Barrier Lake Lookout
– April 14, 2006
Mountain height:
2,017 m (6,616
feet)
Elevation gain:
620 m
Roundtrip time:
5:25
Hiking
with Mark and Kerri.
My
first trip to the Barrier Lake Lookout was almost four years ago to the day.
With an “iffy” weather forecast and potentially strong Chinook winds, a
return to the lookout seemed like a good idea and it was. Although the first
four (out of five) kilometers were fairly mundane, the last stretch to the ridge
and the view from the lookout made the trip more than worthwhile. Even more
interesting was the exploration of a couple of very deep fissures on McConnell
ridge and Mark doing some cool slab climbing, as his wife watched in horror.
Though
my previous experience doing the loop route via Jewel Pass was not entirely a
positive one (post-holing in knee-deep snow throughout), we choose to try it
again, as there was less snow than on my trip, four years ago. Another good
decision – the pleasant scenery was a fitting end to an easy and enjoyable day
out.
Mount Baldy and Barrier Lake from near McConnell Ridge
Approaching the ridge
The vertical cliffbands of McConnell Ridge
Exploring interesting terrain to gain the ridge
Peeking over the top of a rock pinnacle
Keri and I atop the pinnacle
Peering down a deep fissure on the ridge
On the ridge, with Mount Baldy and Barrier Lake behind
Unnamed south of Mount Gillivray
Mark shows off his slab climbing prowess on vertical rock
Mark demonstrates amazing finger strength, as he supports his entire body weight with a couple of fingers
A slightly more realistic view of the angle of the rock!
The first fissure
Looking down into the fissure
Mark in the fissure
At the end of the fissure looking out to the cliffbands
Looking up from inside the fissure; a great place to practice stemming (unless that chockstone on the right fell on your head!)
Coming up out of the fissure
Exploring the second fissure
More interesting cliffband scenery
Mount Baldy and Barrier Lake