Avalanche Mountain Southwest Ridge: High Above the Asulkan

Fred Lynn and I discussed climbing the southwest ridge of Avalanche Mountain on our way down Mt Begbie a few days ago. It didn’t take much convincing to get photographer Megan Voigt on board. While she didn’t count on summiting the 2861m peak, she would happily come along for the hike to our basecamp at a planned elevation of 2100m.

panorama on top of avalanche mountain sir Donald on the left — What a sight from the top of Avalanche Mountain, Mt Sir Donald & Uto Peak on the left. Photo: The Uptrack

Report from July 30, 2019

With two consecutive days of clear weather, we felt blessed. It doesn’t happen often enough in Glacier National Park. Interestingly, this mountainous area is situated at the confluence of coastal and continental air masses. The sheer height of the surrounding peaks forces the humid air upwards, rapidly cooling them down. The result: constant heavy downpours in the summer and an overwhelming amount of snow in the winter. Yay!

splitboarder with mt sifton in the back — Rogers Pass landscape buried under several meters of snow in mid-January. Photo: The Uptrack

I quickly packed my overnight bag after work. I keep it always half-packed allowing me to leave Revelstoke at a moment’s notice. The crew drove east on the TransCanada Highway. After multiple stops due to it being prime orange cone season, we left the Illecillewaet Campground parking lot at 3:15 PM. The Avalanche Crest hiking trail was pretty steep but thankfully short. We got really stoked the moment we reached the alpine meadows above which Eagle Peak was looming. Fred and I were already planning its ascent on our following days off.

avalanche trail hiking trail eagle peak in the back — Steep hiking trail through the Avalanche Crest alpine meadows, Eagle Peak in the back. Photo: Megan Lee Voigt (Instagram)

While Megan was catching up to us, we searched for the perfect basecamp. It didn’t take long for us to find two nearly flat spots on top of a lateral moraine shaped eons ago by the retreating glacier. We couldn’t believe how incredible the spot was. We were standing next to this milky turquoise runoff, with the glaciated Asulkan Valley as our backdrop. We fell asleep to the calming sound of the stream running by us and marmots frolicking under rocks.

hiker looking at the asulkan valley from avalanche mountain alpine — Fred standing next to our campsite. We had this view to ourselves from sunset to sunrise. Photo: The Uptrack

The next morning, we woke up at 4:30 AM intending to climb the Avalanche Crest ridge to witness a dramatic sunrise. It would also be the start of our ascent up the peak. We hadn’t had breakfast yet, I was hungry: the short climb up a scree field to the ridge was slower than usual. In the end, we were rewarded with a stunning sunrise basking the valley in a faint purple glow.

sunrise on the asulkan valley — Purple aura in the Asulkan Valley before the sun rose above Rogers Peak. Photo: The Uptrack

With our hunger satisfied by a hearty breakfast of triple-stacked PB&J sandwiches, Megan headed back to the campsite to get some more sleep, while Fred and I geared up for the coming ascent up the western ridge.

two mountaineer simul climbing up avalanche mountain — Oli and Fred all set up for the long scramble up the Avalanche Mountain southwest ridge. Photo: Megan Lee Voigt (Instagram)

We simul-climbed up the Class 3 scramble with intermittent Class 4 stints. We improvised a belay by having the lead snake my 60m, 8.1mm rope around jagged rocks. The follower would then free the rope as he progressed while the leader belayed from an improvised anchor off a sturdy boulder. While it isn’t the safest climbing technique, it’s definitely faster than building static anchors every 20m and cheaper than buying 100$ cams.

mountaineer coiling rope on a scramble — Fred losing patience as he’s trying to free the rope from a stubborn boulder. Photo: The Uptrack

It took us two hours to reach the final crux, a 6 to 7 meter-high vertical face with little to no holds. After scoping out the area, we progressed climber’s right of the wall where we found a sizable crack to shimmy up. Fred volunteered to lead and successfully sent it. I followed with the safety of a top belay.

climbing going up avalanche mountain scramble — Fred free climbing up the final crux. Photo: The Uptrack

We staggered up a loose scree slope choosing to take parallel paths to avoid climber-triggered rockfalls from above. One step back, two steps forward. As the sun reached its zenith, we bagged Avalanche Mountain through its southwest ridge. We were standing at an elevation of 2861m. It was no more than 10C with a solid breeze. Sometimes I wonder if I climb peaks just to avoid the blazing heat at home, waiting in the alpine wilderness for the winter to roll in.

portrait of Olivier DL with mountaineer coil around neck — Oli looking candid for the shot. What a mountain man! Photo: Fred Lynn. Editing: The Uptrack

I scrutinized the Avalanche Glacier and the Beaver Valley below, seldom seen by climbers and skiers for its difficult access. Meanwhile, Fred was writing a note in booklet stuffed in a 15lb iron pipe. We comically wondered who dragged it up here. That’s motivation right there!

mountaineer on the summit of avalanche mountain writing on pad — Fred writing down in the booklet we found at the summit, Mt Sir Donal in the back. Photo: The Uptrack

Once our minds were saturated with images of endless peaks, we jumped off the summit. Preferring to downclimb a different route, we headed down the south ridge towards Eagle Peak.

We traversed a scree slope that terminated with precarious cliffs. Due to the exposure, we slowed our pace ensuring we had good footholds over the loose pebbles. After getting cliffed-out several times, the fun really began when we were forced through a steep ravine which required soloing (without belay) through two gnarly sections. Having known him for a while, I could hear a whisper of panic coming out of Fred’s usually low-key humble demeanor.

portrait of fred lynn with red black diamond helmet — Is it “Bluesteel” or “Magnum”? Photo: The Uptrack

We eventually made it to camp. We packed our camping gear and promptly headed back to my trusty adventure-mobile at around 4 PM. It was already settled that we would grab an enormous pizza at the Village Idiot in Revelstoke. After all, I was still hungry after my breakfast PB&Js.