Belmore Browne Peak II (sorta')
November 25, 2012
Mountain
height: approx. 2400 m
Elevation gain: 700 m
Snowshoeing
with Mark.
I would
say that November is the most difficult month of the year to pick mountain
objectives – the transition month from fall to winter is often characterized by
cold, finicky weather with high winds, variable amounts of unconsolidated or
wind hammered snow, and limited daylight. As such (and as usual) we drove to
the mountains without an objective in mind. However, recalling a thoroughly
enjoyable solo ascent of Belmore Browne Peak eight years and five days previous
to this day, I convinced Mark that the small peak might make for an easy, but
enjoyable day.
Although
the weather WAS a little finicky for the approach, it did steadily improve
throughout the ascent. And although November may be a challenging month for
mountain adventures it is also a month that often provides the deepest of blue
skies. Such was the case as we made our way up the valley and out onto open slopes.
As well, the red-tinged rock on the right side of the slope further added to
the scenic beauty of the ascent.
Perhaps
the highlight of the trip was the shapely cornice and wind-sculpted snow near
and on the ridge. After the usual barrage of photos and exploration (common
when we see cornices!), we continued up to the highpoint to the northeast. This
summit is higher than Belmore Browne and given that a descent via the ascent
route was our preferred option, we decided to skip going down to the official
summit of Belmore Browne Peak. Instead, we returned to the cornice, took more
unnecessary photos and then rapidly descended our ascent route, again enjoying
stunningly blue skies and wonderful scenery.
A great
November trip!
Belmore Browne (right) and Tiara Peak (left), as seen from the road
A new logging road makes travel very easy
Getting into more snowy terrain
Snowshoe time
A few steeper steps low down
Reaching treeline and open slopes
The hard packed snow was perfect for snowshoes
The open slopes. The summit above is not Belmore Browne, but the slightly higher outlier to the northwest that we reached
Approaching the ridge
The deep blue sky
Approaching the cornice
Relaxing on the cornice
Snow and shadow - my favourite!!
Tromping up to the summit. Tiara Peak at the far left
At the summit
Checking out the continuation of the ridge to the north
Mark reaches the highpoint
The view to the west includes Sparrowhawk, Wind, Lougheed, Allan and Collembola
Back down to the cornice
A last look
The easy descent
Back into shadow
More easy trekking to finish the day. The End.