Mountain height: 2,983
m (9,639 feet)
Elevation gain: 1,260
m
Ascent time:
6:00
Descent time:
3:45
Scrambling/climbing
with Mark.
WOOOOOOO!!!!
…..that best describes what it feels like to summit the grand prize of
Kane’s Scrambles book; and after four recent failures: twice on Pinnacle
(grade II, 5.6+), Unnamed Peak (II, 5.4), and 11 days ago on the Smuts itself,
conquering the great Mount Smuts could not have come at a more sweet time and
could not have been a more sweet summit to achieve.
I was a little
skeptical about the ascent, as we started out under extremely cloudy conditions
and were expecting thundershowers in the afternoon. Thankfully, the sun burned
off the clouds quickly and all of a sudden we were under completely clear skies
– they stayed that way for most of the day, giving us one of the most
satisfying summit panoramas we’ve seen in a long while.
In addition to
great weather, we were also armed with a detailed route description from Ian
Hunt. We found this information to be invaluable, as there were sections on the
mountain where a couple of different routes seemed viable. Once again, we roped
up and took along all our climbing gear – in light of our first failure and
the difficulty of the route, we intended to treat this as a belayed climb, not
an unroped scramble.
Even though I
knew what to expect and had the added security of the rope, I still found the
ascent to be, at times, unnerving (I’m not sure I’d go as far as to call it
“exhilarating”) and stretched our capabilities in their max. We followed
Ian’s route exactly until we got to a 2 piton belay station about 3/4 of the
way up. Here, there were two options: 1. right, up a steep crack; 2. left, up
less steep, but more exposed terrain to a large protruding rock. After an
unsuccessful attempt up the crack (where I had to stand on Mark shoulders to get
down, after I lost my footing and almost went down the fast way), I tried the
route to the left. It definitely was the crux of the trip for me. I worked my
way along a small, slightly downsloping ledge and then hoisted myself up along
the left side of the protruding rock, where I quickly place a sling. Although
the handholds and footholds were solid, the rock was right on the edge and the
significant exposure was hard to ignore.
We were both
quite surprised at how much difficult scrambling there was. We expected a couple
of tricky sections, but there were numerous difficult sections, keeping us on
our toes much of the time. For the last part of the difficult scrambling, I’m
quite sure we were off Kane’s route (we never did encounter the “smooth
slab, with a giddy drop on the east side”) and the route from Ian Hunt. This
deviation was short-lived, however, and you can imagine my relief (and joy!) to
stumble up to a bolt and piton with a ring, marking the end of the “tough
stuff”, shortly after. Mark joined me, we took a short break and several deep
sighs of relief and then continued on towards the summit.
The final
stretch of the trip, though very easy, relative to what came before, was
surprisingly long and had several false summits. At the summit we had to let out
a quick holler of triumph, before settling down to enjoy an absolutely
magnificent panorama on a perfectly clear day. There are specific moments
(achievements) in certain trips that really stand out as defining moments and
this one certainly just made that list. I experienced that same feeling of
absolute elation upon completing my first solo “moderate” scramble (Opal
Ridge – North), our first “difficult” scramble (The Fist), our first
technical climb (Wasootch Tower), and our winter epic up Narao Peak, after two
previous failures on the mountain.
We stayed at
the summit for quite awhile, enjoying what I think we both felt was our biggest
achievement to date. Of course, it’s only an achievement if you make it down
safely and so we started down the north ridge, to do Kane’s alternate, but
hopefully easier descent route. Thankfully, the route was considerably easier.
Mark led the route (he definitely has better downclimbing abilities than I),
downclimbing relatively steep terrain before we came to a drop-off. Here, the
route traversed to the left and then became much easier, leading down to gentle
scree slopes. Eventually, we arrived at the very scenic lower
Birdwood
Lake
, backdropped by
Mount
Birdwood
, sporting a very impressive
vertical profile. The remainder of the return was uneventful.
A more
than fantastic day - one that I’m sure will stand out for a very long
time.
This was the scene at the start of the trip
- lots of cloud!
Things really cleared up by the time we
reached the meadow; Mount Smuts on the left, The
Fist at the right
Flowers and The Fist
Starting up the "tough stuff"
again
Almost at the top of the first difficult
section
Ascending the second section
The wide (and almost flat!) scree bay is a
great place to relax and take a few deep breaths before continuing on
The next steep section; here, we went to the
left, working our way up to a gendarme that can be seen as a small, dark spot on
the left skyline; I think that Kane's route might go to the right at this point.
Ascending a very steep crack; I actually
didn't make it up and chose a less steep, but more exposed route further to the
left (notice the well-placed piton we are using for protection)
Mark, coming up the last difficult section
On much easier ground, heading towards the
summit (not visible in this picture)
Beautiful scenery to the south; Commonwealth,
Cegfns, Murray, Burstall,
French, Pig's Tail,
Birdwood, and Sir Douglas are visible
Looking down at The
Fist; Engadine, The Tower, Galatea, Gusty Peak, The Fortress (the very
tiny protrusion above Gusty),
and some of Chester are
in the background
Looking down the west side of the mountain;
believe me, it's a long way straight down!
Mighty Assiniboine
(right); Mount Eon at the left
All smiles, at the summit
Mark at the summit
The summit view to the north; Tent
Ridge in the foreground, Spray Lake, Mount Nestor
and Goat Mountain behind
Heading along the north ridge towards the
descent gully; Assiniboine at the left
A closer look at beautiful Mount
Sir Douglas
On the west side of Mount
Smuts, looking at the lower Birdwood Lake, and the very impressive side
profile of Mount Birdwood, Sir
Douglas, and Snow Peak
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