Christine and I bagged Hollyburn and Strachan yesterday. We parked at the downhill area, took the BP south to where it meets the cross country track, climbed Hollyburn from the south, then over the top and down the north side to the downhill run, and up the south side of Strachan. Returned by dropping down a pleasant snow gully on the north side of Strachan and the HSCT. First trip this year with hiking boots amd crampons (as well as ice axe) and definitely made a big difference. No slips and an ability to move much quicker on the slick snow covered terrain. We put the crampons on at the south side of Hollyburn and kept them on all the way to the HSCT. Were met at the top of Strachan by a big (20+) group of (gay) hikers that called themselves Out 'n About. Pride week has reached the back country. Some had made it to the top with just running shoes but its a tough and slippery slog.
Submitted by David Crerar on 30 July, 2011 - 15:07.
Some beautiful scenery and sunny skies but still too much snow to enjoy these otherwise benign peaks with children this year. It made Touching the Void seem like Breakfast at Tiffany's.
That being said, some potentially fine garbage-bag bum slides down DAM and LIL.
And don't even think of doing GOA(t) unless you are an experienced, cramponned alpinist: based on the view from LIL, it is obvious that the route up GOA is still a slick, snowy, potential deathdrop into Kennedy Lake below.
Vancouverites like to brag about how it's possible for those of us who live here to play in the snow in the morning then bake in the sun in the afternoon. It's the last weekend in July and this will be my first chance this summer to do so - of course finding the snow hasn't been the problem, it's been finding the sun! Bagged Grouse and Dam this morning. Went up the already-getting-crowded Grind starting at 7:30am, then went up and down the peak of Grouse, then headed to Dam. Plenty of snow starting a couple of hundred metres before the large trail mapboard, then steady snow but easily doable the rest of the way to the peak of Dam. As a Bagger Challenge version of a 4th line grinder I'll let the Crosbys and Sedins of the Bagger Challenge do the trickier peaks beyond that, at least for now.
Then back down to the Chalet and after seeing a lineup for the skyride down decided to descend by the BCMC instead. Around 3 1/2 hours all told, including a quick splash with the grizzly (i.e, he splashed in his pool, from the other side of the fence I splashed some water from my water bottle onto my face) and a slice of carrot cake at the Chalet. So put me down for GRO and DAM please.
Now to sand-bag after a quick lunch ... Kits, Spanish Banks W. or more likely 3rd Beach.
Bagged Black in the predawn of Sunday morning. If you ever want to see a great sunrise, it's hard to beat the first rays peaking over and around Cathedral, Grouse, et al.
Apologies for the sandbag, but I'm no threat for the quatch anyways.
Not sure why I didn't use my real name (Matt Kowalewski) when I signed up. I suppose I was feeling whimsical. Any admin know if it's possible to change that?
Submitted by David Crerar on 25 July, 2011 - 19:54.
Ken Legg, former Bagger Champion, and generally wise person on all matters alpine, points out that anyone who completed the Kneeknacker wound up at the water at Deep Cove, and thus all Kneeknacker Black Mtn bags are water bags, on the basis that the trip to sea level can occur at the beginning or the end of the trip.
So you all have Ken to thank for your new special little stars.
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 24 July, 2011 - 19:32.
It was all sunshine, singing birdies and warm weather on Sunday 24 July: a perfect day for Bill's Great Peak Ascent.
If you've never done Bill's run, it starts at the LSCR gazebo, follows the Baden Powell Trail to the St. George's Bench then makes it's way to the top of Grouse Mountain then back to the gazebo. En route to Bill's Great Peak, Bill and I opted to go for a small detour and bag big, bad Fromme Mountain.
There were no other takers when Bill and I left the main group of runners at the top of Per Gynt trail. We scrambled up the side of the stone quarry and quickly found the nice trail leading to the peak. About 1/2 way up, we ran into snow, but it really didn't cause us grief. An older Kiwi fellow insisted on beating us to the very top, but we all had a good laugh and took some bagger shots on the snowy summit before the flies got to us.
Bagger's Bonus: Bill bagged a black box!
Not realizing that our adventure was going to involve geocaching, I forgot to bring an prize for the next person. But we didn't take a prize, either. Kind of surprising to note that the last person to have found this particular cache was over a year ago! (Note to geocachers: some brand new action figures, a MEC thermometer, a brand new 2010 agenda book from some local insurance companyand other awesome prizes in this cache!)
Before we set off on Bill's Great Peak Descent, we soaked in a magnificent view of snow-capped peaks all around us. I was particularly interested in Goat, Little Goat, Dam and points beyond after reading the other Bill's account of his bagger's bounty the day before. Ice axe? Nope. Crampons. Nope. Extra cell phone batteries? Nope again.
There are several marked routes down Fromme. I think I have been on them all. My recollection was that none were as nice as the route we'd just taken up, but one in particular dropped down at the last corner of Mountain Highway before the last push to Bill's Great Peak, so since this was the shortest, it's the one we wanted. Our Kiwi pal insisted we had to go back down the trail we came up a little ways, so off we went with him.
Things don't look quite the same in the snow. However, after a short bushwhack down a gully, we came to a frozen lake. No worries, I'd been there. This was the middle trail... and sure enough, we saw red paint on trees and orange flashing on the far side of the lake. Oh well, not the trail I wanted, but a marked trail, so Bill and I headed steeply downhill.
This was the first time I had been bagging with Bill. He didn't whine when we started to crawl through scrubby pine trees, over rotten blowdown and down steep gullies. We were on the trail. It was obvious because of the markers an occasional piece of old orange tape. But we were not on a trail that had been used in at least 20 years, if ever there was a trail!
Things went downhill (ha, ha) from there, as soon, there we no trail markers of any kind. "Tape!" said Bill. False alarm: our second birthday balloon sighting of the day. After wading through waist high blueberry bushes on a very steep cliffy bit, we came to a big field of prickle bushes framed on both sides by cliffs. "Dho", I thought, my bagger gloves were in the bottom of my pack. After what seemed like an eternity, we came to the road where we compared war wounds... but just for a moment, because the black flies started to swarm us.
The switchback I was looking to drop down onto was about 250m down the way.
By now it was quite hot. The hike to Bill's Great Peak on the road is not that exciting on the best of days, so we picked our ways up the ski slope, stopping occasionally to pick up a piece of discarded treasure. Can't recall what Bill found, but I found what I think is a key to a safe deposit box. Details to follow.
We passed a black bear grazing on what could have been a fellow runner, but it turns this was not the case.
There were mobs of tourists milling around the windmill, but we made a beeline for the peak, as it was almost noon and we were feeling like a cool one. I briefly considered Dam and the Goats, but opted for a leisurely chairlift ride down from the peak with Bill. It was very romantic and highly recommended. We did run down the Grind and the Skyline Trail, stopping briefly to pay our respects to the pilot of the plane that hit the mountain, and made it to the Mosquito Creek pub just in time to score a humungous three-egg omelet and a couple of pints.
FRO and GRO for Bill Dagg and Action Jackson, please.
Devious, underhanded but brilliant! Another tactic straight from Jackson's bag of tricks. Turning a fatass running event into a double bag. Face it, you're just going to have to call in sick to get on the leader board.
Bill and Christine bagged Dam, Little Goat, Goat, and Grouse Peak today. Lots of snow. Used runner, gators, micro spikes, and ice axes. Starting to consider using hiking boots and crampons for the more remote peaks. The micro spikes don't grip well on hard snow.
Submitted by neil ambrose on 23 July, 2011 - 19:10.
Neil, Dave, Liza and Carolyn bagged 3 peaks today.
South Lynn, Lynn and South Needle. Nice day but a bit wet and slippery under foot. Neil shared some of his favourite words with us today...funny how that accent gets stronger! ;-)
Submitted by adventuremike on 19 July, 2011 - 19:43.
I rode my road bike to the Marina (near the Marina Grill) and put my feet in the 'ocean' then road up to the 6km mark on the LSCR road (~1hr total).
Hike up Hydraulic creek to junction (~1:08) and then blew past true 'Lynn Peak' and ended up doing the South Lynn Peak (did that one a few weeks ago) on the way back I saw the markers for true Lynn Peak.
Headed back to the junction (out and back about 1:30) and then did the South Needle (appox 30min) back to junction elapsed time appox 3:30? Didn't have enough time to do the Middle and North needle had to hustle home. About 1 hour climbing back down the steep trail to the LSCR road. Stopped a few times to drink from the refreshing Hydraulic creek - yumm!
Total time on trail: 4:30 +
riding time 1 + 30min
= 6hrs total.
So mark me down for a Lynn Peak 'water bag' and South Needle if you please!
Just noted that the chiefs didn't make the cut! Haha! That will learn me! We also made a go at getting part way up the lions the other day but the snow line was about ten feet lower than the first ridge. Man, I suck at this game! I only have 2! Can I have Ama's points since I carried her?
Submitted by Eric Rannaud on 18 July, 2011 - 20:30.
I don't know about getting her points, but I suggest be introduced "baby bag" points.
3. if still a tie, the bagger with the most baby bags will win;
4. if still a tie, the bagger with the most unique bags (i.e. peaks that no one else visited) will win;
BABYBAGGING: An ascent up a single peak carrying a baby the whole time. One baby bag point for each peak bagged. A baby is defined as any live human being, after birth. NB: fresh babies are generally lighter than more aged babies, a.k.a. children/teens/adults. But any live human being carried for the whole climb qualifies as a baby for the purpose of babybagging.
Now I can't wait for Jackson to try and "find" a baby to carry up Cathedral in order to stay ahead of Tundra the Ultra Dogin the rankings, comes October.
Submitted by David Crerar on 18 July, 2011 - 20:21.
but it would open a whole can o'worms, as to the east there are a bevy of additional peaks (Jukes, Lomond, etc.). So Capilano is the northern peak in the Challenge. Happy baby bagging.
Yes, we're all back. The Wardas contingent (Mike and Raj) came for half a day and bagged DePenncier Bluffs and Runner Pk. The Maurer contingent (Bill, Andrew, Annie, and Tyler) swept for 13 hours and bagged DePenncier Bluffs, 1st pump, 2nd pump, Runner, Elsay, Rector, Curate, Vicar, and Seymour.
After some blood letting in the initial hours of the trip, the crew powered on to victory. Conditions were extreme and plenty of caution was required. The weather gods spat on us intermittently throughout the day but kept the clouds and fog at bay.
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 15 July, 2011 - 18:26.
I'm keen to do a bit of janitorial work! I guess sweeping up the Needles is out of the question, eh?
The problem with getting out past Runner Peak is that you want to just go a bit farther and bag Elsay... then, oh what the hey, Curate, Bishop, Deacon and Presbiter are just a bit farther. Next thing you know, you're doing veggie rappels down to to the lakes and scrambling up Dickens. From Dickens, only one more little push to the infamous Brokeback Peak... and we all know you don't want to spend the night there... especially with your bagging buddies. However, the plunge down to the Wigwam Inn has been lost to the sands of time and the encroaching jungle, so the only way back to a nice warm shower and a comfy bed is to run 10 hours back along the same trail. That's a big day, even in epic weather.
Methinks there is snow along them ridges, too.
If the game plan is to do dePencer, Seymour, Runner and back we're talking no more than 4 hours. I can go for that. You planning to being snowshoes or yak trax? I guess it goes without saying an ice axe is mandatory?
I'd definitely see the turnaround for this trip being Vicar Peak. The approach for Bishop and beyond is best done from the Seymour Mainline east road and Vicar Lakes trail like you did it.
Here's the approximate route map:
What's your address? 7:00 is a good meeting time.
I'd estimate 8 hours from the Seymour parking lot.
Don't tell your spouses to call NSR until the morning after. I don't want to be involved in unnecessary rescue callouts. It endangers the lives of rescuers and indicates a serious lack of perparedness. I was on Cathedral a few year's back and we were running late when my partner informed me that his wife would be calling NSR if we didn't return by midnight. "Holy crap I said, you're supposed to be prepared when you come out here". We got back just in time to avoid public humiliation. :-)
Prepared means having a headlight with spare batteries, a warm layer, and a shell. I will have a mapping GPS (my cellphone) which will have the planned route (shown above) loaded on it and which will show our current location plus spare batteries for it. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to keep moving after dark if we run late and that we shouldn't be able to get a call out if we do run into difficulties. The weather forecast predicts no precipitation for both Sunday and Monday.
For this trip I would recommend runners, kahtoola micro spikes, gators, and quick dry socks for footwear as well as an ice axe.
Having said all that, pack light so that we can move fast. Fastpacking is the natural blending of trail running with mountaineering.
Submitted by adventuremike on 16 July, 2011 - 14:25.
We can do De Pencier first then Seymour (for those of you who need it) then Runner, Elsay and THEN i suggest we look at the time. Jackson may have learned a thing or two! Way to go Jackson!
my address is 855 Heritage blvd. If one of you wouldn't mind driving i can leave my van parked and someone can park behind me. We are the townhouse at the end of the cul-de-sac.
i have micro spikes and will have an ice axe etc. My cel is 778-239-3242 if you can't make it please text me.
Howdy neighbour. I live at the top of Riverside. See you at 7:00. I'll have 2 additional passengers with me too, Andrew and Tyler so it looks like we'll be 5. We can figure out rides at your place. I drive a Yaris.
Submitted by Ean Jackson on 15 July, 2011 - 23:25.
re: alternative route.
I've done this 2X in beautiful weather, and it's no piece of cake. 8 hours out and back to Vicar is optimistic... especially if there is a lot of snow up there (and I think there is.)
Under advisance of Jackson and against my better judgement (how many epic trips could be so prefixed?) I am letting myself be drawn in to this vortex of bagging.
So please put me down for Black Mountain (during the KK). I also jogged up Lynn (south plus real peaks) a couple of times in the previous few weeks in an ineffective last minute attempt to beat myself into some kind of KK shape, but maybe they are past their best-by dates for claiming. No worries, Lynn is my bread and butter run and I'll be there many more times this summer.
I work part time from home on the north shore so if anyone wants mid-week company on a bag or two I'm usually keen to go with fairly short notice. No epics though; I'm a fair weather, low risk kind of guy.
Comments
Hollyburn sweep
Christine and I bagged Hollyburn and Strachan yesterday. We parked at the downhill area, took the BP south to where it meets the cross country track, climbed Hollyburn from the south, then over the top and down the north side to the downhill run, and up the south side of Strachan. Returned by dropping down a pleasant snow gully on the north side of Strachan and the HSCT. First trip this year with hiking boots amd crampons (as well as ice axe) and definitely made a big difference. No slips and an ability to move much quicker on the slick snow covered terrain. We put the crampons on at the south side of Hollyburn and kept them on all the way to the HSCT. Were met at the top of Strachan by a big (20+) group of (gay) hikers that called themselves Out 'n About. Pride week has reached the back country. Some had made it to the top with just running shoes but its a tough and slippery slog.
Dam harrowing hike to Little Goat
That being said, some potentially fine garbage-bag bum slides down DAM and LIL.
And don't even think of doing GOA(t) unless you are an experienced, cramponned alpinist: based on the view from LIL, it is obvious that the route up GOA is still a slick, snowy, potential deathdrop into Kennedy Lake below.
Love the photo!
Love the photo!
She's a keeper
.
Snow Then Beach
Vancouverites like to brag about how it's possible for those of us who live here to play in the snow in the morning then bake in the sun in the afternoon. It's the last weekend in July and this will be my first chance this summer to do so - of course finding the snow hasn't been the problem, it's been finding the sun! Bagged Grouse and Dam this morning. Went up the already-getting-crowded Grind starting at 7:30am, then went up and down the peak of Grouse, then headed to Dam. Plenty of snow starting a couple of hundred metres before the large trail mapboard, then steady snow but easily doable the rest of the way to the peak of Dam. As a Bagger Challenge version of a 4th line grinder I'll let the Crosbys and Sedins of the Bagger Challenge do the trickier peaks beyond that, at least for now.
Then back down to the Chalet and after seeing a lineup for the skyride down decided to descend by the BCMC instead. Around 3 1/2 hours all told, including a quick splash with the grizzly (i.e, he splashed in his pool, from the other side of the fence I splashed some water from my water bottle onto my face) and a slice of carrot cake at the Chalet. So put me down for GRO and DAM please.
Now to sand-bag after a quick lunch ... Kits, Spanish Banks W. or more likely 3rd Beach.
double point
Baggermeister: You've got me down for GRO twice. I wouldn't want people to think I'm cheating ... even though I have done it 3 times.
Cheating?
Nobody said that. But I think I have heard rumors to the effect that you might have been going in circles...
Nice post-work double bag
Claiming Lynn Peak and South Lynn Peak, bagged yesterday. Considered pushing to South Needle but was running out of daylight. Needles for another day!
Paint it Black
Bagged Black in the predawn of Sunday morning. If you ever want to see a great sunrise, it's hard to beat the first rays peaking over and around Cathedral, Grouse, et al.
Apologies for the sandbag, but I'm no threat for the quatch anyways.
Not sure why I didn't use my real name (Matt Kowalewski) when I signed up. I suppose I was feeling whimsical. Any admin know if it's possible to change that?
I can change your username
Hi Matt,
Yes, I can help you with your username. Just let me know what you pick as UN and I implement.
My name is fine. Matt K.
My name is fine. Matt K. Thanks.
Done. UN is now Matt K -
Done. UN is now Matt K - everything else is unchanged.
Little Black Bags
Ken Legg, former Bagger Champion, and generally wise person on all matters alpine, points out that anyone who completed the Kneeknacker wound up at the water at Deep Cove, and thus all Kneeknacker Black Mtn bags are water bags, on the basis that the trip to sea level can occur at the beginning or the end of the trip.
So you all have Ken to thank for your new special little stars.
Grouse near sweep
Claiming FRO, DAM, LIL and GRO today.
The snow conditions are easy until Goat. I couldn't handle the very hard snow on the steep trail up Goat without equipment. An ice axe is a minimum.
See http://www.clubfatass.com/blog/eric-rannaud/grouse-near-sweep for details.
Sandbager
!
A happy bagger weekend
By Baggers making the best of the Vancouver bummer summer 2011.
Still lots of snow out there: be very careful.
And what is this Maurer guy eating for breakfast? Is this guy stoppable? Or passable?
Not sure what he had for breakfast...
but this is what he had for lunch!
In the words of that famous Greek scholar, "It ain't over 'till it is." This is what the competition was eating:
and the vegetarian platter:
Baggers Double / Bill's Great Peak Descent
It was all sunshine, singing birdies and warm weather on Sunday 24 July: a perfect day for Bill's Great Peak Ascent.
If you've never done Bill's run, it starts at the LSCR gazebo, follows the Baden Powell Trail to the St. George's Bench then makes it's way to the top of Grouse Mountain then back to the gazebo. En route to Bill's Great Peak, Bill and I opted to go for a small detour and bag big, bad Fromme Mountain.
There were no other takers when Bill and I left the main group of runners at the top of Per Gynt trail. We scrambled up the side of the stone quarry and quickly found the nice trail leading to the peak. About 1/2 way up, we ran into snow, but it really didn't cause us grief. An older Kiwi fellow insisted on beating us to the very top, but we all had a good laugh and took some bagger shots on the snowy summit before the flies got to us.
Bagger's Bonus: Bill bagged a black box!
Not realizing that our adventure was going to involve geocaching, I forgot to bring an prize for the next person. But we didn't take a prize, either. Kind of surprising to note that the last person to have found this particular cache was over a year ago! (Note to geocachers: some brand new action figures, a MEC thermometer, a brand new 2010 agenda book from some local insurance companyand other awesome prizes in this cache!)
Before we set off on Bill's Great Peak Descent, we soaked in a magnificent view of snow-capped peaks all around us. I was particularly interested in Goat, Little Goat, Dam and points beyond after reading the other Bill's account of his bagger's bounty the day before. Ice axe? Nope. Crampons. Nope. Extra cell phone batteries? Nope again.
There are several marked routes down Fromme. I think I have been on them all. My recollection was that none were as nice as the route we'd just taken up, but one in particular dropped down at the last corner of Mountain Highway before the last push to Bill's Great Peak, so since this was the shortest, it's the one we wanted. Our Kiwi pal insisted we had to go back down the trail we came up a little ways, so off we went with him.
Things don't look quite the same in the snow. However, after a short bushwhack down a gully, we came to a frozen lake. No worries, I'd been there. This was the middle trail... and sure enough, we saw red paint on trees and orange flashing on the far side of the lake. Oh well, not the trail I wanted, but a marked trail, so Bill and I headed steeply downhill.
This was the first time I had been bagging with Bill. He didn't whine when we started to crawl through scrubby pine trees, over rotten blowdown and down steep gullies. We were on the trail. It was obvious because of the markers an occasional piece of old orange tape. But we were not on a trail that had been used in at least 20 years, if ever there was a trail!
Things went downhill (ha, ha) from there, as soon, there we no trail markers of any kind. "Tape!" said Bill. False alarm: our second birthday balloon sighting of the day. After wading through waist high blueberry bushes on a very steep cliffy bit, we came to a big field of prickle bushes framed on both sides by cliffs. "Dho", I thought, my bagger gloves were in the bottom of my pack. After what seemed like an eternity, we came to the road where we compared war wounds... but just for a moment, because the black flies started to swarm us.
By now it was quite hot. The hike to Bill's Great Peak on the road is not that exciting on the best of days, so we picked our ways up the ski slope, stopping occasionally to pick up a piece of discarded treasure. Can't recall what Bill found, but I found what I think is a key to a safe deposit box. Details to follow.
We passed a black bear grazing on what could have been a fellow runner, but it turns this was not the case.
There were mobs of tourists milling around the windmill, but we made a beeline for the peak, as it was almost noon and we were feeling like a cool one. I briefly considered Dam and the Goats, but opted for a leisurely chairlift ride down from the peak with Bill. It was very romantic and highly recommended. We did run down the Grind and the Skyline Trail, stopping briefly to pay our respects to the pilot of the plane that hit the mountain, and made it to the Mosquito Cree
k pub just in time to score a humungous three-egg omelet and a couple of pints.
FRO and GRO for Bill Dagg and Action Jackson, please.
That would be "The Cut"
Nice write-up Jackson. One minor correction ... we went down "The Cut" and Skyline; not "The Grind" and Skyline.
Also, why would I whine. I was having a grand 'ol time. :-)
That would be "The Cut"
Nice write-up Jackson. One minor correction ... we went down "The Cut" and Skyline; not "The Grind" and Skyline.
Also, why would I whine. I was having a grand 'ol time. :-)
trickery
Devious, underhanded but brilliant! Another tactic straight from Jackson's bag of tricks. Turning a fatass running event into a double bag. Face it, you're just going to have to call in sick to get on the leader board.
Your nutrition secret is out of the bag
Photographic evidence that you are not powered by gels.
Speaking of photographic evidence, I'm curious about Christine's bagger's bum...
how saucy...
and cheeky of you. But... no way, Jackson. Physical evidence is quickly fading and can only be corroborated by my scrupulous climbing partner.
Next time, I intend to slide down the mountain the 'right' way...and employ the ice axe according to its functional specifications :)
Grouse mini-sweep
Bill and Christine bagged Dam, Little Goat, Goat, and Grouse Peak today. Lots of snow. Used runner, gators, micro spikes, and ice axes. Starting to consider using hiking boots and crampons for the more remote peaks. The micro spikes don't grip well on hard snow.
Nice Day for Bagging!
Neil, Dave, Liza and Carolyn bagged 3 peaks today.
South Lynn, Lynn and South Needle. Nice day but a bit wet and slippery under foot. Neil shared some of his favourite words with us today...funny how that accent gets stronger! ;-)
Cheers,
Carolyn
sharing
Neil was very generous with his swearing - less so with his chocolate chip cookies, even though he had four of them!
please update my standings as well, Mr. Bagmeister :).
Black and strachan bagged
You're climbing up the rankings
as fast as you are climbing up mountains! You will raise an adventurous child!
Lynn Peak 'water bag' & South Needle (+ repeat of South Lynn!)
I rode my road bike to the Marina (near the Marina Grill) and put my feet in the 'ocean' then road up to the 6km mark on the LSCR road (~1hr total).
Headed back to the junction (out and back about 1:30) and then did the South Needle (appox 30min) back to junction elapsed time appox 3:30? Didn't have enough time to do the Middle and North needle had to hustle home. About 1 hour climbing back down the steep trail to the LSCR road. Stopped a few times to drink from the refreshing Hydraulic creek - yumm!
Middle and North Needle
So many peaks, so little time!
The Middle and North Needles are top of my personal ToDo list for the next nice day. Keep me posted. Sunday?
the photos are encouraging
how did the snow look on Middle & North Needles?
Note to self: checking bagging list before climbing mountain
Babybag
I don't know about getting her points, but I suggest be introduced "baby bag" points.
3. if still a tie, the bagger with the most baby bags will win;
4. if still a tie, the bagger with the most unique bags (i.e. peaks that no one else visited) will win;
BABYBAGGING: An ascent up a single peak carrying a baby the whole time. One baby bag point for each peak bagged. A baby is defined as any live human being, after birth. NB: fresh babies are generally lighter than more aged babies, a.k.a. children/teens/adults. But any live human being carried for the whole climb qualifies as a baby for the purpose of babybagging.
Now I can't wait for Jackson to try and "find" a baby to carry up Cathedral in order to stay ahead of Tundra the Ultra Dog in the rankings, comes October.
Excellent idea. Eric!
Now give us your address: we're going to call the Ministry of Children.....
Just got off the line...
with the Ministry of Children. They were not overly receptive to my offer to rent a few small kids for the weekend
Double baby bag...
...bonus points! More points for especially heavy infants.
We considered having the Chief as BC peaks
but it would open a whole can o'worms, as to the east there are a bevy of additional peaks (Jukes, Lomond, etc.). So Capilano is the northern peak in the Challenge. Happy baby bagging.
How'd the Seymour (partial) Sweep go?
You dudes make it back to your cozy beds before nightfall? How many?
cleaning
Yes, we're all back. The Wardas contingent (Mike and Raj) came for half a day and bagged DePenncier Bluffs and Runner Pk. The Maurer contingent (Bill, Andrew, Annie, and Tyler) swept for 13 hours and bagged DePenncier Bluffs, 1st pump, 2nd pump, Runner, Elsay, Rector, Curate, Vicar, and Seymour.
After some blood letting in the initial hours of the trip, the crew powered on to victory. Conditions were extreme and plenty of caution was required. The weather gods spat on us intermittently throughout the day but kept the clouds and fog at bay.
More to follow...
Glad you guys had success
Glad you guys had success and are off the mountains!
Looking for some action on Sunday!
Well the weather should improve a bit.
If anyone is looking to do some bagging let me know.
Routes that I have in mind are:
Tour de Grouse or
Runner and Elsay (I've done Seymour)
Cheers,
Mike
Fair weather bagging?
I'm keen to do a bit of janitorial work! I guess sweeping up the Needles is out of the question, eh?
The problem with getting out past Runner Peak is that you want to just go a bit farther and bag Elsay... then, oh what the hey, Curate, Bishop, Deacon and Presbiter are just a bit farther. Next thing you know, you're doing veggie rappels down to to the lakes and scrambling up Dickens. From Dickens, only one more little push to the infamous Brokeback Peak... and we all know you don't want to spend the night there... especially with your bagging buddies. However, the plunge down to the Wigwam Inn has been lost to the sands of time and the encroaching jungle, so the only way back to a nice warm shower and a comfy bed is to run 10 hours back along the same trail. That's a big day, even in epic weather.
Methinks there is snow along them ridges, too.
If the game plan is to do dePencer, Seymour, Runner and back we're talking no more than 4 hours. I can go for that. You planning to being snowshoes or yak trax? I guess it goes without saying an ice axe is mandatory?
Janitorial work on Seymour
Hi Mike,
I can probably be enticed to do some sweeping on Seymour or Grouse on Sunday.
Prefer as early a start as possible in order to do a thorough job of cleaning the place!
You missed mentioning 4 other peaks in the immediate Seymour/Elsay area: DePencier Bluff, Curate, Rector, Vicar
Cheers,
Bill
OK let's do Runner, Elsay and whatever else we can do...
I've done Bishop so that will be my turnaround.
let's get this nailed down.
Meet at my place at 7am and go from there?
what kind of gear do we need?
I'm not familiar with the route beyond Seymour mtn. so I'm hoping Bill can lead us?
what's the estimated time we need so I don't get in trouble!
Cheers,
M
Seymour Sweep
I'd definitely see the turnaround for this trip being Vicar Peak. The approach for Bishop and beyond is best done from the Seymour Mainline east road and Vicar Lakes trail like you did it.
Here's the approximate route map:
What's your address? 7:00 is a good meeting time.
I'd estimate 8 hours from the Seymour parking lot.
Don't tell your spouses to call NSR until the morning after. I don't want to be involved in unnecessary rescue callouts. It endangers the lives of rescuers and indicates a serious lack of perparedness. I was on Cathedral a few year's back and we were running late when my partner informed me that his wife would be calling NSR if we didn't return by midnight. "Holy crap I said, you're supposed to be prepared when you come out here". We got back just in time to avoid public humiliation. :-)
Prepared means having a headlight with spare batteries, a warm layer, and a shell. I will have a mapping GPS (my cellphone) which will have the planned route (shown above) loaded on it and which will show our current location plus spare batteries for it. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to keep moving after dark if we run late and that we shouldn't be able to get a call out if we do run into difficulties. The weather forecast predicts no precipitation for both Sunday and Monday.
For this trip I would recommend runners, kahtoola micro spikes, gators, and quick dry socks for footwear as well as an ice axe.
Having said all that, pack light so that we can move fast. Fastpacking is the natural blending of trail running with mountaineering.
Cheers, Bill
OK see you tomorrow!
We can do De Pencier first then Seymour (for those of you who need it) then Runner, Elsay and THEN i suggest we look at the time. Jackson may have learned a thing or two! Way to go Jackson!
my address is 855 Heritage blvd. If one of you wouldn't mind driving i can leave my van parked and someone can park behind me. We are the townhouse at the end of the cul-de-sac.
i have micro spikes and will have an ice axe etc. My cel is 778-239-3242 if you can't make it please text me.
Cheers. M
meetup
Howdy neighbour. I live at the top of Riverside. See you at 7:00. I'll have 2 additional passengers with me too, Andrew and Tyler so it looks like we'll be 5. We can figure out rides at your place. I drive a Yaris.
See you then!
I may not be able to get an ice axe - do you have an extra one (lost mine) otherwise i can use poles.
M
See my notes on your blog
re: alternative route.
I've done this 2X in beautiful weather, and it's no piece of cake. 8 hours out and back to Vicar is optimistic... especially if there is a lot of snow up there (and I think there is.)
Jackson
Black too!
Under advisance of Jackson and against my better judgement (how many epic trips could be so prefixed?) I am letting myself be drawn in to this vortex of bagging.
So please put me down for Black Mountain (during the KK). I also jogged up Lynn (south plus real peaks) a couple of times in the previous few weeks in an ineffective last minute attempt to beat myself into some kind of KK shape, but maybe they are past their best-by dates for claiming. No worries, Lynn is my bread and butter run and I'll be there many more times this summer.
I work part time from home on the north shore so if anyone wants mid-week company on a bag or two I'm usually keen to go with fairly short notice. No epics though; I'm a fair weather, low risk kind of guy.
jim swadling