Report by The Camel
Original plan was to attempt Silvertip from the south with Ben (doubleealpinist) and possibly a mystery guest (Simonc) but when I got this text later Friday night from Leigh (leimrod), plans changed quickly.
Sleep deprived as I already am, I knew I couldn’t pass this opportunity up as I’ve been wanting to do Garibaldi for some time now but was never able to steal a couple days away at the right time. Ben was easily persuaded even though he’d have to wake up earlier than anyone as this was going to be a one day affair.
A wise man once said “I love it when a plan comes together,”
and the fact that we all managed to meet at the Chevron in Squamish at 430 AM was a good first step.
Not so much an A-Team as a Motley Crue:
Adrien, (4th attempt, bad conditions and packing too many cookies to blame for previous lack of success)
Bonn-Tien, (3rd attempt, bad conditions and Adrien packing too many cookies to blame for previous lack of success)
Dean, (5th attempt? Summited once already, has Atwell in the bag, and "floats on snow.")
Leigh, (1st attempt, moves like Jagger and has the luck of the Irish)
Spring, (1st attempt, Dances with summits and runs marathons for breakfast)
Ben, (1st attempt, 4th weekend in a row and had to wake up at 130AM)
and myself ( 1st attempt, big fan of A-Team….admittedly also listened to Motley Crue for a time)
Made it to 950m in a Grand Cherokee and a Forester.
545AM saw us moving swiftly over firm snow up the FSR, and maybe an hour later we stopped for a brief rest near the cabin. Just past there we ran into a lone skier who had hitchhiked to the bottom of the FSR, walked up to the Cabin, bivvied on the porch, summitted sometime around 9AM and was on his way back down. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel so hard-core anymore.
I’ve never been on Brohm Ridge before but it seemed to go on forever. I can’t imagine how much longer it felt for Dean, Adrien and BT as they’ve been along it several times. I led from the rear for most of the way across the ridge and when I did catch up, I was often privy to a Leigh remix of “Moves like Jagger” or a gentle ballad of “Touch the Sky” from Dean. I love hiking to a soundtrack
Before too long...and by that I mean a very long time....we were within striking distance (where most seem to set up camp for an early assault) and discussing rope teams, body weight, girls’ bathrooms, smoking in the boy's room, and fashion accessories.
It was here we donned crampons….mostly for style…..and equipped ourselves for what would hopefully be an uneventful trudge up the Glacier to the Northeast face of Garibaldi.
Dean making Garibaldi look small in the background.
Dean explaining how he will probably defy gravity by floating over weak snow bridges and showing Ben the ropes at the same time.
Heading straight across and up, not around.
Temps were still low and the snow was still firm which made for quick travel. Well, we could have moved quickly had we the inclination….maybe not me…but the others.
Approaching the bergshrund, we could see two people mucking about above and below the crack. We couldn’t really tell from that distance what they were up to but as it turned out they were just waiting for the snow to soften a bit for they’re ski-run back down.
Reconvening to make sure at least a couple of us were wearing matching headbands, jackets, ropes, crampons, etc....
We discussed our options for crossing the bergshrund,(still easily passable on the right) and the traverse/ascent above. While everyone was comfortable going unroped, we didn’t bother stopping to unclip as there was a stairway of perfectly planted steps up to the summit.
The final steps to the summit. Dean and Ben ahead.
Leigh and Spring right behind.
Adrien and BT got their chance to stand on top.....and it was well-deserved indeed. unfortunately I only have this shot of BT approaching as I filmed their actual summit. Hopefully someone else has a pic to post.
It was around 1pm when we all congregated on the summit for photos and kudos. After some dancing, tweeting, peak- ogling,snack eating, real-estate discussing, mind-boggling, trip sussing, shivering, and sun-burning, we proceeded to the down-climbing.
Most of the others took a lot of summit pix so I'll let them post and share. Just one of my fav's of Atwell.
Adrien and BT went first and in a symbolic homage to their upcoming marriage, stayed hitched. The rest of the crue decided to head down solo, mainly because we’re all big Star Wars fans, and we think of Han Solo whenever we hear the word solo.
Re-roping just above the bergshrund, we proceeded across and down the glacier without any issues. The snow was a little softer at this point but still perfect for walking.
In short order, we were back at the spot where we had roped up to boil water, talk about how crampons rhymes with tampons, and curiously enough, discuss fashion yet again.
After a glissade here and a buttslide there, the traverse across Brohm Ridge was soft and sinkable, and we were all getting really tired….except Ben who ran most of the way back to the cabin. We were glad we packed snowshoes up at this point.
Highlights of the trudge back included a whisky jack landing on Dean’s hat and hanging out for a bit for no apparent reason, the sun going behind the clouds, Leigh and I dropping lower and climbing higher several times to pad our cum. elev. stats, random philosophical discussions, and getting back to the vehicles...period.
Car to car about 14 hrs with - I have no idea cum. elev.- the end result being a great day out with great company.
I hope the others add their pictures and 2 cents as my photos will definitely not be the best of the groups.
My Pictures:
Original plan was to attempt Silvertip from the south with Ben (doubleealpinist) and possibly a mystery guest (Simonc) but when I got this text later Friday night from Leigh (leimrod), plans changed quickly.
Sleep deprived as I already am, I knew I couldn’t pass this opportunity up as I’ve been wanting to do Garibaldi for some time now but was never able to steal a couple days away at the right time. Ben was easily persuaded even though he’d have to wake up earlier than anyone as this was going to be a one day affair.
A wise man once said “I love it when a plan comes together,”
and the fact that we all managed to meet at the Chevron in Squamish at 430 AM was a good first step.
Not so much an A-Team as a Motley Crue:
Adrien, (4th attempt, bad conditions and packing too many cookies to blame for previous lack of success)
Bonn-Tien, (3rd attempt, bad conditions and Adrien packing too many cookies to blame for previous lack of success)
Dean, (5th attempt? Summited once already, has Atwell in the bag, and "floats on snow.")
Leigh, (1st attempt, moves like Jagger and has the luck of the Irish)
Spring, (1st attempt, Dances with summits and runs marathons for breakfast)
Ben, (1st attempt, 4th weekend in a row and had to wake up at 130AM)
and myself ( 1st attempt, big fan of A-Team….admittedly also listened to Motley Crue for a time)
Made it to 950m in a Grand Cherokee and a Forester.
545AM saw us moving swiftly over firm snow up the FSR, and maybe an hour later we stopped for a brief rest near the cabin. Just past there we ran into a lone skier who had hitchhiked to the bottom of the FSR, walked up to the Cabin, bivvied on the porch, summitted sometime around 9AM and was on his way back down. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel so hard-core anymore.
I’ve never been on Brohm Ridge before but it seemed to go on forever. I can’t imagine how much longer it felt for Dean, Adrien and BT as they’ve been along it several times. I led from the rear for most of the way across the ridge and when I did catch up, I was often privy to a Leigh remix of “Moves like Jagger” or a gentle ballad of “Touch the Sky” from Dean. I love hiking to a soundtrack
Before too long...and by that I mean a very long time....we were within striking distance (where most seem to set up camp for an early assault) and discussing rope teams, body weight, girls’ bathrooms, smoking in the boy's room, and fashion accessories.
It was here we donned crampons….mostly for style…..and equipped ourselves for what would hopefully be an uneventful trudge up the Glacier to the Northeast face of Garibaldi.
Dean making Garibaldi look small in the background.
Dean explaining how he will probably defy gravity by floating over weak snow bridges and showing Ben the ropes at the same time.
Heading straight across and up, not around.
Temps were still low and the snow was still firm which made for quick travel. Well, we could have moved quickly had we the inclination….maybe not me…but the others.
Approaching the bergshrund, we could see two people mucking about above and below the crack. We couldn’t really tell from that distance what they were up to but as it turned out they were just waiting for the snow to soften a bit for they’re ski-run back down.
Reconvening to make sure at least a couple of us were wearing matching headbands, jackets, ropes, crampons, etc....
We discussed our options for crossing the bergshrund,(still easily passable on the right) and the traverse/ascent above. While everyone was comfortable going unroped, we didn’t bother stopping to unclip as there was a stairway of perfectly planted steps up to the summit.
The final steps to the summit. Dean and Ben ahead.
Leigh and Spring right behind.
Adrien and BT got their chance to stand on top.....and it was well-deserved indeed. unfortunately I only have this shot of BT approaching as I filmed their actual summit. Hopefully someone else has a pic to post.
It was around 1pm when we all congregated on the summit for photos and kudos. After some dancing, tweeting, peak- ogling,snack eating, real-estate discussing, mind-boggling, trip sussing, shivering, and sun-burning, we proceeded to the down-climbing.
Most of the others took a lot of summit pix so I'll let them post and share. Just one of my fav's of Atwell.
Adrien and BT went first and in a symbolic homage to their upcoming marriage, stayed hitched. The rest of the crue decided to head down solo, mainly because we’re all big Star Wars fans, and we think of Han Solo whenever we hear the word solo.
Re-roping just above the bergshrund, we proceeded across and down the glacier without any issues. The snow was a little softer at this point but still perfect for walking.
In short order, we were back at the spot where we had roped up to boil water, talk about how crampons rhymes with tampons, and curiously enough, discuss fashion yet again.
After a glissade here and a buttslide there, the traverse across Brohm Ridge was soft and sinkable, and we were all getting really tired….except Ben who ran most of the way back to the cabin. We were glad we packed snowshoes up at this point.
Highlights of the trudge back included a whisky jack landing on Dean’s hat and hanging out for a bit for no apparent reason, the sun going behind the clouds, Leigh and I dropping lower and climbing higher several times to pad our cum. elev. stats, random philosophical discussions, and getting back to the vehicles...period.
Car to car about 14 hrs with - I have no idea cum. elev.- the end result being a great day out with great company.
I hope the others add their pictures and 2 cents as my photos will definitely not be the best of the groups.
My Pictures:
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