Last week-end, Ben and I were looking for a nice relaxing camp out since we both had a busy week at our office/lab. Since I was unable to carry any heavy pack due to a shoulder injury, we opted for a nice hut which would allow traveling super light. One of my favorite refuge is the Wendy Thompson hut, which I had gone to two years earlier with Dean.
The plan was simple and pleasant, leave late Saturday and arrive early at the trailhead with a sunset bedtime and a 5 AM start with a summit at 9 and a return to the car around 1 so I could be home for supper.
So I got to sleep in on Saturday and woke up as late as 7:30! As I was waiting for Ben to pick me up, I got a text from Spring who told me that her group had canceled their trip and she was wondering if she could come along. Of course, she was immediately invited to join us as the more the merrier, and she is also super-fast.
Ben picked me up around 10 and one hour later Spring was with us in Squamish.
We managed to get to the trailhead just before 1 PM after a fast drive on the sea to sky.
We were quite surprised to see at least 5 cars in the parking lot and got a bit worried to have an over-crowded hut. But I re-assured the team that most people were usually heading towards Mount Rohr and Rohr lake at this time of the year.
Because I was eager to make it to the hut, we arrived at Wendy Thompson right after 3 and it was completely vacant.
We setup our gear and enjoyed a warm tea as the weather was already getting chili.
After hanging around the hut for a while, we had a quick dinner and I quickly ditched Ben and Spring to sleep in my Valandre.
At 5 AM, our 3 alarms rang to form a great cacophonic alpine orchestra called “Awakening to the Summit in D minor”
After a quick breakfast, we headed towards the lower bowl in the dark. By the time we reached the upper lake it was already sunrise and we enjoyed our first warm light rays.
Not appealed by the boulder fields that you must go to get to the ridge right under the cliff, we decided to gain altitude right away and hit the ridge much earlier.
Although maybe not the fastest solution, the long rocky ridge involved some fun scrambling and some very nice drop offs.
Once we were back on Matt Gunn s` route, it was a very fast and pleasant climb all the way to the summit. I was very impressed by the gendarme and it`s structure.
The summit had great views and I carefully observed Cirque that I hope doing next year. It was however very cold which required our down jackets.
We enjoyed a nice brunch and took some pictures before heading down after an hour of rest.
The way down was uneventful but we decided to go down the regular route which I felt was more tricky than the way we had went up.
By the time we reached the hut, we were back in out t-shirts feeling the Indian summer.
We quickly packed back and headed back towards the car. Although we arrived later than planned, we still made great timing.
Overall, a fantastic week-end with a great climb and great company.
The plan was simple and pleasant, leave late Saturday and arrive early at the trailhead with a sunset bedtime and a 5 AM start with a summit at 9 and a return to the car around 1 so I could be home for supper.
So I got to sleep in on Saturday and woke up as late as 7:30! As I was waiting for Ben to pick me up, I got a text from Spring who told me that her group had canceled their trip and she was wondering if she could come along. Of course, she was immediately invited to join us as the more the merrier, and she is also super-fast.
Ben picked me up around 10 and one hour later Spring was with us in Squamish.
We managed to get to the trailhead just before 1 PM after a fast drive on the sea to sky.
We were quite surprised to see at least 5 cars in the parking lot and got a bit worried to have an over-crowded hut. But I re-assured the team that most people were usually heading towards Mount Rohr and Rohr lake at this time of the year.
Because I was eager to make it to the hut, we arrived at Wendy Thompson right after 3 and it was completely vacant.
We setup our gear and enjoyed a warm tea as the weather was already getting chili.
After hanging around the hut for a while, we had a quick dinner and I quickly ditched Ben and Spring to sleep in my Valandre.
At 5 AM, our 3 alarms rang to form a great cacophonic alpine orchestra called “Awakening to the Summit in D minor”
After a quick breakfast, we headed towards the lower bowl in the dark. By the time we reached the upper lake it was already sunrise and we enjoyed our first warm light rays.
Not appealed by the boulder fields that you must go to get to the ridge right under the cliff, we decided to gain altitude right away and hit the ridge much earlier.
Although maybe not the fastest solution, the long rocky ridge involved some fun scrambling and some very nice drop offs.
Once we were back on Matt Gunn s` route, it was a very fast and pleasant climb all the way to the summit. I was very impressed by the gendarme and it`s structure.
The summit had great views and I carefully observed Cirque that I hope doing next year. It was however very cold which required our down jackets.
We enjoyed a nice brunch and took some pictures before heading down after an hour of rest.
The way down was uneventful but we decided to go down the regular route which I felt was more tricky than the way we had went up.
By the time we reached the hut, we were back in out t-shirts feeling the Indian summer.
We quickly packed back and headed back towards the car. Although we arrived later than planned, we still made great timing.
Overall, a fantastic week-end with a great climb and great company.
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