Mt. Waddington, possible variation and bushwhack from the sea. On ...
Mt. Waddington, possible variation and bushwhack from the sea. O n July 28 Patrick Farrell and I began the approach to M t. W addington follow ing the M undays’ first 1926 attem p t via Coola Creek. This jo u rn ey proved to be unu su al in several ways. First, we ap p ro ach ed overland, unsupported, from the ocean, a route that hasn’t been reported since the late 1970s. We planned to approach from the water in a single push, w ith o u t ferrying loads o r receiving air assistance. Also, before arriving at o u r ju m p -o ff po in t, we sailed from Bellingham , WA in a 27' C atalina [sail boat] up B utte Inlet and the heavily silted H o m ath k o River. At low tide th e m udflats surrounding the m o u th o f the H om athko are too shallow even for a tiny skiff, so we pored over the tide book and hoped for the best, m aking headway at only a knot against the river’s strong current. We m oored o u r boat at a logging cam p on the east side o f the H om athko River, were shuttled across via skiff, and C huck Burchill, the resident caretaker, brought us to the m o u th o f Coola Creek. From here we p lanned to follow th e reco m m en d atio n in D on Seri’s guideb o o k to the W addington Range, which suggests th at Scar Creek should be avoided at all costs, leaving Coola Creek as a supposedly favorable alternative. O u r experience suggested otherw ise [the good Mr. Serl prefers helicopters— Ed.]. We battled h ead-high devil’s club and tightly woven th im bleb erry and salm onberry bushes, grow ing on steep, previously clear-cut slopes. This distu rb ed Pacific N orthw est rainforest proved to be so im penetrable that we took off o u r packs and rolled
them ahead o f us to pack dow n the tho rn y vegetation so we could clim b atop it. At tim es in the ho rren d o u s terrain we m ade only a mile in over eight hours; som etim es one o f us braced the oth er while trying to scram ble up o r over dow ned logs on the thrashed, uneven hillside. After eventually reaching the glacier, we were unable to follow the suggested route, which skirted the edge o f the glacier betw een the rock and ice, because o f significant glacial retreat. T he glacier was also far to o broken up at its term in u s to access, an d th u s we co n tin u ed on through the forest and joined the Scar Creek approach route on top o f the ridge leading to Pivot D om e. From here, we accessed the W addington Glacier, and traveled w ith o u t problem s, oth er th an being pinned dow n by w eather at th e A gur-M unday col at 9,100'. We d ro p p ed to the C orridor Glacier and w rapped aro u n d the impressive southwest face o f Mt. W addington to o u r final high cam p, on the Dais G lacier at 7,000'. The next m o rn in g , July 4, we began o u r ascent under a nearly full m oon, heading up the Dais Glacier to an alternate couloir line 150 yards to the right o f the com m only ascended Dais Couloir. This route w ould n o t be visible from cam p on Dais Glacier, lying betw een th e Dais C o u lo ir an d p ro m in e n t left-leaning couloirs to the right. Accessing the couloir presented a snow step o f half a lead, followed by 650 feet o f ice up to 50°. To o u r know ledge, this variatio n has no t been previously clim bed. We su m m itted the northw est peak that afternoon, u n d er beautiful skies (alpine grade D). D ue to the unfavorable conditions o f o u r approach route, we retu rn ed to the H om athko River via Scar Creek, despite the m iserable rep o rts w e’d heard. The re tu rn to th e H om ath k o River dow n the Scar Creek drainage, while very steep at times, offered m uch m ore feasible travel than Coola Creek, and we recom m end this approach over the latter. D uring o u r 11-day trip we encountered no oth er people, only a cougar, brow n bear, and wolverine. C a r o l in e V a n H
em ert
them ahead o f us to pack dow n the tho rn y vegetation so we could clim b atop it. At tim es in the ho rren d o u s terrain we m ade only a mile in over eight hours; som etim es one o f us braced the oth er while trying to scram ble up o r over dow ned logs on the thrashed, uneven hillside. After eventually reaching the glacier, we were unable to follow the suggested route, which skirted the edge o f the glacier betw een the rock and ice, because o f significant glacial retreat. T he glacier was also far to o broken up at its term in u s to access, an d th u s we co n tin u ed on through the forest and joined the Scar Creek approach route on top o f the ridge leading to Pivot D om e. From here, we accessed the W addington Glacier, and traveled w ith o u t problem s, oth er th an being pinned dow n by w eather at th e A gur-M unday col at 9,100'. We d ro p p ed to the C orridor Glacier and w rapped aro u n d the impressive southwest face o f Mt. W addington to o u r final high cam p, on the Dais G lacier at 7,000'. The next m o rn in g , July 4, we began o u r ascent under a nearly full m oon, heading up the Dais Glacier to an alternate couloir line 150 yards to the right o f the com m only ascended Dais Couloir. This route w ould n o t be visible from cam p on Dais Glacier, lying betw een th e Dais C o u lo ir an d p ro m in e n t left-leaning couloirs to the right. Accessing the couloir presented a snow step o f half a lead, followed by 650 feet o f ice up to 50°. To o u r know ledge, this variatio n has no t been previously clim bed. We su m m itted the northw est peak that afternoon, u n d er beautiful skies (alpine grade D). D ue to the unfavorable conditions o f o u r approach route, we retu rn ed to the H om athko River via Scar Creek, despite the m iserable rep o rts w e’d heard. The re tu rn to th e H om ath k o River dow n the Scar Creek drainage, while very steep at times, offered m uch m ore feasible travel than Coola Creek, and we recom m end this approach over the latter. D uring o u r 11-day trip we encountered no oth er people, only a cougar, brow n bear, and wolverine. C a r o l in e V a n H
em ert
