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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 26, 2010 - 03:41pm PT
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Okay sent you a PM Perry, I've already used up my luck in the inlets south of Bute in "Sudden outflows".
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Chief
climber
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Feb 26, 2010 - 04:05pm PT
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Hey bk, 52 yesterday, who you calling dead?
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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Feb 26, 2010 - 04:17pm PT
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Bmacd this is close to a Bute inlet area trip report with photos and stuff
so here goes:
Back in the day I never felt quite grown up enough for stuff like Waddington so instead had to settle for less renowned and seemingly less formidable terrain. Once I chartered a float plane and flew into Silt Lake below the snout of the Lillooet glacier.
My objective was to climb Mt. Lillooet which buried in glaciers up to its neck in the center of the Lillooet icecap forms a three way drainage divide between Bute and Toba inlets along with the Frasier River as well. Due to laziness, a lack of bravado and a complete underestimation of the time needed for such an objective I fell short of that goal.
I spent the first day trying to travel up the glacier itself, but being late August the lower part of the Lillooet glacier seemed far to melted out and broken up for up valley advance.
Since I didn’t feel like dying an icy death in some crevasse I returned to Silt Lake to rethink things.
With going up the glacier ruled out I took to a bushwhack up the south side of the lateral moraine from the lake to gain some hanging tributary glaciers to the south.
After an all day climb gaining about 5000 ft. through the bushes, boulders then the hanging glacier itself I set up camp on a ridge top with a panorama of much of the upper Lillooet.
I hoped that I was close enough that I could make a dash out to Lillooet Mtn. but by the time I got to the top of this peak marked 9490 on my map
Lillooet Mtn still seemed still a long ways off from here especially with me needing to be down at Silt Lake early afternoon the next day for my ride out. I took some photos from the summit of 9490 looking onto the icecap and the rugged peaks south of the fork of Toba River below me enjoying the superb weather and scenery wishing I had another day to spend.
During four days the only evidence of other visitors I saw were some old wooden cross country skis abandoned at Silt Lake and some old metal enameled plates and bowls found here:
Hopefully by sharing this and others sharing their stories the masses can be made aware that something special is about to be lost presumably in the name of cheap electricity.
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Chief
climber
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Feb 26, 2010 - 04:22pm PT
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bk
ditto for the big rigs off the Tiedemann, The Grand Capuccino for one.
The film K2 was shot there because it really does resemble the view from K2 base camp with the Wadd towering some 8000' plus? over the glacier.
Yes, MD could wax downright floral and maudlin. I swear there was a "bro mance" going on in his CAJ write up about climbing with Flavelle in the Adamants.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Washedup, Hasbeen, British Columbia
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 26, 2010 - 04:48pm PT
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Hardly Visible - that looked like a cool adventure. Sweet photos ...
BK - Heli-Sledding country for sure up there ! What is the purpose of your upcoming Toba trip ?
I would bet Mike Down has an extensive image library of the area.
I remember the Spat brothers telling me about their role in the opening scene of K2 under the south face of Waddington.
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Beazley
Trad climber
BC
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Feb 26, 2010 - 05:25pm PT
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Many congratulations to Bruce Kay and his climbing mates on completing Mt. Bute from bottom to top. Hiking underneath it and looking up is pretty intimidating to say the least.
The problem with producing more electricity is like building bigger hwy's... more vehicles. In 1900 there were a few hundred rivers dammed world wide for power, in 1950- 4,000 dams, 1970- 12,000 dams and as of today 27,000 dams. We must be pretty desperate if we need to scrape the bottom of the barrel for 'unfirm' power in places like Bute Inlet. It is as bad as the Tarsands.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 26, 2010 - 09:40pm PT
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ok i better shut up now Depends on who's reading... I've tried to get Scott and Mike and others interested, using the "Climbing at Squamish in the 1970s" thread as bait. They may lurk, but don't post that I know of.
Anyway, hopefully kinnikinnik (Colin) will chip in regarding impacts on the Eldred, and the Bute project generally. He's in Powell River, which is a bit closer to the action, but is on a climbing trip right now.
Who is beazley?
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 26, 2010 - 10:38pm PT
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ok i better shut up now
Bruce Kay you may as well keep spewing the filthy dirt, it's only the internet, no-one knows who you really are. You are using a fake name right ?
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Beazley
Trad climber
BC
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Feb 27, 2010 - 12:38am PT
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We helped scope out a route up Galleon Creek around 12-15yrs years ago. A logger friend with some crew did a run through and then we came through couple of times afterwards. Since then it has been kept open and used by the bears and NOLS. Could probably use some work on it. Bit of a boulder maze at the bottom of Bute Glacier but quite doable. A lot easier I am sure than climbing Bute Mt.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 27, 2010 - 04:45am PT
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post deleted
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Beazley
Trad climber
BC
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Feb 27, 2010 - 10:18am PT
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No I am not opposed to electric cars or electric power or consumption of goods, but everything in moderation.
I don't believe the majority of the population are going to rush out and buy an electric car until it is tried and true and affordable.
If more electricity is needed it should be produced close to the cente of need whether hydro,tidal,wind or sun.
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Beazley
Trad climber
BC
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Haven't been on the Galleon Creek trail for quite a few years so do not know what shape it is in. NOLS use it yearly, so will have to ask them what it is like. The bears won't say. The route stays high, well away from the creek.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2010 - 12:32pm PT
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For the Bute Inlet / Homathko / Waddignton watersheds to achieve exemption status, disqualifying the electric power produced there from being exported to the states, one of the exemption categories is recreational use.
Any ethically inclined climber, whom has had an adventure there, successful or not, should feel morally compelled to relate, in detail, their adventures. A literary contribution to the history of, and as a testament to future recreational potential of Bute Inlet.
Well written accounts, relating the efforts of climbers on adventures in the region, would be nothing but another very positive addition to the serious efforts being undertaken by people like Chief, sac, and Beazley to save Bute Inlet.
In other words, HEY Don Serl, Micheal Down, Greg Foweraker, Fred Becky, Bruce Kay and all others, post up n00b readable versions of all yer trip reports with photos. Don't be modest it's for a good cause !!!!
Supertopo often seems to be one of Googles top search results for anything climbing related. If you guys plug it up with a lot of references to Bute Inlet, that helps raise the profile of the area and demonstrate it's recreational value. If you dodn't write up your trip, in todays context your effort was in vain, no matter what the outcome.
Use the term Bute Inlet as frequently as possible in your account. supertopo threads do seem to have a higher google link rating than TR's so post a copy here and of course where ever other place you choose.
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Chief
climber
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Way to go Bruce!
Couldn't have said it better.
Looking forward to this weekend's trip to BUTE where you can see the SOUTH SIDE OF MOUNT WADDINGTON and BUTE MOUNTAIN and stay at the Homathko camp at the head of BUTE INLET.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 4, 2010 - 04:25pm PT
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Lol ... Perry I don't think using caps for the phrase "Bute Inlet" has any additional effect.
Link to Bute Inlet webcam - click here -
Thanks for inviting me along on this trip, I am excited, and leaving for the ferry soon ....
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Chief
climber
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Jimbo - nice work on the google landscape images ! Chief and I are in Campbell River and rendezvous with beazely in the AM to depart for Homathko International Airport.
The best fishing Chief says is to be had where these creeks join the Homathko. Right where the IPP generating stations will be built. Destroying the best fish habitat in the entire watershed.
Customs officers in Homathko are loaning us a shotgun for the weekend of hiking amongst the hungry grizzlies fresh from hibernation ...
bmacd
Jimbus,
bmacd assures me there's Bigfoot in Bute and he's going to prove it.
I will report.
PB
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 7, 2010 - 05:42pm PT
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Update from Bute/Homathko - presently weathered in
The Plutonics plans for Bute/Homathko watershed represent the greatest environmental threat and white elephant BC has ever faced before. 1000 times greater than logging concerns ever were. Even the loggers up here are against this project.
Being o nsite and seeing the scope of this in person is a sobering experience.
No sign of bigfoot though ... Having a great adventure and getting a superb education here too.
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bmacd
Trad climber
Beautiful, BC
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Topic Author's Reply - Apr 18, 2010 - 03:29am PT
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Epic ... but the Yanks pull it off in style
Mt. Waddington: First ascent
On July 4, 1936, Fritz Wiessner, Bill House, Elizabeth Woolsey and Alan Willcox reached the head of the Knight Inlet. For the next twelve days they ferried loads to their base camp at Icefall Point on the Dais Glacier.
While on the glacier, they were joined by another expedition led by members of the British Columbia Mountaineering Club and the Sierra Club. Wiessner and House agreed to allow the others a first chance at the summit but this group failed to find a route up the south face.[8]
On July 20, Wiessner and House first attempted the line of a great couloir that comes directly down between the main summit tower and the northwest peak. It was an excellent line for quickly ascending but they were unable to traverse onto the south face proper due to poor rock conditions and were forced to retreat to base camp.
By 3 am the next morning they were already climbing up a couloir to the right of the face. Good weather the past few days had cleared most of the snow away from the ledges making for good climbing conditions. Following the left branch of the couloir, they reached a snow patch in the middle of the face.
The final 1,000 ft (300 m) of the south face then presented a fierce hurdle of "sheer forbidding-looking rocks" as noted by Wiessner. While Wiessner initially started in boots, he quickly changed to rope-soled shoes and gave his ice axe and extra rope to House. Wiessner led several pitches up technically difficult rock including several overhangs. After traversing east across the face they rested on a ledge just below the southeastern ridge, a full 9 hours since leaving the snow patch on the south face.
After climbing a short chimney they finally reached the small snowy mass at the top, 13 hours after their start in base camp. They aborted their earlier plan of descending the shorter north face and retraced their ascent line, reaching their tent on the Dais Glacier at 2 am.
The ascent to the summit and back to base camp had taken over 23 hours.
2010; an American rematch, Donini climbs one for the environment .... Waddinton South face.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Apr 18, 2010 - 03:51am PT
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I haven't checked this thread in a while. Who do I call to say great fooking thread. I guess , a whole bunch of you frosty fekkers.
No, seriously, this is good stuff; nice pics, friendly and witty banter, no meltdowns of any sort, or viscious threats. There is something to be learned here. OOps, sorry, I'll go to bed now.
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bmacd
Boulder climber
100% Canadian
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 13, 2011 - 05:32pm PT
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A 2011 Mugs Stump Award goes to party attempting winter ascent of the South Face. That's really cool …..
Damien Kelly, Mt. Waddington, British Columbia, Canada; with Jim Martinello. A winter ascent on the south face of this 4019-meter peak.
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web10w/newswire-2011-mugs-stump-award
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