Mt Begbie Summit Climb: So Close to Home

Every morning, I woke up to the view of Mt Begbie, towering at 2733m high above the town of Revelstoke, BC. Every morning, I dreamt of reaching the summit of Mt Begbie, so close to home yet so far. After a failed attempt due to severe thunderstorms, Fred Lynn and I decided this sunny July Monday was our window. Having summited its neighbor, Mt MacPherson, a week earlier, I figured it was the perfect time to bag another classic Monashee peak.

mountaineering on the summit of mt begbie looking at mulvehill glacier — Fred Lynn enjoying the view on the summit of Mt Begbie. Photo: The Uptrack

Report from July 23, 2019

We began the climb at 5 PM knowing we only had to hike roughly 6km and 1500m to reach our campsite below the Begbie Glacier. I was warned by friends of the endlessly steep switchbacks to reach the alpine meadows. In all honesty, the way up wasn’t too strenuous – just bring a good friend and debate which pair of skis is better. Time will fly!

hiker looking out into the columbia valley — Fred looking at the town of Revelstoke from the Begbie meadows. Photo: The Uptrack

After 2.5 hours and some unexpected showers, we reached the official Begbie Meadows Recreation Site. It’s a free campsite paid for by the province of BC. Keep it clean and leave no trace folks! Now, this would be a great camping option if it wasn’t for the swarm of giant mosquitoes sucking us dry. We pushed on hoping to find a spot higher up in the alpine. It took us no time to find the perfect campsite just below the Begbie glacier next to a crystal clear glacial stream. Best tasting water I’ve ever had!

campsite below the summit of mt begbie — Our campsite below the Begbie Glacier. Photo: The Uptrack

As planned, we woke up at 5 AM to enjoy the sunrise over the rugged Selkirk mountains. There is no better feeling than that of the fiery morning light thawing our frozen face. What a sight! We could decipher the individual rays filtering through the thin clouds. The sun was putting up a show for us – most likely only for us as the town would see it several minutes later.

sunrise over the selkirks with our campsite — The epic sunrise over the Revelstoke Mountain Resort, nestled deep in the Selkirks. Photo: The Uptrack

After sorting out our climbing gear, we left camp at 7 AM pumped for an incredible ascent. We traversed the glacial plain at a brisk pace, clipped in our crampons, drew our ice axes and roped up for the short glacier crossing. To our relief, the landscape was barely crevassed. We easily found a safe way up to the infamous Begbie Ledge.

mountaineer climbing the begbie glacier — Fred climbing the Begbie Glacier in a two-man rope team setup, Mt MacPherson on the far left. Photo: The Uptrack

The Begbie ledge was now right above our head.

view of the begbie ledge — The imposing Begbie Ledge scarring the ridge along its entire length. Photo: The Uptrack

Before we could claim victory, Fred volunteered to cross a precarious ice bridge over the final crevasse. I belayed him using an ice screw driven in the glacier and a munter hitch. Next up, he had to climb a short vertical section. Reminding me several times that we should have brought cams, Fred was understandably spooked by this 6m high 5.6 rock climbing wall. The glacier was hanging over his head, the melting snow rendered the holds slippery at best and he had bulky mountaineering boots. One cam placed on the wall would have made a huge difference. Eventually, he made it through the crux. Interesting note: we learned the ice bridge collapsed under a friend’s weight a few days later. If you were wondering, she climbed out, alive and safe.

man crossing the ice bridge over to the begbie ledge — Fred approaching the rock climbing section after crossing the ice bridge to the ledge. Photo: The Uptrack

Now on the ledge. The half-meter wide band of rock traverses the bottom of the summit ridge and is sectioned by a few exposed cruxes requiring basic rock climbing skills. One loose foothold and we would fall to our death into the bergschrund below. Fortunately, a kind soul installed a few bolts and belay chains along the way.

mountaineer on the begbie ledge — Oli crossing the Begbie Ledge secured by a rope. No fall zone. Photo: Fred Lynn

The ascent continued on to the C3 scramble up the rocky ridge. While some sections required a few free climbing moves, the rest of the scramble was a breeze.

mt begbie scramble — Fred bolting up the ridge scramble. Photo: The Uptrack

After an hour or so, we got a good look at the Polar Bear Glacier with its striking serac dangerously hanging over the valley below.

mountaineer looking at the polar bear glacier — Fred starring at the Polar Bear Glacier on the northern face of Mt Begbie. Photo: The Uptrack

A bunch of bumps later, we reached the summit of Mt Begbie at an elevation of 2733m. We were STOKED. There’s something about conquering a peak you can see every day from home.

happy climber on the summit of mt begbie — Fred, stoked on the summit of Mt Begbie, his first summer mountaineering experience. Photo: The Uptrack

The moment we began the downclimb, a storm rolled and blanketed the area with rain. Now that the rock was wet, the scramble down was twice as hard. We slowed our pace, ensuring we had handholds at all times and patiently headed down the ridge. We ruled out the gnarly rock climbing section and decided to rappel down from a chain on the ledge.

man rappelling down the Begbie Ledge — Oli rappelling down the Begbie Ledge. Don’t mind the crevasse below! Photo: Fred Lynn

We ran off the glacier, packed our camping gear and proceeded down the mountain through the mosquito-infested meadows. While the way up the switchbacks wasn’t too hard, the opposite direction was not so. The uber-steep trail combined with the crushing weight of our camping and climbing gear destroyed our knees. Can’t wait for that tendonitis to settle in! We endured the pain and crawled back to my vehicle at 6 PM, dreaming of that exquisite sunrise, this very morning.