A great classic alpine climb in the Joffre range that I can never recommend enough. Myself and Dean had tried about a year before this ascent and had failed by taking the wrong route which was extremely deep in snow and had very poor conditions.
This time we did our homework and made sure we were on the right route with the right conditions.
We left Vancouver very early as this was just going to be a day trip. It was one of those perfect fall days, very dry and very sunny.
It had already snowed quite a bit in the Joffre range but only at about the level of the second lake, which meant no snowy lower boulder field!!
We were climbing fast and light that day and I was testing out my brand new super light Scarpa Triolet that I had just gotten at “Au Vieux Campeur” in Paris.
Over excited by the weather and the perspective of some great alpine climbing, we rushed through Joffre lakes and made it in about 90 min to the bottom of Slalok.
At this point there was a bit of powder on the rocks, not really enough to slow you down but great to sprang your ankle.
The section from the lake to the bottom gulley is very deceiving. It always looks like it will be a hop away but turns out in this long tiring slog.
Once in the gulley we had two types of snow, some hard polystyrene type snow, which I like to call mountain highway. And then we would get pure knee deep snow, which I call mountain slow motion.
Once at the exit of the gulley, we found some bare ice which would have made the ascent a bit faster and funner but the lack of ice screws maintained us in the deep snow.
On the open face of Slalok, it was a tough fight against the elements. Every step was so heavy and energy consuming.
My tactic was to go as West as possible near the ridge, hoping that the wind would have either pushed off the powder or frozen most of the snow.
Once on the ridge, I only found real comfort by walking on the rocks but sinking deep each time that I had to cross from one island of rocks to another.
About 100 m under the summit, it gets very fun (I was having some kind of fun until then). The slope becomes very steep, probably 50 degrees. There was no need for protection since there was nowhere to place them. With our ice tools, we ascended this section directly, the thrill just killed any fear from the exposure.
The final summit notch required to be careful
as it was full of hidden snow holes.
The top was beautiful and the great weather allowed perfect shots. 
The descent was extremely pleasant in this kind of snow as it is almost impossible to lose control of your speed in this kind of snow.
We took a little rest at the upper lake and then had an uneventful return to the car.
Overall, a fantastic climb that requires to be a little fit but would be a perfect intro for alpine climbing.
This time we did our homework and made sure we were on the right route with the right conditions.
We left Vancouver very early as this was just going to be a day trip. It was one of those perfect fall days, very dry and very sunny.
It had already snowed quite a bit in the Joffre range but only at about the level of the second lake, which meant no snowy lower boulder field!!
We were climbing fast and light that day and I was testing out my brand new super light Scarpa Triolet that I had just gotten at “Au Vieux Campeur” in Paris.
Over excited by the weather and the perspective of some great alpine climbing, we rushed through Joffre lakes and made it in about 90 min to the bottom of Slalok.
At this point there was a bit of powder on the rocks, not really enough to slow you down but great to sprang your ankle.
The section from the lake to the bottom gulley is very deceiving. It always looks like it will be a hop away but turns out in this long tiring slog.
Once in the gulley we had two types of snow, some hard polystyrene type snow, which I like to call mountain highway. And then we would get pure knee deep snow, which I call mountain slow motion.
Once at the exit of the gulley, we found some bare ice which would have made the ascent a bit faster and funner but the lack of ice screws maintained us in the deep snow.
On the open face of Slalok, it was a tough fight against the elements. Every step was so heavy and energy consuming.
My tactic was to go as West as possible near the ridge, hoping that the wind would have either pushed off the powder or frozen most of the snow.
Once on the ridge, I only found real comfort by walking on the rocks but sinking deep each time that I had to cross from one island of rocks to another.
About 100 m under the summit, it gets very fun (I was having some kind of fun until then). The slope becomes very steep, probably 50 degrees. There was no need for protection since there was nowhere to place them. With our ice tools, we ascended this section directly, the thrill just killed any fear from the exposure.
The final summit notch required to be careful
as it was full of hidden snow holes.
The top was beautiful and the great weather allowed perfect shots. The descent was extremely pleasant in this kind of snow as it is almost impossible to lose control of your speed in this kind of snow.
We took a little rest at the upper lake and then had an uneventful return to the car.
Overall, a fantastic climb that requires to be a little fit but would be a perfect intro for alpine climbing.
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