Molarstone Mountain
July 24, 2016
Elevation gain: approximately 1250 m
Roundtrip time: 10:30
Solo
scramble.
After
completing as ascent of Mosquito Mountain in 2008, I wrote, “If I knew Graeme
Pole personally, I’d give him a big hug – or at least a manly handshake!"
Mosquito is a hidden gem, with fantastic scenery and views throughout. Well,
after completing an ascent of Molarstone Mountain (another G. Pole trip), I’d probably give
him a big kiss – but just on the cheek, so things weren’t awkward!
When I stumbled onto Mr. Pole’s
trip report for Molarstone Mountain (the less statuesque peak, southeast of
Mosquito), I didn’t think for a second that this trip would be any competition
for Mosquito – wrong again! Not only is Molarstone competition for Mosquito, in
many regards it’s a superior trip.
After the 6 km hike to the
backcountry Mosquito Creek campground, I started towards North Molar Pass. They
were some pretty cool views of the northeast side of Noseeum Peak along the
way, but it was not until I reached the North Molar Pass valley that the
sublime beauty of this area hit me – a pretty stream bisecting the valley, wild
flowers, a shallow but gorgeous tarn, and all of it surrounded by colourful and
striking mountains.
While Mr. Pole’s route goes all
the way to North Molar Pass and then up to the summit of Molarstone, I decided
to gain the northwest end of Molarstone as soon as possible and then follow the
ridge to the summit. After stopping by the aforementioned tarn, I made my way
over to a striking conglomeration of red (oxidized) rocks – a very pleasant
foreshadowing of things to come. Gaining the northwest end of the peak was far
from an aesthetic ascent, but the panoramic view at the top, a terrific reward
for the steep slog up.
A very pleasant ridgewalk to the
summit ensued. It wasn’t short, but not excessively long either. Some cornice
scenery near the summit provided more great views, but not as good as that
provided by the summit. The view from the top was fantastic – far better than I
was expecting, courtesy of a ton of spectacular mountains and the beautiful
Fish Lakes. As well, a continuation of the trip in the direction of South Molar
Pass seemed quite feasible.
After a lengthy summit stay I
descended to North Molar Pass and then started up the ridge on the other side.
The rock of this side of the ridge was fascinating, with sections of
conglomerate rock, followed by solid quartzite all sporting vibrant colours.
However, that was nothing compared to the most amazing random, outcrop of rock
pinnacles higher up the ridge. From the summit of Molarstone this outcrop appeared
as a small and sort of bizarre splash of red on the ridge. Up close it was
stunning! After taking a bazillion photos of the unique scene I continued up to
the highpoint and another terrific.
Having already exceeded my expectations by a factor of a million (conservatively!) I was sure this trip was all out of tricks, but once again my assumptions were far off. From the summit cairn, a striking fang of rock looked to provide some cool entertainment, even if its summit was not attainable.
Getting to the base of The Fang
was a blast in itself, involving a scramble across a field of huge, white
quartzite boulders. I then attempted to scramble up the south side of the peak,
but came up just short, stymied by a near vertical rock band close to the summit.
I wasn’t about to give up that easily, however, and thankfully found a great
route up around the northwest side. Although the terrain was steep, the entire
Fang is comprised of huge, solid quartzite blocks, stacked on top on each
other. As such, the ascent to a very tiny summit was very enjoyable and easier
than it looked from the bottom.
After a short summit stay I
descend the Fang and then kept going to a westerly direction towards South
Molar Pass, since I had never been there before. From the second pass of the
day, another scenic and easy hike took me back to the campground and out.
