Askom Mountain, A Patagonian wind experience

March 28-29, 2015

After a week of soggy socks, wet Gore-Tex, and Vancouver skies darker than a noir film, Alex and I decided it was time for a weather upgrade. Lytton, the California of British Columbia, looked promising on the forecast, sun, dry ridges, and not a single drop of existential despair.

So, naturally, we packed our skis.

The Journey In: Sun, Suspense & Canine Flashbacks

We drove east on Saturday morning in classic west coast monsoon mode. As soon as we passed Boston Bar, the skies parted like we had just unlocked Level 2 of British Columbia. By the time we hit Lytton, it was all bluebird skies and smug grins.

We took the reaction ferry across the Fraser, which is basically a floating raft attached to a rope, and continued down North Spencer Road, an adventure all its own, given that past trips here have included being chased by feral bumper-munching Great Pyrenees. This time, we stayed inside the car, where we belonged. The dogs saw us, gave a snort, and went back to whatever wild kingdom business they had.

We turned up Della Creek FSR, which was shockingly 2WD-friendly, and managed to drive all the way up to 1270m , nearly 10km in. A rockslide stopped us, and some mountain bikers camping at the gate looked both impressed and slightly concerned to see us pull out skis. Fair.

The Ascent: Isothermal Sadness & Frozen Regrets

The road had patchy snow, so we did that awkward ski boots-on-back-boots-off-boots-on dance. Two km in, we took a spur toward the SE flank and entered the cutblock, where we were immediately, swallowed by isothermal slush of doom. We tried the forest. Great idea , if you like tight trees, frozen ground, and the sensation of slow despair.

Above 2100m, we boot-packed a steep, slide-prone face to the East ridge. Avalanche risk? Spicy. Fun? Not particularly. Views? Wind-blown. Speaking of which...

Camping on the Summit: Don’t Try This at Home

Who camps on a summit in a windstorm? We do! Because clearly, we love drama. With no good alternatives, we pitched the tent on top. It flapped like a fish on a dock and pressed into our faces all night. I didn’t sleep. Not because I wasn’t tired, but because I was busy mentally planning my obituary.

Alex may have gotten 2 minutes of rest, purely through denial.

The Descent: Full Chaos Mode

At 6am, the tent pancaked itself the moment we unzipped it. The south wind had become an airborne freight train, and I, being roughly the weight of a protein bar, was almost airborne myself.

The ridge was 10-15m wide, flanked by a sheer cliff. While Alex belly-crawled like a military exercise dropout, I invented new yoga poses just to stay low enough not to fly.

We bailed down the NE flank, abandoning any hopes of skiing the upper slope unless we wanted to get yeeted into the Fraser. Below treeline, we finally got a few half-decent turns, followed by full-on bushwhack wrestling through blowdowns back to the road.

Lytton reaction ferry that crosses the West side of Fraser River

The forest doesn't look bad

Alex fiddling with his phone. Updating his fb status.

Intlpam Peak

Where's the snow?

Wide spaced out trees at 1900m. 

The view from our ascent route. Fraser Canyon in the background

Bootpacking on isothermal snow. This is very scary for avalanche

South slope of Askom Mountain. Intlpam Peak in the view

Askom Mountain, from the East ridge

Alex bootpacking the North face of the summit ridge of Askom Mountain. Fraser Canyon in the background, it's quite a contrast. 

Alex on the East ridge of Askom Mountain

Summit shot

Our tent on the summit. This is what it looks like  at the beginning 

This is our tent looks like in the morning and me trying to keep my balance from the wind.

Melting snow is quite  challenging when is windy 

Tent roof and walls are very close to our face in the morning

Windy descent on the NE flank

Far left snow slope is our ascent route

Short turn down to the bush

Back to the road after going through mayhem of deadfalls

Sihwe Creek IR