May 18-19, 2003, Mount Mamquam.
5/18/03
1983
0
After much 4-wheel driving, stomping around on logging roads, crashing around in the bush and even some skinning and skiing, Matt Gunn and I managed to ascend Mount Mamquam, 8500 feet, ("the Nanga Parbat of the Coast Range" as one of my colleagues at work called it with a chuckle noting its free standing and somewhat elusive nature) last Monday.
Here's a summary of the trip by hours travelled in different ways on different terrain. It turns out I was terribly optimistic about "a short approach to camp" when I left on Sunday but I soon had my misconception surgically removed by the full-scale Coast Range approach that Mamquam requires.
4-wheel driving: About 45 minutes worth each way, covering about 12.5 km to a height of 2600 feet. The Mamquam road (or 9 mile as it's called) leaves from behind the Squamish Chief and heads to the top of the mountain bike single track known as the "Ring Creek Rip." After that, the road degenerates into water barred glory and I finally lost my nerve at the left hand turn off just shy of 3km past the twin bridges across Skookum Creek. Time to start plodding around!
Logging road walking: At least 3.5 to 4 hours in a generally meandering north-easterly direction (always taking left forks, even really weird ones) gaining little altitude (we finally went into the forest on Skookum Creek at 3300 feet), sometimes going up, sometimes going down, sometimes walking through a lot of slide alder (not quite thick enough to pull the skis off our backs but close) for an hour or so each way.
Bushwacking: I think we faced an hour up and at least an hour or two down on hard to ski, very steep snow/mud.
Creek Crossings: 3 going up, one of which was a bit stressful (feet on one log, hands on another, lots of fast current) and one of which wet my boots for the whole trip (!) Coming down, only 2, although the first required a weird sitting crawl sideways (butt on one log, feet on a lower one) and the second was a leap of faith on wet stepping stones since our creeks had gotten higher in the afternoon. Having no pride, I happily let the sure footed Matt sherpa my gear across a couple of these beasties. Ugh!
Skinning: After hitting the end of the valley after about 3 hours on the first day, we optimistically started skinning into the trees at 3300 feet only to be on and off boards for at least an hour or so. Our journey up a big slide path to the creek intersection was OK but we had to cross back and forth over a few small creeklets. The snow on the morning of the second day required ski crampons or boot packing, and sometimes both! The 4km of travel on the big isolated Mamquam Icefield went quite fast and it would be a great glacier to explore for a few days.
Skiing: A nice 1000 foot powder run off the north side of Mamquam in dusty, recrystallised snow - super bonus. Then, mysteriously, we cut about 5 turns in suncrust and then we were on to perfect corn on a southern aspect at 11am or so! 2000 feet of that brought us back to camp. We had about 300 more feet of mush below this and then things started to go slightly awry.
Snowshoers: One, whom we mistook for a Sasquatch at a distance. He/she/it at least left tracks back that showed us the alternate (although just as long, steep and bushy) route out that reflects the one in the John Baldwin ski touring book.
Step kicking: About 50 feet of good step kicking at the top which was waaaaaaaaaay exposed! We both buried our ice axes to the hilts, thought low gravity thoughts, ignored the hideous run-out and didn't hang around on the summit.
Bugs: None. Thank goodness. Bugs, slide alder and bush wacking would have driven me over the edge.
Weather: Mixed in and out cloud on the Sunday and a bluebird summit day on Monday (Canada's Victoria Day) which quickly fell apart. When we got back to the truck at 6pm, clouds and even a bit of rainfall, had rolled back in.
Total time up: 11 hours (overnight not included), of which about 6 were probably on skis.
Total time down: 8 hours, of which about 3 were probably on skis.
Total vertical: About 7000 feet (much of it caused by meandering up and down logging roads - the actual climb should only be around 5800 feet).
I haven't even attempted to describe the trip properly because I know some BCMC (Pierre, Pierrot etc) folks have done a much better job on the Bivouac site which can be search engined for the real beta. It might be in the $20 Cdn ($15US?) pay portion of the site but it's worth it since it gives distances, times and a real blow by blow trip account. Even with that printed out, GPS units and a bevy of maps (the trip crosses three sheets), the route-finding was really tedious/exploratory. In fact, without Matt (who is working on a scrambling guidebook), I'd still be wandering around out there a week later.
All in all, it was great to tag the elusive Mamquam on the first try although I would rather go elsewhere for first powder tracks if I wasn't shooting for the actual summit. In fact, I have no intention of going anywhere near the peak again until my slide alder wounds heal over and serious mountain amnesia kicks in to wipe my memory of those logging roads....arrrrgghhhhh....the logging roads.....plod.....plod.....plod.....
Jonathan.
/////
('.')
Here's a summary of the trip by hours travelled in different ways on different terrain. It turns out I was terribly optimistic about "a short approach to camp" when I left on Sunday but I soon had my misconception surgically removed by the full-scale Coast Range approach that Mamquam requires.
4-wheel driving: About 45 minutes worth each way, covering about 12.5 km to a height of 2600 feet. The Mamquam road (or 9 mile as it's called) leaves from behind the Squamish Chief and heads to the top of the mountain bike single track known as the "Ring Creek Rip." After that, the road degenerates into water barred glory and I finally lost my nerve at the left hand turn off just shy of 3km past the twin bridges across Skookum Creek. Time to start plodding around!
Logging road walking: At least 3.5 to 4 hours in a generally meandering north-easterly direction (always taking left forks, even really weird ones) gaining little altitude (we finally went into the forest on Skookum Creek at 3300 feet), sometimes going up, sometimes going down, sometimes walking through a lot of slide alder (not quite thick enough to pull the skis off our backs but close) for an hour or so each way.
Bushwacking: I think we faced an hour up and at least an hour or two down on hard to ski, very steep snow/mud.
Creek Crossings: 3 going up, one of which was a bit stressful (feet on one log, hands on another, lots of fast current) and one of which wet my boots for the whole trip (!) Coming down, only 2, although the first required a weird sitting crawl sideways (butt on one log, feet on a lower one) and the second was a leap of faith on wet stepping stones since our creeks had gotten higher in the afternoon. Having no pride, I happily let the sure footed Matt sherpa my gear across a couple of these beasties. Ugh!
Skinning: After hitting the end of the valley after about 3 hours on the first day, we optimistically started skinning into the trees at 3300 feet only to be on and off boards for at least an hour or so. Our journey up a big slide path to the creek intersection was OK but we had to cross back and forth over a few small creeklets. The snow on the morning of the second day required ski crampons or boot packing, and sometimes both! The 4km of travel on the big isolated Mamquam Icefield went quite fast and it would be a great glacier to explore for a few days.
Skiing: A nice 1000 foot powder run off the north side of Mamquam in dusty, recrystallised snow - super bonus. Then, mysteriously, we cut about 5 turns in suncrust and then we were on to perfect corn on a southern aspect at 11am or so! 2000 feet of that brought us back to camp. We had about 300 more feet of mush below this and then things started to go slightly awry.
Snowshoers: One, whom we mistook for a Sasquatch at a distance. He/she/it at least left tracks back that showed us the alternate (although just as long, steep and bushy) route out that reflects the one in the John Baldwin ski touring book.
Step kicking: About 50 feet of good step kicking at the top which was waaaaaaaaaay exposed! We both buried our ice axes to the hilts, thought low gravity thoughts, ignored the hideous run-out and didn't hang around on the summit.
Bugs: None. Thank goodness. Bugs, slide alder and bush wacking would have driven me over the edge.
Weather: Mixed in and out cloud on the Sunday and a bluebird summit day on Monday (Canada's Victoria Day) which quickly fell apart. When we got back to the truck at 6pm, clouds and even a bit of rainfall, had rolled back in.
Total time up: 11 hours (overnight not included), of which about 6 were probably on skis.
Total time down: 8 hours, of which about 3 were probably on skis.
Total vertical: About 7000 feet (much of it caused by meandering up and down logging roads - the actual climb should only be around 5800 feet).
I haven't even attempted to describe the trip properly because I know some BCMC (Pierre, Pierrot etc) folks have done a much better job on the Bivouac site which can be search engined for the real beta. It might be in the $20 Cdn ($15US?) pay portion of the site but it's worth it since it gives distances, times and a real blow by blow trip account. Even with that printed out, GPS units and a bevy of maps (the trip crosses three sheets), the route-finding was really tedious/exploratory. In fact, without Matt (who is working on a scrambling guidebook), I'd still be wandering around out there a week later.
All in all, it was great to tag the elusive Mamquam on the first try although I would rather go elsewhere for first powder tracks if I wasn't shooting for the actual summit. In fact, I have no intention of going anywhere near the peak again until my slide alder wounds heal over and serious mountain amnesia kicks in to wipe my memory of those logging roads....arrrrgghhhhh....the logging roads.....plod.....plod.....plod.....
Jonathan.
/////
('.')
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