Mt Tupper West Ridge: Constant, Frightening Exposure

The west ridge of Mt Tupper is hands-down one of Rogers Pass’ best alpine climbs. For the most part, it offers some excellent 4th-class scrambling as well as 5th-class climbing with constant, bone-chilling exposure and uninterrupted views of the Selkirk alpine. If it wasn’t for the deep jugs and solid quartzite providing ample traction, this mission would best be described as “horrifying”. After climbing the old-school 5.3 10-15m pitch (think modern 5.6 YDS grading), the adventure terminates at a 5.3 summit tower bounded by vertigo-inducing drops on both sides. The summit tops out at 2804m, towering over the Trans-Canada highway down in the valley below. That day, controlling our nerves was the name of the game. It’s worth mentioning some of the pitches were protected with cams and ropes. Here’s what we brought which was a bit overkill:

Single rack with cams ranging from 0.4-3
Small set of mid-sized nuts
6 alpine draws
Two 30m/8.0mm half ropes for protecting pitches and rappelling

two climbers taking a break on a rocky bench along the west ridge of mt tupper — Kaitlin and Freddy taking a breather on one of the many benches along the Tupper west ridge. Photo: The Uptrack

Report from July 28, 2020

The car stereo clock shined brightly, reminding us how sleepy we were. It was 6 AM. Freddy, Kaitlin, and I stepped out of the SUV into the Hermit Meadows parking lot and felt the warm embrace of a rather warm early morning, uncharacteristic for Rogers Pass. This was going to be a hot one. The forecast predicted a daily high of 34C, 85% humidity, and clear skies – a perfect opportunity to escape from the heat high in the alpine where temperatures would hover around the mid-teens. We looked at the west ridge of Mt Tupper. The excitement quickly overcame the morning drowsiness.

Freddy, the quiet athlete.

Kaitlin, the tenacious mountain woman.

With Freddy leading the way, we literally raced up the Hermit Meadow trail. Only Freddy, half-man, half-machine, could sustain the breakneck pace. Kaitlin and I needed breaks once in while to drink some water and wipe the sweat beading on our foreheads. Within 60 minutes, we were past the Hermit campground maintained by Parks Canada and veered off the beaten tracks, forging through raging glacier-fed streams.

hikers crossing the hermit meadows with mt macdonald in the background — Freddy, followed by Kaitlin, as they are skipping over streams. Mt MacDonald (2883m) in the back. Photo: The Uptrack

We picked our way through the snowfields below the Swiss Glacier and adjacent to the Lizard Tail, a prominent moraine. On a few occasions, we post-holed through the snow cap and landed right in streams of glacial runoff. Fortunately, the warm weather would dry our boots out. Although not mandatory, I donned my crampons for the final bootpack to the Mt Tupper west ridge. My watch displayed an elevation of 2500m. Only 300m left, most of the elevation gain was done.

mt tupper west ridge with ascent overlay — The west ridge of Mt Tupper. Photo: The Uptrack

I switched to my incredible approach shoes, the LaSportiva TX2, and scrambled up some easy 3rd-class terrain consisting of loose chest-sized rubble. This was a nice warmup for what was waiting for us further up the ridge.

mountaineers scramblig on the mt tupper west ridge — Kaitlin and Freddy scrambling the start of the ridge. Photo: The Uptrack

Eventually, we arrived at the base of the 4th-class section, much steeper and imposing than its mellower brethren but still straight-forward. While climbing either side of the ridge may seem like a painless option, the very crest of the ridge is the better alternative, providing straight-forward pathfinding, excellent rock quality, and a higher dose of adrenaline. The scramble led us to a prominent gendarme. Instantly recognizable from the highway below, it was named the Hermit, not to be confused with Hermit Mountain across the Swiss Glacier.

two people scrambling up the start of the mt tupper west ridge — Freddy and Kaitlin, pausing to take in the views right before the gendarme. The summit tower out in the distance. Photo: The Uptrack

While some experienced mountaineers climb over the gendarme (5.7 pitch), we bypassed the Hermit to the south, traversing along a super-exposed sloping ledge in a hand-to-hand fashion. At this point, we opted to protect the traverse with a few well-placed nuts and cams. A series of winding ledges naturally led us to the base of the crux wall with three options:

A beautiful 5.6+ crack pitch to the left for advanced climbers
A 5.3 (modern 5.6) corner, well-protected, pitch to the right
A nasty-looking 5.3 chimney to the far-right offering the least exposure

We chose to climb the 5.3 corner which ended up providing the climbing experience we sought out in the first place. It turns out the pitch felt more like a 5.6 grade.

60s Climbing Fact

In the 60s’ world of alpine climbing graced by a thriving marijuana culture, pitches were graded at a lower value since the YDS system topped out at 5.9. Anything harder than 5.9 was labeled a 5.9+. Hence, an old-school 5.3 climb would be graded at 5.6 nowadays.

climber navigated the crux pitch on mt tupper west ridge — Freddy climbing the 5.3 pitch without struggle. Photo: Kaitlin Fulmore

The climb continued on and on past a few false summits and some very exposed sections. A fall here would result in our brains being splattered all over the white blanket of the Tupper Glacier.

two climbers with the swiss peaks in the back_1 — Kaitlin and Freddy, carefully traversing the west ridge of Mt Tupper. Photo: The Uptrack

The thrilling scramble was complemented by a couple of short low-5th pitches requiring good footing and a sure grip. Our fast progress terminated at the base of the summit tower which we scoped out for a few minutes. While the summit pitch wasn’t difficult at all (a true 5.3), we decided to pitch out a section of it seeing the insane exposure below. There’s really no pride in the mountains. Pride leads to death if not kept in check.

two climbers walking on a rocky bench on the west ridge of mt tupper — Kaitlin and Freddy, heading towards the summit tower. Photo: The Uptrack

After faffing around with the ropes, we summited Mt Tupper (2804m). What an adventure… that wasn’t quite over yet. We were graced with a panoramic view of the Asulkan, Beaver, Connaught, and Hermit Valleys. What a sight to behold! We snapped some photos and headed back down the way we came.

summit of mt tupper — Summit shot featuring Freddy and Kaitlin. I can check Mt Tupper off my list! Photo: The Uptrack

Have I ever mentioned I’m a big fan of rappels to avoid sketchy downclimbs? Naturally, we rappelled off everything. We used three bolted rings at the top of the summit bench and corner pitch, as well as on the ledges below the crux pitch.

oli setting up an anchor at the top of a pitch on mt tupper west ridge — Oli, setting up an anchor at one of the top pitches. Photo: The Uptrack

Further down, we also used some rather-questionable cordelette (tat) stringed around a horn near the hand-to-hand traverse. Fred lowered himself first. In the meantime, I was precariously perched on the very edge of the ledge, staring 400m down at the Tupper Glacier. I usually don’t get vertigo but this position was threading the fine line between discomfort and fright. All in all, we completed 5 rappels.

mountaineer rappelling down mt tupper — Freddy, comfortably rappelling down the final anchor. Photo: The Uptrack

We ran down the west ridge of Mt Tupper as the sun was hovering above Mt Sifton. It was about 6 PM. The evening light reflecting on the white landscape was stunning.

hikers looking at mt sifton in the distance — Kaitlin, standing proudly over the last scrambling section of the day. Photo: The Uptrack

The descent was plagued by a constant headache, mild dehydration, and much hunger. We eventually stumbled back onto the snow slopes. After a long food and water break next to a stream of melted snow, we boot skied down the hill.

hiker glissading down the lizard moraine — Kaitlin, skiing down the Lizard Tail towards the Hermit Meadows under the evening light. Photo: The Uptrack

After another 90 minutes of hiking down the Hermit Trail, we crawled back to the parking lot with stiff knees, aching backs, and a sense of accomplishment. This mission was a perfect blend of mountaineering and alpine climbing, exactly what I was looking for. Total trip time: 14 hours.