More First Ascents in the Coast Range of British Columbia
More First Ascents in the Coast Range of British Columbia F red B e c k e y
[This is a sequel to W illiam L. Putnam’s “ First Ascents in the Coast Range of British Colum bia,” A .A.J ., V II (A pril 1948), 25-32 .—E d .]
S H O R T L Y after d aw n on 20 Ju ly 1947, the T e llot névé glisten ed in the early m o rn in g sun. A s the four of us at H ig h C am p — C h arles S h iv erick, H a rry K in g , L eonard W in ch ester and I—had m ade plans for a reconnaissance of M o un t Serra, and as the highest p eak seem ed inaccessible from the north or east, w e crossed a steep ice col betw en its first p eak an d Stiletto, w ith the hope of traversin g to a route w e had noted both from the a ir and from D entiform . A long traverse took us to the b rin k of a lateral rim . A fter some scouting w e found a 300-foot ice g u lly w hich gave access to a névé basin on the south side of S e rra ’s first tw o p eaks. C lim b in g through knee-deep snow on a 45-degree slope w as tirin g w o rk. A t 11,700 feet, I chopped some steps in g lare ice to gain a rock rid ge. T w o hours of m o d erately difficult c lim b in g on this sharp ridge ended the d a y ’s efforts, for we spotted a possible traverse that should lead to the “Y ” ice g u lly ju st below S e rra’s sum m it. W e plunge-stepped and glissad ed dow n another arm of the basin, and then returned to cam p via the traverse, fin d in g an easier route 100 feet below our old steps. W e had p lan n ed to continue our route the next m o rn in g, but decided instead to take a shorter trip and chose the ch allen g in g C law P eak. W e descended one and a h alf m iles of névé to its base, then clim b ed a snow and rock face to its west ridge. H av in g heard reports of the first attem pt, w e cam e w ell arm ed w ith pitons. T h e C la w P eaks are m erely the con tin uatio n of the T ied em an n chain that separates the T ello t and T ied em an n G laciers. T h e west and highest C law P eak rises opposite a g reat icefall w hich spills the T ello t reservoir d irectly to the T ied em an n . A fter d o n n in g sneakers, w e roped in twos to m eet the first m ajo r obstacle: a g reat slab. A strenuous layb ack provided the solu tion to its problem s, but then a steeply pitched, knife-edged ridge
loom ed overhead. T h e g ran ite sides of the ridge w ere smooth and w ith out enough cracks to ju stify an attem pt. S trad d lin g technique helped on the first portion. I placed two pitons from aw k w ard stances, co n tin u in g the very difficult ascent. For ten feet it w as necessary to m ake a h an d traverse from the sloping rid g e crest w h ile h a n g in g d irectly above the T ello t, 500 vertical feet below. Beneath a great tilted slab I placed another piton, and struggled to easier grou nd . C o n so lid atin g here, w e continued by m a k in g an airy traverse to the righ t of the rid g e and then clim b in g directly to a notch 100 feet from the sum m it. H ere another piton w as needed for safety before a rounded arête led to the very p eak. T h e profile of the knife-edged rid ge w as such that w e w ere unable to rappel and had to m ake a very difficult clim b dow n. L ittle did w e suspect how tragic Ju ly 22nd w o uld be, as we follow ed our steps up the basin on the south side of Serra. T h e circum stances surro un d in g the death of C harles S h iv erick have alread y been reported in these pages.* W h atever the cause of the accident, it brought on us, and on the country, the loss of a splendid com panion and a fine m o un tain eer. W e agreed that evacuation of the body w o uld be un justifiab ly dangerous, and subsequently held a b u rial service and erected a cairn at the head of the icy g u lly . In tribute to C h arles S h iv erick, w e have asked that his nam e be given to the fine isolated peak w h ich he had clim bed w ith P utn am . W e descended to Base C am p on the 23rd and broke the bad new s to the other four, w hom w e m et on the low er C ataract G lacier —P u tn am , D avid M ich ael, G raham M atth ew s and F ra n k M ago un . P u tn am turned en tire charge of the expedition over to m e and left, w ith M ich ael, on the 24th, w ish in g us all good luck. W inch ester, K in g and I w ere slow ed by in juries. M atth ew s w en t h u n tin g often, gen era lly re tu rn in g w ith ou t luck , but alw ays b rin g in g a bucket of berries. R ain fell alm ost co n tin u ally. R ain stopped on Ju ly 28th, and interest in clim b in g revived, alth o ugh three of us w ere not yet up to par. Pocket V alley beckoned, * See A.A.J., V II (A pril 1948), 89-91 . It should be pointed out that, from the day of the accident, considerable attention was of course devoted to problems surrounding the proposed evacuation of Charles Shiverick’s body. —Ed,
a green gem betw een the P ara llel and S cim itar G laciers; an d w e packed five d ays’ food and equip m en t to a cam p near the P arallel G lacier that afternoon. E arly on the 29th M ago un , M atth ew s and I left this 4000-foot base for F ro n tier M o un tain , the castle-shaped rock p eak of 10,000 feet at the w est side of the 7200-foot pass lead in g to F ro n tier C reek and the K lin a k lin i R iver. W e ascended m o rain al debris, the C o rn elia and F ro n tier G laciers, and some very soft snow in a steep couloir. T h e south face offered an airy 500-foot ascent in sneakers, the latter p art of w h ich w as q u ite difficult and exposed. O ur vantage point proved excellent for m ap p in g unexplored regions to the north. A t d ayb reak on Ju ly 30th W inch ester and K in g left for the 10,000-foot peak ju st east of F ro n tier, w hich is the highest point on the lo n g ridge from M ount P rojectile to G ran ite C reek. F ro m the pass on its w est they ascended snow and rock, then an icy g u lly to the north ridge. T h e an gle of the ridge proved to have been most deceptive, for it w as very n arro w and exposed, req u irin g continuous b elayin g. M ount D elusion w as considered a good nam e. T h e next day we all left for peaks at the head of the P arallel G lacier. W e circum vented its low er icefall by a passage on its left. N ear the base of T hreshold P eak, some five m iles up the g lacier, a n arro w snow b ridge proved a th rill. H ere we split. K in g and M atth ew s m ade the ascent of 9600-foot T h resh o ld P eak, a face clim b of ice and rock that w as qu ite tryin g . T h e rest of us clim bed 10,000-foot H erm it P eak. O nly the sum m it p in n acle and a bergschrund near the G eddes col w ere troublesom e. T h e five of us reached cam p about m id n igh t. On A u g u st 2nd M ago un and I left the valley at dayb reak to clim b O utpost M o un tain , the 10,500-foot ice peak ju st north of M o un t Roovers. Access w as a problem . Several m iles up the P ara llel G lacier, w e turned north to ascend its north branch, w hich w e called the O val G lacier. A 2000-foot ice cascade m ade reach in g the upper O val a difficult procedure. W e clim bed th ro ugh m an y rubble piles, chopped steps up teeterin g séracs, and w orked across countless ice bridges. L u c k ily , there w as a route th ro ugh , and w e found it. W e then trudged north across several m iles of b reakable crust to the base of the m o un tain , had lunch, an d clim bed an ice face to a n arro w rock crest at the flank of its east ice face. Except for a few exposed traverses, we had little to w o rry about. T he clear atm osphere allow ed us to view distant peaks in all directions.
W e saw that w e had scaled all the o utstan d in g unclim bed peaks w e could reach from Pocket V alle y , w ith the exception of M ount Roovers. T h e east face and ad jo in in g ridges of its to w erin g sum m it seem ed hopeless. On the descent w e avoided the dangerous icefali by traversin g east across the south face of an un n am ed peak flan k in g the O val G lacier, before dro p p in g to the P arallel. Since several planes had flown near us recently, and had us w o n d erin g, W in ch ester and I returned to Base C am p . A t 11.00 P.M . on A u g u st 3rd K in g , M atthew s and M ag o u n left for 10,600-foot Roovers. T h ey clim bed to the ice col overlo o kin g the Roovers G lacier via the P arallel. A t d aw n they descended 1000 feet and travelled dow n the Roovers G lacier to the center of the 2500-foot w est face. T h ey clim bed a long series of ice g u llies, rock arêtes, an d snow patches to g a in the south rid ge near the sum m it. T he w hole ascent w as very exposed. In the early afternoon they left the sum m it and returned via the sam e long, exactin g route. In the d ark , they had to clim b to the ice col on the P arallel-R oovers G lacier divid e, and then m ake the long descent to Pocket V alley. A fter 28 hours of clim b in g, they took ad v an tage of some extra tim e to sleep. O n A u g u st 9th K in g , M ago un , M atthew s and I m ade the tirin g ascent to the T ello t ag ain . W in ch ester, h avin g planned to be out by this date, had left. E v er-w id en in g crevasses m ade ro ute-fin din g on the C ataract G lacier m ore of a problem than before. As w e reached C ataract Col at six, a plane m essage dropped to us stated th at it w as u rg en t w e reach the T ied em an n G lacier in three days, conform in g w ith evacuation plans. K in g and I clim bed em pty to H ig h C am p and bro ugh t the tents an d some duffel to the base of C law Peak, w here M ago un and M atth ew s had brought the rem ain der of our duffel from the col. In the d ark w e set up cam p on a rocky b rin k o verlo o kin g the névé slopes lead in g to the T ied em an n G lacier. Even though it w as very cold at n ig h t, it seem ed appreciably w arm er here than at H ig h C am p. A cloudy n igh t bro ugh t new snow in the m o rn in g, stallin g activity. T h e 11th d aw n ed b rillia n tly , so K in g and I reascended the very difficult C law P eak , fin d in g the clim b every bit as ex citin g as before. In the afternoon w e all descended 3000 feet to the T ied em an n G lacier, p lacin g cam p on a m edial m oraine. A plane
had dropped four food bundles across the g lacier, so in the dusk w e chased after them . A nother drop provided us w ith m ore gas and tw o “w a lk ie -ta lk ie ” (S C R 536) radios. O ur b ig hope w as a clear day on w h ich to try 12,400-foot M ount A sp erity, p ro vin cial C a n ad a ’s high est un clim b ed peak. A u g u st 13th d aw n ed b e a u tifu lly, so w e set out from cam p. In less than an hour we turned off the T ied em an n , at about 6700 feet, and began c lim b in g the g lacier salien t d irectly beneath the g ig a n tic upper w alls of the p eak. In two ropes w e w orked up a crevasse m aze that had only one route. A most insecure bridge at the jun ctio n of a crevasse and a h an g in g ice w a ll w as very difficult. T h e cascad in g g lacier here forced us over to the rig h t, w here w e had to clim b rubble an d icy séracs. Above us w as the g reat 2000-foot ice couloir le ad in g to the serrated d ivid e connecting T ied em an n and A sperity. A skew ed tu nn el cut th ro ugh the o verh an gin g upper lip of the b ergschrund, p ro vid in g a m eans w hereby M ago un w orked above the schrund, cu ttin g aw ay obstructions. Once above this, w e m ade rap id progress, as cram pons bit into the steep, g ra in y ice. A s the sun struck the upper g ra n ite w alls, it m elted verglas, and sm all rocks show ered dow n on us. W e h urried to avoid the d an ger and reached a safe rest spot at 10,800 feet. A steep ice pitch took us to the 11,500-foot ice col. W e w ere struck by a terrific w in d , w h ich bit th ro ugh all the clo thing we could m uster. T h e trem endous chasm of the R ad ian t cirque, below to the north, w as an ap p allin g sight. Bl ue ice seem ed to c lin g to the north w alls of the T ied em an n chain at terrific angles. A fter a lun ch in a protected recess, we clim bed east up a steep, pow derysnow ed ice arête, and then a droop in the rid ge w hich had a great cornice. Soon w e reached the base of the fin al 300-foot rock face. H ere w e seem ed stopped: a n arro w rid g e offered o nly a little hope. Both flan k in g faces w ere hopelessly steep and g laz ed w ith icicles. B ut a little advance revealed a w ay. I led a difficult traverse on g la z e d rock and then w o rked up 50 feet of iced rock to a sm all notch in the arête. T h en a dry 80-degree slab taxed our ab ility. F in a lly M atth ew s, w e a rin g B ram an i boots, did a fine job of scaling the slab to a p in n acle suitable for b elayin g. In another rope length of g laz e d arête clim b in g , w e jo y fu lly finished the difficult clim b at 3.00 P.M . W e w ere h appy also to find shelter from the w in d in a rock
cran n y. A m o n g the su rro u n d in g peaks, only W ad d in g to n and T ied em an n rose h igh er th an our sum m it. W e could see the w aters of Bute Inlet and M id d le L ak e. T h e startlin g sheer faces of Serra, T ello t an d T ied em an n attracted m uch atten tion , but so did W a d din gto n and the P ara lle l G lacier peaks. R ap p ellin g facilitated descent from the difficult rock rid ge. T h e fi erce w in d b lew so hard on the ice arête that w e had to “d uck w a lk ,” w ith arcs of rope far to the lee. A fter descending the treacherous caked snow of the ice arête, we donned cram pons to begin the descent of the g reat ice couloir. It w as pleasant to be out of the w in d and also clear of the regions w here rocks fell. T h e long couloir w as ag ain tryin g on the ankles. T h e m an y crevasses, the tunn el an d the rubble slopes a ll gave us trouble, but w ith ou t furth er in cid en t w e reached the tents at nine. On a b eautiful m id -A u gu st day, K in g and I m ade a recon naissance of M o un t Stiletto and its g reat west needle. W e clim bed to the ice col betw een the needle and S e rra ’s first p eak, descended 200 feet, and clim bed to a notch at the w est base of the needle. In four rope len gth s of clim b in g up g laz ed rock and insecure snow patches, we reached a great slab. H ere w e changed to sneakers and traversed to a platform . I w ent up a series of short vertical g ran ite blocks, p lacin g one piton. In tw o rope lengths, K in g belayed m e across an aw k w a rd traverse. Soon I w as up a chockstoned ch im n ey and reached the rid ge betw een the needle and Stiletto. Routes appeared on both, but since it w as alread y five, w e deem ed it best to w ait another d ay. On the descent we left a fixed rope below the slab. In the even in g the other tw o arrived from the T ied em an n G lacier cam p. O n the 16th w e clim bed to S tiletto ’s base, but w aited for a local snow -show ering cloud to clear. It did not clear by m id-afternoon, so w e return ed to cam p. In the sun, the heat was terrific at tim es, but an afternoon cloud w ould im m ed iately freeze w ater on the m elt tarp. T ech n ical clim b in g under such conditions w as too dangerous on these ex actin g peaks. T h e 17th w as c lear; but, since it w as un b earab ly w in d y on the T ied em an n P eaks, K in g and I clim bed M ount S h a n d w h ile M atth ew s an d M ago un scaled the east peak of M cC o rm ick, some ten feet low er than the w est sum m it, w hich w e had already clim bed. On the 20th M ago un and K in g joined F ritz L ip p m an and
B ud G ates, of the S ierra C lub p arty w h ich w as now on the scene, in the successful ascent of Stiletto ’s needle. T h ey follow ed our route to the rid g e betw een the needle and the m ain peak. H ere they m ade a traverse on the north face, and ascended a most difficult crack. A piton p en d ulum and a direct-aid pitch finished this very spec tacu lar ascent. Even the descent e n r a p p e l w as n erve-w rackin g. In the m o rn in g K in g and M ago un left for Base C am p. M atth ew s and I confirm ed our suspicions that an attem pt on Stiletto, w ith all the fresh snow on its ledges, w o uld be u n d u ly risk y. Since w e did not have tim e to aw a it a c learin g , w e also left. T h e C ataract G lacier had ch an ged m uch even since our ascent of 11 days before. Photo grap h s of earlier parties show th at these glaciers have receded g en erally , especially the C ataract. T h e S cim itar and P arallel G laciers, how ever, seem to have held their ow n. G rain y ice can be reached on both ju st beyond their snouts. O n the 22nd M ago un travelled q u ic k ly to the raft ford, w here he found W ilso n and Batice. W e all retu rn ed seven m iles to Base C am p in the afternoon. N ext m o rn in g, w ith three pack horses, w e m oved cam p to the H o m ath ko . M atth ew s and I w ere still in ter ested in clim b in g a g reat p eak in the F ive F in g er C reek region, betw een the H o m ath ko forks, larg e ly to scan u n kn o w n regions to the east. T h e rest of the p arty m oved out in the m o rn in g of the 24th, w ish in g us lu ck , and leav in g a little food and eq u ip m en t for our use. T h ey w o uld leave caches alo n g the route. M atth ew s and I took food for three and a h alf days and began stro llin g through the sandy forest to F ive F in g er C reek. Since this ra g in g stream em erges from a n arro w go rge, w e had to clim b 1000 feet up the forested h illsid e an d traverse a m ile to g ravel bars farther u p -valley. A few m iles on the bars took us to a valley fork, some six m iles from the H o m ath ko . H ere we saw a g reat g lacier in the rig h t fork, w ith our objective betw een the g lacier and upper F ive F in g er C reek. W e thought the forks a good base. Since, w e have given the n am es R o yal G lacier and P ago da P eak . A t d ayb reak w e crossed a q u arter of a m ile of term in al m oraine to the snout of the R o yal G lacier. W e ll developed and h igh lateral m o rain e show ed g reater activity in earlier years. A b ig rock cliff and icefall, sim ilar to that of the P a ra lle l, blocked our route, but w e m an aged a snow an d rock clim b on the rig h t to by-pass this b arrier. W e h u rried , b ein g exposed to any falls off the h uge
north w alls of H a n g in g P eak . F lu ted ice patches and h an gin g g laciers c lu n g to the near-vertical w alls for m iles on either side of us. Soon w e crossed a flat, crevassed section of the g lacier and saw its source at a rim of rounded peaks. It w as all of three m iles in len gth and at its head fan n ed aw ay in several directions. R oyal P eak fed a h uge icefall at the southeast corner. P ago da crow ned the h igh , serrated, sed im entary rid ge to the north. T h e b u lg in g south face had some overhangs, so w e clim bed a long d iago n al slab to the rid g e crest east of the sum m it. Slab rock, verglas and icy snow patches gave us no chance to relax vigilan ce. T h e w hole m assif is com posed of w esterly d ip p in g sedim entary rocks, alth o ugh P agoda had num erous g ran itic outcrops. W e expected a g reat drop on the north face, after w h at I had noted from the plane in June, but the reality of its sheerness w as terrific. Even the trem endous north w alls of H a n g in g P eak , and those of the T ied em an n ch ain , could not best the ice-patched face below . A n arro w , jagged ridge rose above. W e ch an ged to sneakers and left axes, to b egin the final assault. H olds w ere g en erally sufficient, but un trustw o rth y. I led several rope len gth s of both difficult and very exposed rock w o rk. F in a lly , some g ran ite pitches, alth o ugh difficult, ensured success, as the holds w ere a ll sound. A succession of false sum m its, a ll difficult on their o w n, led to the apex. W e estim ated our h eigh t at 10,400 feet and noted P ago d a w as the highest point betw een R azorb ack and the H o m ath ko F o rks. H u rrie d ly , as a stratus layer w as rap id ly con v e rg in g from the north, w e b uilt a cairn , m apped and ad m ired the scene. W e saw scores of un kn o w n glaciers, peaks and valleys. T he w alls of R eliance, Success, and Q ueen Bess seem ed close to the south. In one view to the west w e could spot every sum m it of the C ataract an d T ied em an n chains and W ad d in g to n ’s crest also. W e w ere prom pted to leave by a h ail flurry. L o n g rappels q u ic k ly took us dow n the very difficult rid ge. T h e intricacies of the slan tin g slab took tim e and m uch b elayin g . L o w er dow n, we descended a heather spur, crossed crevasse m azes, and clim bed dow n ice slopes to cam p, fin ish in g the 7000-foot descent at nine. On the 26th w e retu rn ed to the raft-crossing in three hours, fin d in g the trav e llin g alo n g the northw est b an k of the river m uch faster. T h e next d ay w e pushed across the sw am ps and bushy trail to the cabin of Pat, the trapper, h alf a m ile north of M id d le L a k e ; and on the 29th w e finished the last 29 m iles to T a tla L ak e.
[This is a sequel to W illiam L. Putnam’s “ First Ascents in the Coast Range of British Colum bia,” A .A.J ., V II (A pril 1948), 25-32 .—E d .]
S H O R T L Y after d aw n on 20 Ju ly 1947, the T e llot névé glisten ed in the early m o rn in g sun. A s the four of us at H ig h C am p — C h arles S h iv erick, H a rry K in g , L eonard W in ch ester and I—had m ade plans for a reconnaissance of M o un t Serra, and as the highest p eak seem ed inaccessible from the north or east, w e crossed a steep ice col betw en its first p eak an d Stiletto, w ith the hope of traversin g to a route w e had noted both from the a ir and from D entiform . A long traverse took us to the b rin k of a lateral rim . A fter some scouting w e found a 300-foot ice g u lly w hich gave access to a névé basin on the south side of S e rra ’s first tw o p eaks. C lim b in g through knee-deep snow on a 45-degree slope w as tirin g w o rk. A t 11,700 feet, I chopped some steps in g lare ice to gain a rock rid ge. T w o hours of m o d erately difficult c lim b in g on this sharp ridge ended the d a y ’s efforts, for we spotted a possible traverse that should lead to the “Y ” ice g u lly ju st below S e rra’s sum m it. W e plunge-stepped and glissad ed dow n another arm of the basin, and then returned to cam p via the traverse, fin d in g an easier route 100 feet below our old steps. W e had p lan n ed to continue our route the next m o rn in g, but decided instead to take a shorter trip and chose the ch allen g in g C law P eak. W e descended one and a h alf m iles of névé to its base, then clim b ed a snow and rock face to its west ridge. H av in g heard reports of the first attem pt, w e cam e w ell arm ed w ith pitons. T h e C la w P eaks are m erely the con tin uatio n of the T ied em an n chain that separates the T ello t and T ied em an n G laciers. T h e west and highest C law P eak rises opposite a g reat icefall w hich spills the T ello t reservoir d irectly to the T ied em an n . A fter d o n n in g sneakers, w e roped in twos to m eet the first m ajo r obstacle: a g reat slab. A strenuous layb ack provided the solu tion to its problem s, but then a steeply pitched, knife-edged ridge
loom ed overhead. T h e g ran ite sides of the ridge w ere smooth and w ith out enough cracks to ju stify an attem pt. S trad d lin g technique helped on the first portion. I placed two pitons from aw k w ard stances, co n tin u in g the very difficult ascent. For ten feet it w as necessary to m ake a h an d traverse from the sloping rid g e crest w h ile h a n g in g d irectly above the T ello t, 500 vertical feet below. Beneath a great tilted slab I placed another piton, and struggled to easier grou nd . C o n so lid atin g here, w e continued by m a k in g an airy traverse to the righ t of the rid g e and then clim b in g directly to a notch 100 feet from the sum m it. H ere another piton w as needed for safety before a rounded arête led to the very p eak. T h e profile of the knife-edged rid ge w as such that w e w ere unable to rappel and had to m ake a very difficult clim b dow n. L ittle did w e suspect how tragic Ju ly 22nd w o uld be, as we follow ed our steps up the basin on the south side of Serra. T h e circum stances surro un d in g the death of C harles S h iv erick have alread y been reported in these pages.* W h atever the cause of the accident, it brought on us, and on the country, the loss of a splendid com panion and a fine m o un tain eer. W e agreed that evacuation of the body w o uld be un justifiab ly dangerous, and subsequently held a b u rial service and erected a cairn at the head of the icy g u lly . In tribute to C h arles S h iv erick, w e have asked that his nam e be given to the fine isolated peak w h ich he had clim bed w ith P utn am . W e descended to Base C am p on the 23rd and broke the bad new s to the other four, w hom w e m et on the low er C ataract G lacier —P u tn am , D avid M ich ael, G raham M atth ew s and F ra n k M ago un . P u tn am turned en tire charge of the expedition over to m e and left, w ith M ich ael, on the 24th, w ish in g us all good luck. W inch ester, K in g and I w ere slow ed by in juries. M atth ew s w en t h u n tin g often, gen era lly re tu rn in g w ith ou t luck , but alw ays b rin g in g a bucket of berries. R ain fell alm ost co n tin u ally. R ain stopped on Ju ly 28th, and interest in clim b in g revived, alth o ugh three of us w ere not yet up to par. Pocket V alley beckoned, * See A.A.J., V II (A pril 1948), 89-91 . It should be pointed out that, from the day of the accident, considerable attention was of course devoted to problems surrounding the proposed evacuation of Charles Shiverick’s body. —Ed,
a green gem betw een the P ara llel and S cim itar G laciers; an d w e packed five d ays’ food and equip m en t to a cam p near the P arallel G lacier that afternoon. E arly on the 29th M ago un , M atth ew s and I left this 4000-foot base for F ro n tier M o un tain , the castle-shaped rock p eak of 10,000 feet at the w est side of the 7200-foot pass lead in g to F ro n tier C reek and the K lin a k lin i R iver. W e ascended m o rain al debris, the C o rn elia and F ro n tier G laciers, and some very soft snow in a steep couloir. T h e south face offered an airy 500-foot ascent in sneakers, the latter p art of w h ich w as q u ite difficult and exposed. O ur vantage point proved excellent for m ap p in g unexplored regions to the north. A t d ayb reak on Ju ly 30th W inch ester and K in g left for the 10,000-foot peak ju st east of F ro n tier, w hich is the highest point on the lo n g ridge from M ount P rojectile to G ran ite C reek. F ro m the pass on its w est they ascended snow and rock, then an icy g u lly to the north ridge. T h e an gle of the ridge proved to have been most deceptive, for it w as very n arro w and exposed, req u irin g continuous b elayin g. M ount D elusion w as considered a good nam e. T h e next day we all left for peaks at the head of the P arallel G lacier. W e circum vented its low er icefall by a passage on its left. N ear the base of T hreshold P eak, some five m iles up the g lacier, a n arro w snow b ridge proved a th rill. H ere we split. K in g and M atth ew s m ade the ascent of 9600-foot T h resh o ld P eak, a face clim b of ice and rock that w as qu ite tryin g . T h e rest of us clim bed 10,000-foot H erm it P eak. O nly the sum m it p in n acle and a bergschrund near the G eddes col w ere troublesom e. T h e five of us reached cam p about m id n igh t. On A u g u st 2nd M ago un and I left the valley at dayb reak to clim b O utpost M o un tain , the 10,500-foot ice peak ju st north of M o un t Roovers. Access w as a problem . Several m iles up the P ara llel G lacier, w e turned north to ascend its north branch, w hich w e called the O val G lacier. A 2000-foot ice cascade m ade reach in g the upper O val a difficult procedure. W e clim bed th ro ugh m an y rubble piles, chopped steps up teeterin g séracs, and w orked across countless ice bridges. L u c k ily , there w as a route th ro ugh , and w e found it. W e then trudged north across several m iles of b reakable crust to the base of the m o un tain , had lunch, an d clim bed an ice face to a n arro w rock crest at the flank of its east ice face. Except for a few exposed traverses, we had little to w o rry about. T he clear atm osphere allow ed us to view distant peaks in all directions.
W e saw that w e had scaled all the o utstan d in g unclim bed peaks w e could reach from Pocket V alle y , w ith the exception of M ount Roovers. T h e east face and ad jo in in g ridges of its to w erin g sum m it seem ed hopeless. On the descent w e avoided the dangerous icefali by traversin g east across the south face of an un n am ed peak flan k in g the O val G lacier, before dro p p in g to the P arallel. Since several planes had flown near us recently, and had us w o n d erin g, W in ch ester and I returned to Base C am p . A t 11.00 P.M . on A u g u st 3rd K in g , M atthew s and M ag o u n left for 10,600-foot Roovers. T h ey clim bed to the ice col overlo o kin g the Roovers G lacier via the P arallel. A t d aw n they descended 1000 feet and travelled dow n the Roovers G lacier to the center of the 2500-foot w est face. T h ey clim bed a long series of ice g u llies, rock arêtes, an d snow patches to g a in the south rid ge near the sum m it. T he w hole ascent w as very exposed. In the early afternoon they left the sum m it and returned via the sam e long, exactin g route. In the d ark , they had to clim b to the ice col on the P arallel-R oovers G lacier divid e, and then m ake the long descent to Pocket V alley. A fter 28 hours of clim b in g, they took ad v an tage of some extra tim e to sleep. O n A u g u st 9th K in g , M ago un , M atthew s and I m ade the tirin g ascent to the T ello t ag ain . W in ch ester, h avin g planned to be out by this date, had left. E v er-w id en in g crevasses m ade ro ute-fin din g on the C ataract G lacier m ore of a problem than before. As w e reached C ataract Col at six, a plane m essage dropped to us stated th at it w as u rg en t w e reach the T ied em an n G lacier in three days, conform in g w ith evacuation plans. K in g and I clim bed em pty to H ig h C am p and bro ugh t the tents an d some duffel to the base of C law Peak, w here M ago un and M atth ew s had brought the rem ain der of our duffel from the col. In the d ark w e set up cam p on a rocky b rin k o verlo o kin g the névé slopes lead in g to the T ied em an n G lacier. Even though it w as very cold at n ig h t, it seem ed appreciably w arm er here than at H ig h C am p. A cloudy n igh t bro ugh t new snow in the m o rn in g, stallin g activity. T h e 11th d aw n ed b rillia n tly , so K in g and I reascended the very difficult C law P eak , fin d in g the clim b every bit as ex citin g as before. In the afternoon w e all descended 3000 feet to the T ied em an n G lacier, p lacin g cam p on a m edial m oraine. A plane
had dropped four food bundles across the g lacier, so in the dusk w e chased after them . A nother drop provided us w ith m ore gas and tw o “w a lk ie -ta lk ie ” (S C R 536) radios. O ur b ig hope w as a clear day on w h ich to try 12,400-foot M ount A sp erity, p ro vin cial C a n ad a ’s high est un clim b ed peak. A u g u st 13th d aw n ed b e a u tifu lly, so w e set out from cam p. In less than an hour we turned off the T ied em an n , at about 6700 feet, and began c lim b in g the g lacier salien t d irectly beneath the g ig a n tic upper w alls of the p eak. In two ropes w e w orked up a crevasse m aze that had only one route. A most insecure bridge at the jun ctio n of a crevasse and a h an g in g ice w a ll w as very difficult. T h e cascad in g g lacier here forced us over to the rig h t, w here w e had to clim b rubble an d icy séracs. Above us w as the g reat 2000-foot ice couloir le ad in g to the serrated d ivid e connecting T ied em an n and A sperity. A skew ed tu nn el cut th ro ugh the o verh an gin g upper lip of the b ergschrund, p ro vid in g a m eans w hereby M ago un w orked above the schrund, cu ttin g aw ay obstructions. Once above this, w e m ade rap id progress, as cram pons bit into the steep, g ra in y ice. A s the sun struck the upper g ra n ite w alls, it m elted verglas, and sm all rocks show ered dow n on us. W e h urried to avoid the d an ger and reached a safe rest spot at 10,800 feet. A steep ice pitch took us to the 11,500-foot ice col. W e w ere struck by a terrific w in d , w h ich bit th ro ugh all the clo thing we could m uster. T h e trem endous chasm of the R ad ian t cirque, below to the north, w as an ap p allin g sight. Bl ue ice seem ed to c lin g to the north w alls of the T ied em an n chain at terrific angles. A fter a lun ch in a protected recess, we clim bed east up a steep, pow derysnow ed ice arête, and then a droop in the rid ge w hich had a great cornice. Soon w e reached the base of the fin al 300-foot rock face. H ere w e seem ed stopped: a n arro w rid g e offered o nly a little hope. Both flan k in g faces w ere hopelessly steep and g laz ed w ith icicles. B ut a little advance revealed a w ay. I led a difficult traverse on g la z e d rock and then w o rked up 50 feet of iced rock to a sm all notch in the arête. T h en a dry 80-degree slab taxed our ab ility. F in a lly M atth ew s, w e a rin g B ram an i boots, did a fine job of scaling the slab to a p in n acle suitable for b elayin g. In another rope length of g laz e d arête clim b in g , w e jo y fu lly finished the difficult clim b at 3.00 P.M . W e w ere h appy also to find shelter from the w in d in a rock
cran n y. A m o n g the su rro u n d in g peaks, only W ad d in g to n and T ied em an n rose h igh er th an our sum m it. W e could see the w aters of Bute Inlet and M id d le L ak e. T h e startlin g sheer faces of Serra, T ello t an d T ied em an n attracted m uch atten tion , but so did W a d din gto n and the P ara lle l G lacier peaks. R ap p ellin g facilitated descent from the difficult rock rid ge. T h e fi erce w in d b lew so hard on the ice arête that w e had to “d uck w a lk ,” w ith arcs of rope far to the lee. A fter descending the treacherous caked snow of the ice arête, we donned cram pons to begin the descent of the g reat ice couloir. It w as pleasant to be out of the w in d and also clear of the regions w here rocks fell. T h e long couloir w as ag ain tryin g on the ankles. T h e m an y crevasses, the tunn el an d the rubble slopes a ll gave us trouble, but w ith ou t furth er in cid en t w e reached the tents at nine. On a b eautiful m id -A u gu st day, K in g and I m ade a recon naissance of M o un t Stiletto and its g reat west needle. W e clim bed to the ice col betw een the needle and S e rra ’s first p eak, descended 200 feet, and clim bed to a notch at the w est base of the needle. In four rope len gth s of clim b in g up g laz ed rock and insecure snow patches, we reached a great slab. H ere w e changed to sneakers and traversed to a platform . I w ent up a series of short vertical g ran ite blocks, p lacin g one piton. In tw o rope lengths, K in g belayed m e across an aw k w a rd traverse. Soon I w as up a chockstoned ch im n ey and reached the rid ge betw een the needle and Stiletto. Routes appeared on both, but since it w as alread y five, w e deem ed it best to w ait another d ay. On the descent we left a fixed rope below the slab. In the even in g the other tw o arrived from the T ied em an n G lacier cam p. O n the 16th w e clim bed to S tiletto ’s base, but w aited for a local snow -show ering cloud to clear. It did not clear by m id-afternoon, so w e return ed to cam p. In the sun, the heat was terrific at tim es, but an afternoon cloud w ould im m ed iately freeze w ater on the m elt tarp. T ech n ical clim b in g under such conditions w as too dangerous on these ex actin g peaks. T h e 17th w as c lear; but, since it w as un b earab ly w in d y on the T ied em an n P eaks, K in g and I clim bed M ount S h a n d w h ile M atth ew s an d M ago un scaled the east peak of M cC o rm ick, some ten feet low er than the w est sum m it, w hich w e had already clim bed. On the 20th M ago un and K in g joined F ritz L ip p m an and
B ud G ates, of the S ierra C lub p arty w h ich w as now on the scene, in the successful ascent of Stiletto ’s needle. T h ey follow ed our route to the rid g e betw een the needle and the m ain peak. H ere they m ade a traverse on the north face, and ascended a most difficult crack. A piton p en d ulum and a direct-aid pitch finished this very spec tacu lar ascent. Even the descent e n r a p p e l w as n erve-w rackin g. In the m o rn in g K in g and M ago un left for Base C am p. M atth ew s and I confirm ed our suspicions that an attem pt on Stiletto, w ith all the fresh snow on its ledges, w o uld be u n d u ly risk y. Since w e did not have tim e to aw a it a c learin g , w e also left. T h e C ataract G lacier had ch an ged m uch even since our ascent of 11 days before. Photo grap h s of earlier parties show th at these glaciers have receded g en erally , especially the C ataract. T h e S cim itar and P arallel G laciers, how ever, seem to have held their ow n. G rain y ice can be reached on both ju st beyond their snouts. O n the 22nd M ago un travelled q u ic k ly to the raft ford, w here he found W ilso n and Batice. W e all retu rn ed seven m iles to Base C am p in the afternoon. N ext m o rn in g, w ith three pack horses, w e m oved cam p to the H o m ath ko . M atth ew s and I w ere still in ter ested in clim b in g a g reat p eak in the F ive F in g er C reek region, betw een the H o m ath ko forks, larg e ly to scan u n kn o w n regions to the east. T h e rest of the p arty m oved out in the m o rn in g of the 24th, w ish in g us lu ck , and leav in g a little food and eq u ip m en t for our use. T h ey w o uld leave caches alo n g the route. M atth ew s and I took food for three and a h alf days and began stro llin g through the sandy forest to F ive F in g er C reek. Since this ra g in g stream em erges from a n arro w go rge, w e had to clim b 1000 feet up the forested h illsid e an d traverse a m ile to g ravel bars farther u p -valley. A few m iles on the bars took us to a valley fork, some six m iles from the H o m ath ko . H ere we saw a g reat g lacier in the rig h t fork, w ith our objective betw een the g lacier and upper F ive F in g er C reek. W e thought the forks a good base. Since, w e have given the n am es R o yal G lacier and P ago da P eak . A t d ayb reak w e crossed a q u arter of a m ile of term in al m oraine to the snout of the R o yal G lacier. W e ll developed and h igh lateral m o rain e show ed g reater activity in earlier years. A b ig rock cliff and icefall, sim ilar to that of the P a ra lle l, blocked our route, but w e m an aged a snow an d rock clim b on the rig h t to by-pass this b arrier. W e h u rried , b ein g exposed to any falls off the h uge
north w alls of H a n g in g P eak . F lu ted ice patches and h an gin g g laciers c lu n g to the near-vertical w alls for m iles on either side of us. Soon w e crossed a flat, crevassed section of the g lacier and saw its source at a rim of rounded peaks. It w as all of three m iles in len gth and at its head fan n ed aw ay in several directions. R oyal P eak fed a h uge icefall at the southeast corner. P ago da crow ned the h igh , serrated, sed im entary rid ge to the north. T h e b u lg in g south face had some overhangs, so w e clim bed a long d iago n al slab to the rid g e crest east of the sum m it. Slab rock, verglas and icy snow patches gave us no chance to relax vigilan ce. T h e w hole m assif is com posed of w esterly d ip p in g sedim entary rocks, alth o ugh P agoda had num erous g ran itic outcrops. W e expected a g reat drop on the north face, after w h at I had noted from the plane in June, but the reality of its sheerness w as terrific. Even the trem endous north w alls of H a n g in g P eak , and those of the T ied em an n ch ain , could not best the ice-patched face below . A n arro w , jagged ridge rose above. W e ch an ged to sneakers and left axes, to b egin the final assault. H olds w ere g en erally sufficient, but un trustw o rth y. I led several rope len gth s of both difficult and very exposed rock w o rk. F in a lly , some g ran ite pitches, alth o ugh difficult, ensured success, as the holds w ere a ll sound. A succession of false sum m its, a ll difficult on their o w n, led to the apex. W e estim ated our h eigh t at 10,400 feet and noted P ago d a w as the highest point betw een R azorb ack and the H o m ath ko F o rks. H u rrie d ly , as a stratus layer w as rap id ly con v e rg in g from the north, w e b uilt a cairn , m apped and ad m ired the scene. W e saw scores of un kn o w n glaciers, peaks and valleys. T he w alls of R eliance, Success, and Q ueen Bess seem ed close to the south. In one view to the west w e could spot every sum m it of the C ataract an d T ied em an n chains and W ad d in g to n ’s crest also. W e w ere prom pted to leave by a h ail flurry. L o n g rappels q u ic k ly took us dow n the very difficult rid ge. T h e intricacies of the slan tin g slab took tim e and m uch b elayin g . L o w er dow n, we descended a heather spur, crossed crevasse m azes, and clim bed dow n ice slopes to cam p, fin ish in g the 7000-foot descent at nine. On the 26th w e retu rn ed to the raft-crossing in three hours, fin d in g the trav e llin g alo n g the northw est b an k of the river m uch faster. T h e next d ay w e pushed across the sw am ps and bushy trail to the cabin of Pat, the trapper, h alf a m ile north of M id d le L a k e ; and on the 29th w e finished the last 29 m iles to T a tla L ak e.
