March 19, 2023
Mountain height: 2591 m
Elevation gain: 750 m
Round-trip time: 6 hours
Snowshoeing and
a little mountaineering with Raff, Natasha, Sheila, and Darwin.
Drawing a blank
on a trip to do, on what was shaping up to be the best weekend weather day in a
while, I contacted my good friend Raff to see if he had anything planned. 
The
true summit of Commonwealth Ridge was Raff’s objective and he graciously
invited me to join him. Raff had already recruited Natasha, who had recruited
Sheila, who was going to bring a special guest, in the form of her beautiful,
150-pound St. Bernard named Darwin. Having never hiked with a dog, I wasn’t
quite sure what to expect, especially from one whose mass almost matched my own.
Of course, the St. Bernard’s reputation for being the quintessential mountain
rescue dog boded well for all of us!
We started the
trip under clear skies and with an air temperature of -17 Celsius. It
immediately became evident that one member of our party of five was way more
excited to be out in the mountains than the other four – and it wasn’t one of
the bipeds! Darwin was clearly in his element. 
Had Shelia not reigned him in,
I’m sure he would have hit the summit before we even crossed the flats!
As expected,
the trail to the north summit (really just a plateau) was well-packed down and
offered little resistance. We took a short break and then continued on. I was
already intrigued to see how Darwin would handle the steeper, more challenging
terrain ahead. And in short – better than the rest of us! He powered up the terrain
with the facility and ease of a mountain goat. This was awesome to watch. It
was immediately clear that the Centre summit was a very strong possibility for
the entire team (though the true summit was still a coin toss).
We arrived
at the Centre summit to find two skiers enjoying the stunning views in beautiful weather. 
They
had not tried the traverse to the true summit - a tall order wearing
ski boots. I, for one, was completely satiated at this point and was
happy to call it day
here. Thankfully, Raff wasn’t! He and I had crampons and ice axes and
at least taking a
look at the route to the true summit was obviously going to happen.
Raff did all
the work here. He led throughout, forging an excellent path through the deep snow,
around the scary part of the ridge and all the way up to the summit. I
struggled to keep up with him even though he was breaking the trail. Natasha and
Sheila (and Darwin) had decided to wait on the ridge and make a decision once
we had made some progress. To my surprise Natasha was soon making her way down,
around and then up to the top. Even more to my surprise (though nothing should
have shocked me about our dynamic 4-legged friend at this point), Darwin was
right behind, with Sheila in tow – fantastic!
We all enjoyed
a long, wonderful summit stay before embarking on the considerably easier task
of descending the route.
What an amazing
day with three amazing people and one extraordinary canine! Many thanks to each
of you.
There was one individual in our party of five that was way more excited to be out in the snow than the other four
Darwin leads the gang across the flats (photo by Natasha)
Love the curves of snow in Smuts Creek (photo by Natasha)
Heading up the valley with Mount Birdwood ahead (photo by Natasha)
Close-up of the mountain that has eluded us 4 times - Mount Birdwood
About halfway up. The trail was well-packed down throughout (photo by Natasha).
Out of the trees
Raff escapes the view-confining forest to an awesome view
Natasha captures that view perfectly (photo by Natasha)
Sheila and Darwin are the first to reach the north plateau
Raff joins the troops (photo by Natasha)
As does Natasha (photo by Shelia or Raff, but probably not Darwin)
Sheila and the Dog of the Hour (photo by Natasha)
Four fifths of the Dream Team (photo by Raff)
Darwin
is quick to take the lead. In fact, were it not for Sheila holding him
back, he would have beat us all to the top by a wide time margin!
I am more than happy to follow Darwin (photo by Raff)
So is Raff (photo by Natasha)
Sheila (also a hiking/scrambling machine) catches up to stop Darwin from embarrassing us all! (photo by Raff)
Raff and I stop to check out the terrain ahead (photo by Natasha)
The odd section of steeper terrain (photo by Natasha)
RND at one of numerous minor highpoints along the beautiful ridge
Raff takes the lead for the next section
Continued great travel and amazing views (photo by Natasha)
Same as above (photo by Natasha)
As always (on a clear day), the views of Commonwealth Peak and Mount Birdwood from this ridge are spell-binding
Yes they are!
Same for Mount Smuts and The Fist
Sheila and Darwin tearing up the ridge again
I'm lagging behind but no one is in a rush here (photo by Natasha)
The
ridge itself is a stunning one - super scenic, not overly exposed, but
definitely requiring caution around the cornices (photo by Raff)
The usual suspects to the east: Galatea, Gusty, The Fortress, Chester, and Headwall
Sheila and Darwin arrive at another highpoint
A quick celebration is in order (photo by Natasha)
Raff is celebrating this one too
My turn to lead
A couple of "blasts from the past": Old Goat Mountain and Mount Nestor
Closing in on the Centre Summit (photo by Natasha)
A couple of skiers are already there (photo by Natasha)
NDR at the Centre Summit
Raff weaves his self-timed photo magic (photo by Raff)
Leaving the Centre Summit (photo by Natasha)
Natasha follows (photo by Raff)
The start of the traverse to the true summit begins with a short, snowy section below the corniced ridge
The non-leeward side of a double cornice
Negotiating another tricky section
Everyone is careful not to go too far to the east!
Getting close to the crux of the trip (photo by Natasha)
SOISTHEMAN calls this the "Ridge of Death" - a very appropriate title! Obviously we chose to circumvent it.
The first of many outstanding views towards the BMG (British Military Group)
Contemplating our next move (photo by Natasha)
Raff starts leading the bypass route to "The Ridge of Death"
I was content to stay back and admire the Ridge of Death and Commonwealth Peak
I'm hanging back while Raff breaks trail (photo by Natasha)
Darwin is hanging out too (photo by Natasha)
Raff is making good progress
Raff's view of us (photo by Raff)
He's around the first part and heading up to the summit
Raff's view again (photo by Raff)
I follow (photo by Natasha)
I'm still mesmerized by the stunning east face of Commonwealth Peak
Raff led and broke trail for the entire bypass - an exhausting and heroic effort
Natasha and the surprising appearance of Darwin (photo by Raff)
Sheila takes the last few steps to the summit. Darwin had already arrived.
There he is - also a heroic effort (photo by Raff)
Reunited
The boys at the top (photo by Natasha)
One happy summit team! (photo by Natasha)
Still fixated on Commonwealth Peak
View to the west, northwest, and north
Natasha takes some photos of the summit register
This one by Ephraim Roberts (photo by Natasha)
And Natasha's entry (photo by Natasha)
NDR (photo by Sheila or me)
Cefgns, Murray, and Smith-Dorrien
Chester
Engadine and The Tower
More summit panos. Pig's Back at the left.
Robertson (left) and Sir Douglas
Mounts Cradock and Back (I think)
Left to right: Murray, Smith-Dorrien, Prairie Lookout, Burstall, French
Close-up of Commonwealth Peak
Smuts Pass in the centre, Smutwood and Eon near the right
Close-up of Smuts
Natasha steps out onto a small outcrop, boasting an amazing views to the south (photo by Raff or Sheila)
Raff does the same
4/5 of the summit team - NRSD
5 out of 5! (photo by Raff)
Just the canine of the day (photo by Raff)
Natasha (photo by Raff)
Raff descending from the summit (photo by Natasha)
The rest of us descending (photo by Raff)
Darwin wasn't the only one who was loving the snow!
Natasha's view of me and Sheila (photo by Natasha)
Raff and Natasha come around the corner and are ready to ascend back to the ridge
Much easier going up now that the trail has been fully broken (photo by Natasha)
Back on the ridge (photo by Raff)
R and R return to the ridge
Darwin is eager to lead us back across the ridge
Another round of awesome ridgewalking (photo by Raff)
Looking back at our route down and around the crux (photo by Raff)
Sheila gives Darwin a well-deserved hug. R and R are right by the Ridge of Death at the left.
There they are
Natasha on the ridge (photo by Raff)
And again (photo by Raff)
Heading back to the Centre Summit (photo by Natasha)
S and D lead the way
Raff and I follow (photo by Natasha)
Same as above (photo by Raff)
Everyone is enjoying this ridge (photo by Raff)
Raff
Natasha
Natasha, with Commonwealth Ridge at the left and Peak and the right (photo by Raff)
The Burstall Lakes far below
Tons of great photo ops on return
Case in point
Staying off the cornices
We've definitely got the primary colours covered! (photo by Raff)
Great shot by Natasha!
I'm lagging behind again (photo by Raff)
Descending the cool ridge (photo by Natasha)
Natasha at a minor highpoint
Raff's view of Natasha (photo by Raff)
The route around the crux is visible from quite a distance (photo by Raff)
Up and over the last hill (photo by Natasha)
Classic cornice scenery on this wonderful ridge
Almost back to the north plateau
Sheila and I checking out the view to the east from the north plateau (photo by Natasha)
Hard to leave without taking another photo of Smuts
Last break of the day (photo by Raff)
Start of the super easy part of the descent (photo by Natasha)
Raff under a neat tree arch (photo by Natasha)
Back at the flats
Final few steps of a totally awesome trip!
The End
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