Mount Harrison

Mount Harrison – July 19, 2005

Mountain height:       3,359 m (11,018 ft)
Elevation gain:           1,341 m
Ascent time:              approx. 8:00
Descent time:            approx. 6:00

Mountaineering with Kevin Barton.

When Kevin suggested a five-day trip to attempt two of the most southerly 11,000er’s of the Canadian Rockies, “no thanks” was simply not an option. Not only is Kevin a terrific climber, with extensive knowledge and experience in all aspects of mountaineering, but he is a great guy and easy to get along with. We arrived at the remote roadside camp to a cloudy, but enticing view of the very unique looking mountain and set up camp for the night.

Although had we planned on attempting the north coulior, the route looked to be too icy at the bottom and not snowy enough in the middle, not too mention downright steep. We therefore opted for the easier and apparently shorter southwest route. As expected the route started with some nasty B.C. bushwhacking (B.C. bush really is far worse than that in Alberta !). A pleasant hike alongside a creek and then a scree slog up a very foreshortened slope, brought us to the col between Harrison and Mount Folk . The view towards Mount Mike (3,300 m) was particularly stunning.

Traversing the three large scree basins, comprising the west slopes, was quite tedious and time-consuming. At times the terrain looked to be frightfully steep, however, the perception was thankfully false, and the incline was manageable. From the southwest slopes, the remainder of the accent looked to be nothing more than a scree slog, followed by some moderate/difficult scrambling. At first it was, however, the route was far longer than it looked and higher up we encountered steep and snow-covered terrain. We roped up here, took out ice axes and crampons, and Kevin led the remainder of the ascent with a running belay. A large cornice at the summit ridge provided the crux of the trip (other than the awful bushwhacking!), but Kevin skillfully negotiated his way up and around it at its weakest point. From there, a short walk across the snowy west ridge and we were on the summit.

Though clouds had now formed all around, the summit view was, nevertheless, fantastic, with a sea of shapely peaks in every direction - it was quite an odd feeling not to be able to name any of those peaks. We dared not explore too much of the summit, as a large cornice persisted over the south face and after a handshake and 10 minutes, reveling in the views, we returned the same way.

Quite surprised that the ascent had taken a full 8 hours, we were a little dismayed to find the descent equally lengthy. The west face scree traverse and the evil bushwhacking were thoroughly unenjoyable on return. Given more time and energy, running up a scree slope to the summit of adjoining Mount Folk would have been a great idea, however, we lacked both (especially energy!) and chose to forgo that option. We were also too tired to drive to the start of the approach of our next objective, Mount King George, and settled for another night at the Mount Harrison roadside camp. As usual, I learned a terrific amount from watching Kevin setting up protection and ascending tricky terrain. A terrific day of mountaineering, on a beautiful mountain, with a great mountaineering partner.