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.

LOG