lot a technical ground to rappel, and with four of us, we knew this would start to get tedious. Thankfully, there was a very convenient and solid block on the summit, where we installed a new sling, complete with a shiny rap ring. By 10:30 a.m., we headed down, while the weather started to close in on us...
On rappel from the summit:
The Witch's Tooth pinnacle (situated between the summits of Mt. Dione and Mount Tantalus):
Rapping through the rock section, visibility on the wane:
We continued rappelling down the southwest couloir, by utilizing rock horns along the steep sides. Near the end, due to my own screw up, I got hit by a loose block in the wrist and right calf, which certainly smarted but which otherwise seemed like no big deal. We downclimbed the lower section of the couloir, re-jigged for glacier travel, and slogged back to the Hut in the white-out fog and super-slop snow for several hours.
(After arriving at the Hut, around 4:30 p.m., I removed my gaiters and discovered that my lower right pant leg was soaked in blood...a little bit alarmed now, I slid my pant leg up expecting to see a few scratches from my mishap with the rock. Instead, I found a gruesome looking chunk of flesh had been removed from my calf, apparently from the impact. There was suprisingly little bleeding or pain given the depth of the wound, but I was more worried about an infection. Given that we were scheduled to fly out the next day anyway, I irrigated the wound and applied some sterile dressings, and decided that I would wait until we got home to see if I needed any professional assistance)
The next day, we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast. The clouds lifted after 8:00 a.m. and our pilot picked us up at 11:00 a.m. Five minutes later, and it was kind of surreal to be back in Brackendale...
  
It was a great couple of days, with good guys, incredible accomodations and a spectacular setting. After staying in the Hut, it is going to be very hard to tolerate crappy weather in a tent again...
(I donated three cans of 1516 and three cans of Red Racer Pale Ale to the Hut...if you hurry up and visit, you can claim them before someone else does...) |
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Langley
181 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 1:13 PM
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Very cool area
How much did the round trip heli cost?
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832 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 3:22 PM
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| Very nice. Hope your calf is OK. |
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Squamish, British Columbia
Canada
1008 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 3:42 PM
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Nice BMO gloves  I get Spring to pick up loads of those when she does the marathon.
Also, Cormac even has the colors of the Irish flag as his accessory cord and webelette 
Great TR DPM. It's definitely nice to see the conditions up there. Winter still has a firm grip on the Tantalus range. |
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Coquitlam, BC
Canada
342 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 4:42 PM
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beauty - I'm hoping to chain from Haberl over to Lovelywater in a couple of weeks...
I hope the wound doesn't cause you any grief!
C |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1114 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 10:20 PM
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I'm sold. When I go there, this is how I'll do it.
Two things: No wound shots? and 6 CANS OF BEER??....you are a very generous man!
Great trip and report. Thanks. |
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 Manitoba's misadventurin' bushwhackin', dog sloggin', dehydratin', beer drinkin' biggie - who's eager to peak bag Mt Currie in a dress
Squamish
5048 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 11:21 PM
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Awesome. Congratulations.
I've got a great pic of the bergshrund in that couloir you were talking about. I'll see if I can dig it up when I boot up my computer next. |
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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
13466 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 07:16 AM
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Awesome destination, like your great shots of the peaks and the clouds.
K |
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Squamish, British Columbia
Canada
1008 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 12:18 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by thecamel
I'm sold. When I go there, this is how I'll do it.
Why not avoid the hut altogether and get them to drop you right onto the summit
j/k, I'll probably fly in at some point myself. Getting a perspective on the Coast mountains from a helicopter would be justification alone. |
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Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
558 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 9:19 PM
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Thanks all! My calf is healing up quite quickly - I'll have a nice scar to remind me of the trip...
@thecamel:
I did consider taking a photo of the missing chunk of flesh, but honestly even if I had, I don't think I would post it - nasty looking image that probably should not be inflicted on others (just ask the other guys on the trip!).
As for the beers - well, I had a couple casualties on the inbound flight which ended up soaking a lot of my gear and clothing - even though I smelled like a brewery at 10:00 a.m. the first day, I was dead sober (honest!) - rather than risk more losses, I figured I'd leave a little good karma behind at the Hut. "Cheers" to whoever claims them.
@leimrod:
Yeah...it did feel a bit like "cheating" (no cable traverse, no massive slog up to Lake LW, etc.) - I will consider the next typical SWBC approach hike to be part of my punishment. I want to back up there for a try at Tantalus, so we'll see.
A few more photos, courtesy of Andrew (who obviously has much superior photography skills):
The base of the SW couloir on Mt. Dione:
Climbing inside the couloir:
Topping out on the summit of Mt. Dione (this one is my favourite):
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Surrey, BC
Canada
949 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 9:57 PM
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Chalk up another vote for the chunk of flesh from your calf picture.
Good looking trip. |
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Maple Ridge, BC
Canada
489 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2012 : 3:05 PM
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| Both trip reports from that great spot are enjoyable reading; and several people are really appreciating the timely conditions update. |
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Haberl Hut Holiday Pt. 2 - Mt. Dione SE Face
