The Coast Range B.C./Mt Bute/Waddington etc.

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Tami

Social climber

Canada

Nov 18, 2012 - 04:17pm PT

That Special J-Roc K was ghastly. The video is hilarious :-)

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Nov 18, 2012 - 04:29pm PT

So last night there was a special presentation at VIMFF on the new biography of John Clarke, by Lisa Baile. This John Clarke, that is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clarke_(mountaineer)
http://www.nsnews.com/news/John+Clarke+lived+climb+every+mountain/7558391/story.html

The book is called "John Clarke Explorer of the Coast Mountains" - which he most certainly was, with perhaps 600 first ascents from the mid 1960s to 1996. But also many first traverses, plus a lot of conservation work, for all of which he was awarded the Order of Canada shortly before he died in 2003.

You can read about, and order, the book at http://www.harbourpublishing.com/title/JohnClarke

There's a mountain named for John, which you can learn about at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WYMs7v0_B4

Also a 1995 documentary, called Child of the Wind, but it doesn't seem to be on the net.


	Credit: Mighty Hiker

The author, with the book.


	Credit: Mighty Hiker

Bruce Kay

Gym climber

Nov 18, 2012 - 05:06pm PT

So you sayin' don't quit yo day job? that wa yo sayin?

Err... uh. ok.


	the Coffee Machine Splitter on Stiletto Credit: Bruce Kay

MH2

climber

Nov 18, 2012 - 05:24pm PT

Great stuff.

Not having any of my own ain't gonna stop me (I did ask permission, a few years ago).

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Nov 18, 2012 - 09:21pm PT

John liked to take 4 - 5 months each year, first for a long ski traverse, then for long foot traverses. As he commented, it tended to leave gaps in one's employment resume, although he often worked for his parents' stained glass company. Anyway, once he was in a more conventional job, and on leaving in May was asked by his boss "How come you work here, I own the company, but you get four months off a year?"

Oplopanax

Mountain climber

The Deep Woods

Nov 19, 2012 - 07:44pm PT

Sadly the closest I've been to Wadd is flying over it. The YVR to Terrace afternoon flight gives you some great lighting in the summer.

Going up you see one side and flying back down you see the other sides

Sometimes the lighting is very good

MH2

climber

Nov 19, 2012 - 07:48pm PT

Cool pics!!!

Bruce Kay

Gym climber

Nov 19, 2012 - 08:12pm PT

first rate. I think I counted over a dozen world class lines there

And that was just the unclimbed ones!

Those windows were spotless. Did you tell them to get the windex out every time?

Oplopanax

Mountain climber

The Deep Woods

Nov 19, 2012 - 08:14pm PT

Bruce - I clean them off with my tongue.

Bruce Kay

Gym climber

Nov 19, 2012 - 08:59pm PT


	Credit: Bruce Kay

Ghost

climber

A long way from where I started

Nov 19, 2012 - 09:08pm PT

Here's something not really Wadd-related, but definitely John Clarke related.

It's true, he did work in his parents' glass business from time to time, but he occasionally also worked on a landscaping crew. On one of those gigs, his partner was a relatively recent immigrant from Hong Kong, whose main interest was clothing and fashion.

Those of you reading this thread who don't know John, probably don't understand the gap here, but John's idea of being well-dressed was to wear long underwear that had been washed within the last month. And his idea of sophisticated conversation was "I got a look at Pk 2,125 last year from across the valley, and it just HAS to be climbed."

So, of course, he told stories to his work partner. And the work partner -- whose idea of adventure was going to a nightclub featuring a band he hadn't heard of -- was completely baffled.

This went on through most of the winter, until one day, after yet another lengthy description of a climbing trip but with the added bonus of a description of a bivouac, his partner said (channeling John's imitation of a Cantonese accent here)...

"Ah! Now understanding. You sleep... IN DIRT!"

How I miss the man

RIP brother

Timmc

climber

Nov 19, 2012 - 10:26pm PT

Fantatic thread!

Thanks for all the great photos and stories.

harryhotdog

Social climber

north vancouver, B.C.

Nov 20, 2012 - 12:48am PT

Like the aerials Drew with that forming see through lenticular over the summit. It shows a great view of your route on Serra II Bruce and your shot is a good angle of it also.Jim has some good pictures of the south ridge and I have a little video of it. Jim has tons of great pics we just have to get on his case about scanning them.Yes I'm talking to you, Jim.Nice story about JC Ghost and that's not your usual butt shot.


	Mt. Combatant from nunatuk Credit: harryhotdog


	Mt. Waddington from Mt. Hickson Credit: Mary Prendergast


	Bookin it through the icefall on Waddington Credit: harryhotdog


	On Mt.Combatant Credit: harryhotdog


	Nearing summit of Mt. Combatant Credit: harryhotdog


	Heading over to the summit tower Credit: harryhotdog


	Negotiating our way up to the Combatant col from the Scimitar glacier Credit: harryhotdog

Big Mike

Trad climber

Nov 20, 2012 - 12:52am PT

Ya Jim!

Mighty Hiker

climber

Vancouver, B.C.

Nov 20, 2012 - 02:41pm PT

Real mountains!

Here's one from well above, of the Tellot Glacier area. The maintenance people seem to have forgotten to clean my window that day - I wonder how Dru does it?


	Credit: Mighty Hiker

Bruce Kay

Gym climber

Nov 20, 2012 - 03:29pm PT

Drew you have a really good shot of Tiedemann south ridge. I've heard from people who have done both that it is quite similar to the Pueterey Integral on Mt Blanc. The Pueterey has about 500 more meters of climbing but Tiedemann doesn't have a hut or an easy off once you're started. I'd say its easily one of the most classic routes of north America.

Oplopanax

Mountain climber

The Deep Woods

Nov 20, 2012 - 06:58pm PT

Too often when we think of the Coast Mountains it's the Wadd Range and immediate neighbours. Or maybe Monarch. There are places in the Coast Mountains that make the Wadd Range seem as heavily trafficked as Chamonix by comparison. In honor of John Clarke this set of pics is from the Kingcome Glacier drainage. A wild place with some large rock walls and some amazing locals.

Upper Kingcome. Lahlah Creek on the right. Obvious wall is 1000m+ but disappointingly bushy on close inspection. Waterfalls partially out of photo on left are also 800m+ high all told but not very steep.

This one is 550m top to base, which is higher than Della. Wonder if it freezes?

Used to be a glacier, now it's a 5km long lake with a glacier dropping into it... head of the Satsalla. A very dark place surrounded by massive brooding walls.

You can see this waterfall in the distance in the last shot. The serac is about 40-50m high.

The wall on the west side of the lake has a crazy overhanging face that's hundreds of meters high. You can see this thing in spring in a pic in John Baldwin's ski guide.

The wall on the east side of the lake is the west face of Kolos Peak and it's 2000m high, although not all vertical. This is about a third of the whole thing, it was too big to get in the frame. Also pretty green. Doubt it will see a big wall team anytime this century. You never know though. Silvia Vidal might solo it.


	I saw a pic of this glacier from above in the JC slideshow. Credit: Oplopanax


	Kingcome Glacier icefall. Wouldn't want to ski through this. Credit: Oplopanax


	Walls southeast(?) of the Atlatzi River. I think JB and JC traversed the ridge, but not sure. They could have been on the other divide of this same valley. 500-700m high walls of clean(!) rock Credit: Oplopanax


	More steep rock on the Atlatzi-Satsalla divide. Nobody's walking a haulbag in here anytime soon I bet. Credit: Oplopanax


	Lots of the things mapped as glaciers in the 80s are lakes full of ice cubes now. If you like glaciers, visit them while you can. The melt is on. Credit: Oplopanax

Bruce Kay

Gym climber

Nov 20, 2012 - 07:13pm PT

Do you get the feeling that Drew isn't showing us everything?


	2WD right to the base..... well, first you gotta get your car to Toba Inlet, but then your in there! Credit: Bruce Kay


	Unnamed, unknown, unclimbed Credit: Bruce Kay

Toba river country has a fair bit of wallage, but even after a whole lot of scoping and fly by's I'd be hard pressed to recommend it for anything technical. The "Filer Eiger" looked about the best at about 1500 meters of steep rock that has a ferocious looking water ice line shooting up to a hanging snowfield, then mixed to the summit. Summer? well good luck. The rock is a fairly jingus metamophic dark igneous rock of dubious quality, a fair bit of it in the jungle zone.

It is perfect John Baldwin / John Clarke country however. Non technical but absolutely scenic glaciated long ridges scattered with summits all with cairns built by JC himself. If you go quite a bit deeper up the Filer river you'll eventually bump into the Raleigh / Gilbert group which has some really good higher elevation stone and a few big routes .

And for the technical climber that is pretty much the story from here up to the Fairweather range. A gazillion deep fiords and steep walled valleys guarding tons of unknown bushy walls, almost all granite but not exactly yosemite if you know what I mean. Up above treeline its all JC country with the odd zone of outrageous world class mega routes cursed by nothing except the weather.

Fortunately a lot of it is between here and Bella Coola

Unless of course Drew (and Tricouni) is holding out on us with the goods further north?