After my infamous slide alder and devil’s club wrestling match in Deeper Creek during a 2010 solo car camping trip, Exodus Peak had been on my unfinished business list. Fast-forward to late spring and I get an email from Paul about skiing Abandoned/Deserted Peak (what are these names? A cry for help?) with Exodus as a backup. Naturally, I was intrigued, though already booked on a Mamquam trip with Craig.
Now, for context: Paul has a reputation for bush skiing, a discipline that combines route-finding, alder-wrestling, and low-snow survival. In every email thread, the first question is always, "How bad is the bush?" It's basically a meme at this point. So when I realized I could return early and still join Paul and Max for Exodus on Sunday, I jumped at the chance. After all, what’s spring without a few fresh alder lashes to the face?
We left Vancouver at 6:30 a.m. and drove the Squamish FSR to the Elaho Main, reaching a plowed pullout at 49 km (near the E800 junction). From there, it was go time:
-
3.5 km hike along Elaho Main
-
Another 5 km up E600 to the road’s end (~750 m gain)
-
Trees? Spaced, beautiful, surprisingly civilized
-
Bush? Disappointingly minimal
-
Paul’s reputation? Shaken but not broken
At 1300 m we hit some steep skinning, which levelled out at 1700 m. Around 2100 m, we stepped onto the wide glacier plateau west of Exodus, 2 km of flat glacier travel, then 1 km of mellow slope to the summit.
Six hours after leaving the car, we were standing on top of Exodus Peak, soaking in panoramic views that stretched south to Princess Louisa Inlet and north into an unending sea of snowy giants. We didn’t linger long, wind and summit hunger are a tough combo, so we dropped in for the long ski back.
No comments:
Post a Comment