Ski Touring around Sutton Pass

One of the best kept secrets on the Island (oops, maybe I shouldn't be letting the cat out of the bag) is the ski touring around Sutton Pass between Port Alberni and Tofino. The area includes the Mackenzie and Maitland Ranges and is the ruggedest mountain area south of Strathcona Park. There is some fantastic summer mountaineering in the area, including Triple Peak, the Mackenzies, Steamboat, and Pogo. In the winter/spring, there is some great ski touring, including Adder Mountain, "Jack's Peak" and 5040 Peak, all off of Marion Creek. By Island standards, access is great making most peaks day trippable. Luckily (hopefully) the area is too rugged to be able to access by snowmoblile, and I have yet to see any other skiers while on trips up there. You can usually bet on having the place to yourself. Beware, it is a pretty wet place! The mountains probably get 5 to 6 meters of precipitation a year.


Triple Peak

Sunset over the Maitland Range

5040 Peak

Jack's Peak

Adder Mountain

Pogo Peak

En route to Adder Mountain

In and Around Town

The more time I spend in Nanaimo, the more I enjoy what the city has to offer. There are some pretty great spots really close by to our place. Winter is also a good time to stick closer to home. This year we've managed to have lots of fun adventures without much travel.

Buttertubs Marsh

Buttertubs Marsh is a perennial favorite with us. It is a great wetland nearby and is protected as a conservation area. Great place to birdwatch.

Views of Mt. Benson from Buttertubs



Bowen Park

For how close it is, I always think I should spend more time at Bowen Park. In the fall I did a bit of running through the trails there, and it also a good way to get over to Buttertubs. The Millstone River, which is drains most of the area around Nanaimo, runs right though the park. We were able to have a visit after one of the big storms this past fall, and the river was running quite high.

The Millstone River running near it's average annual flood level.

Exploring Bowen Park with GrannyPoppy


Goldstream Park

OK, not really in Nanaimo, but I had the kids by myself for the whole weekend (a first!) and we headed down for the day.


Was trying to share my enthusiasm with the kids about the rotting salmon. It was pleasantly stinky.

Trumpeter Swans at the base of Mt. Sicker


Neck Point

Another spot close by, right next to Piper's Lagoon. Although we prefer Piper's Lagoon we occasionally make it to Neck Point. It is our prime location for picking Blackberries in the summer. In the winter, we figured it would be a good spot to pick up seaweed for the garden.



Jack Point

Given that it is right next to a ferry terminal, the thin buffer makes it feel like you a little more isolated. It is a pretty nice spot to look out over to town, Protection Island and Gabriola. I also like the weathered sandstone.





Ammonite Falls

Tucked up against Mt. Benson, Ammonite Falls is a little elusive. Took a couple of tries before I found my way there. Named for the fossils, but I haven't been in low enough flow that I have wanted to get up an explore the cliff where the are. Recently rappelling down the falls (right down the middle!) seems to be a favorite past-time of some of the younger climbers in town.



Nanaimo Harbourfront

The family was away for a couple of weeks up in the Okanagan. I got into a great routine of heading out for a walk along the seawall along Nanaimo's harbourfront after dinner every night. It is less than 1 km from our place to the water, but it seems like we don't make it down there very often. I like that it is a real hub of activity: boats cruising around, water taxis ferrying over to Protection Island, 3 different BC ferry routes, floatplanes, and general bustle. Also great wildlife-usually see lots of Blue Herons, seals, otters.




Spring has sprung


Frank Ney. Former mayor (not that long ago) which brought such delights to Nanaimo as the bathtub races and endless strip malls. He also liked to dress up like a pirate.


The Bastion. Oldest building in town (built in 1853) was built as a Hudson Bay outpost

Swy-a-lana Lagoon


Old City

Nanaimo has some interesting artwork. At the Library.

Snow to Surf: Rugged Mountain Attempt

I am suprised to hear myself say it, but last weekend's trip to the mountains was foiled because the weather was TOO NICE! Springtime in February. El Nino? Climate Change? In any event, we enjoyed double digit temperatures as we slogged our way up into the Haihte Range.

The trip came together fairly randomly. There was a bit of chatter about folks been keen on climbing Rugged Mountain, so I thought I would pitch the idea and see if anyone wanted to come along. The response was suprising, and in the end 6 of us took of for a three day adventure on the North Island.

An early start on Friday found us at the trailhead in late-morning. We did a last minute gear sort and divi, and everyone shouldered their heavy packs. A few km up an old logging road, then dove into an old clearcut to work our way onto a ridge. By late-afternoon we were still several hours away from Nathan col, our planned destination for the day. We were approaching up the south side of the mountain, and with all the sun the snow was melting and the mountains were shedding plenty of snow and rock. We made a call not to dive into the big avi gully leading up to the col, and instead pitched camp on a nice knoll with amazing views across the Haihte Range: Merlon, Rugged and the Southern Blades.

With hopes of a cool night and hard morning snow we got up at 4am and after a breakfast and pack-up, we were off. Route descriptions we had for this section were vague at best, and at least in winter, the terrain between us and the gully we wanted to be in wasn't that straightforward. As well, the snow had hardened as much as we hoped. As one fellow on the trip noted "I knew it was not good news when I needed to put the snowshoes on first thing in the morning!". We slogged our way through breakable crust, and spent some time trying to find a way across to the gully. After faffing around for some time, it became apparent that it was getting touch-and-go whether we could safely get up and out of the gully before the sun and warmth hit the slope and turned it into a sketchy affair. So despite the fantastic weather, we decided that it wasn't in the cards for today.

Camp with Merlon Peak


Rugged Mountain from camp.

The Southern Blades

We headed our way back down, taking a different (proper?) route back down to the logging roads and back to the car. Having one more day still left in the weekend and being up Island we decided to take the extra day and head out to San Josef beach out at Cape Scott Provincial Park on the north west tip of the Island. You've got to love Vancouver Island. One minute you are front-pointing up a snow gully on the side of a beautiful mountain and the same day your on the beach listening to crashing waves by a campfire. Great weekend.


San Josef Beach

Mount Arrowsmith - Lost Gully

With the amazing spell of clear and cold weather, conditions have been pretty prime for alpine climbing on the Island. I figured a "day-off" was in order to take advantage of the conditions.
Approaching the lower gully

Mount Arrowsmith has a host of great routes on it. The Lost Gully is a route I hadn't done yet. Supposedly it ranks up there in quality, and Phil Stone has even put it on his top 10 list for winter routes on the Island. Word on the street was that the road up Arrowsmith was still snow-free and driveable, so I thought I would have a look at the Lost Gully.

Looking out to Sproat Lake


There has been some recent logging on the flank of Arrowsmith, and I spent a little bit of time getting lost (eg followed the wrong trail-the one up "un-Judges"). After getting bluffed out once, I nearly packed in the trip, but was able to downclimb down a ways, and get over to the proper route into the Lost Gully.

Looking up the lower section of the gully. There wasn't continuous snow, so I got to get a bit of scrambling in crampons in.

Top of the lower gully and col with the south peak on Arrowsmith. Looking out across Georgia Straight.
The true "Lost Gully". More rock scrambling brought me into the classic upper gully.

Looking down Lost Gully to the col. Fun climbing.

Looking up Beaver Creek towards the Comox Glacier and Strathcona Park.

Along the traverse from the Lost Gully to the top of Arrowsmith.

Arrowsmith

Mount Cokeley

Traverse

I headed back down the standard Judge's Route. Definitely a fun climb. It was a little thin, but the snow was in perfect shape. Highly recommended.