Type: Trad, Mixed, Alpine, 1200 ft (364 m), 5 pitches, Grade IV
GPS: 52.18739, -117.07858
FA: Jeff Lowe, 1980
Page Views: 1,095 total · 19/month
Shared By: Greg Barrett on May 23, 2021
Admins: Dave Rone, Tom Jones, Richard Rose, Rhys Beaudry

You & This Route


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Description Suggest change

Ascend the path of least resistance up the snow gulley. The gulley starts to trend right at the top, and you'll find a fixed pin anchor on the right side. Belay off of this. 

P1 M4, 60m: Fairy easy but insecure mixed ground. Belay at a fixed pin anchor below the start of an ice chimney.

P2 M6, 62m: Follow the chimney. Take advantage of ice in the back, and rock on your sides, to ascend an extremely fun chimney. Pass beneath one large chockstone to find a fixed anchor at the 60m mark. You will see a second massive chockstone above you. I would suggest continuing a couple meters above the fixed anchor, staying well below the second chockstone, and building a belay on a ledge slightly higher and left. This will protect your belayer much better for leading P3.

P3 M4, 20m From this belay, climb beneath the chockstone. We stopped at the end of this pitch, but I believe this is where you have the choice between going left on possibly iced up slab, or right up 2 steeper cracks. We continued up lose ground to the right, toward the cracks, to our high point at a fixed pin and nut belay.

P4 <60m?, M4/6?: Ascend either the slab to the left, or steep cracks to the right which rejoin above.

P5 <60m?, M5?: Climb past a final bulge to the ridge.

There are multiple descent options, but I believe parties typically rappel the route at this point from fixed gear.

Location Suggest change

Drive to the Columbia Icefield Discovery Centre, and park at the higher parking lot on the Mount Andromeda side of the road. This lot is at the start of the road used by the tours driving onto the glacier. Proceed up this road on foot until you reach the point where it drops off down to the glacier. Trend generally upward on an occasionally cairned trail, more or less directly toward the gulley. If you stay low enough, you can avoid being on actual glacier, but stay high enough that you are not gaining and losing elevation. The route starts in the very prominent gulley that is visible from the parking, shortly below the icefall. 1.5-2 hour approach

Protection Suggest change

'Standard Mixed Rack'. In the condition we found the route in, 8-12 screws, predominantly 13cm with a few stubbies. Pins from KB through angle #2, as many as 10. A single rack BD .2-2, and a set of nuts. Some tat to replacing anything aging on the rap anchors. We stopped after P3, so I'm not sure if more rock/larger gear would help higher. 70m half ropes are advisable to keep options open while climbing, but the rappels work with 60s.

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