Yoho4

Kiwetinok Peak, Mount Pollinger, Mount McArthur, Mount Kerr – July 17, 2006

Mountain height:
            Kiwetinok:       2902 m
            Pollinger:        2816 m
            McArthur:        3015 m
            Kerr:                2863 m

Elevation gain: approx. 2400 m
Roundtrip Time: 17:20

Scrambling with Kevin and Martin.

Though excited to be attempting this marathon of four Yoho peaks, admittedly, when Kevin suggested the trip, I was a little skeptical that we would be able to complete the task. Snow lingers well into July in the Yoho area and I thought that would render Kiwetinok, and perhaps McArthur, too dangerous to attempt. In addition, the approximate 35 km of hiking and 2400 m of elevation gain would be physically taxing, to say the least.

We left the parking at 6:40 am and hiked quickly to the Stanley Mitchell Hut. There, we were immediately engaged in an interesting conversation with a very knowledgeable gentleman, who, after sometime, unexpectedly introduced himself as Chic Scott – the local ski mountaineering and climbing guru. As well Mr. Scott is the author of numerous guidebooks and an authority on the history of Canadian Mountaineering.

After that, most pleasant start to the day, we went on our way towards Kiwetinok Lake . Not more than 10 minutes into the trip, we suddenly heard someone shouting at us. It was Martin Siddles, who was spending 5 days at the Little Yoho Valley campsite - pleasant surprise number 2! We invited Martin to join us and though this put us an hour behind schedule, we were quick to make up the time, as Martin set a blistering hiking pace, and in fact, expertly led the first three ascents.

Arriving at the beautiful lake, we opted to try Kiwetinok first and then go for Pollinger and McArthur. If time, energy, and motivation permitted, Kerr would go last. Arriving at the east ridge of Kiwetinok, things didn’t look so good. Kane suggests that you wait until late July before attempting this peak and it became obvious why. The face was still holding a great deal of snow, though the upper slopes were generally clear. Nevertheless, we all had crampons and ice axes and it certainly was worth a shot. Martin kicked steps for us, up the increasingly exposed slope. Getting off the snow and onto the rock required carefully climbing down into narrow gully made by a wall of snow with the rock. Again, Martin skillfully led us into the gully and then on, towards the summit.

The summit view was quite impressive and though I usually curse and swear at heavy cloud cover, when blue skies were forecast, the overcast conditions did keep the snow from going isothermal on us and also prevented us from overheating. After carefully making our way down Kiwetinok Peak , we continued on to Mount Pollinger – an easy hike to a bump on the ridge. The steep but straightforward downclimb followed and then another easy, but much longer hike to the highest summit of the day – Mount McArthur . McArthur definitely boasted the best view of the day. The Bugaboos, Goodsirs, and Louise Group were all clearly visible, as well as many other beautiful peaks.

Upon returning to Kiwetinok Lake , Kevin and I decided that we would go for Mount Kerr . Martin, who still had another 4 days to explore the area, chose to return to his camp. Both Kevin and I were quite tired at that point, but the thought of doing the 12 km approach again just for Mount Kerr did not appeal to either of us. We made our way slowly to the summit described in Kane’s book. Given some confusion as to the true summit of Kerr, we continued south, down to the col, and then up to the next summit. Given its correct elevation of 2863 m, an unnecessarily oversized cairn, and a register, it became clear that this was the true summit of Kerr (the first summit measured only 2804 m). The view of Mount Carvarvon , from the summit, was terrific.

For descent, we took a shortcut and headed down snow and rubble slopes between the two summits of Kerr. The 12 km hike back to the car started off well, but I suffered a fair amount through the final hour, as the significant distance and elevation gain we had completed, started to take its toll. We arrived back at the parking lot at midnight. Overall, an outstanding day - both Kevin and I felt a good sense of accomplishment at having completed the four peak circuit, car to car, in one day. Definitely a good trip to test your stamina.

The north face of The Vice President

Mount Kerr: true summit (left), false summit (right)

The Little Yoho River and an outlier of Kerr

The Vice President (left) and The President (right)

Kevin and Martin make their way along the river

Martin and Kevin approach the Kiwetinok Lake, with Kiwetinok Peak ahead

Kevin and Martin at the lake, with our first objective of the day ahead - Kiwetinok Peak

Martin leads the way up the steep slopes of Kiwetinok

Kevin works his way through the narrow gully of snow and rock

Martin heads up to the summit

From the summit of Kiwetinok looking at the lake and The Presidents

The hero of the day retrieves the apple I accidentally knocked down the mountain - later on, at the 12 hour mark of the day, I was darn glad he had done so - thanks Martin!