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Date |
Ascent Time |
Descent Time |
| 1st Time |
13 Aug 06 |
4:28 |
3:04 |
It's a long drive into Mt.Harrison, taking you up some fairly remote logging roads. As you drive past the Lussier
Hot Springs, the traffic starts to thin out, and once you pass Monroe Lake, you probably won't see anyone for the
rest of the trip. This picture is the first view of Mt. Harrison that you would see on the Bull River Road.
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You follow the Bull River Road to the point that it does a u-turn and heads back toward Smith Peak on the east
side of Mt. Harrison. You'll require fairly high clearance to get to this point, but if you do get here, it's a nice
camp area. It even has a fire pit. We arrived at this roadside camp spot around 1630. We set up camp, then decided
to go for an exploratory hike to check out the approach for the next morning.
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So, we went on the exploratory hike to look for the best bushwhacking path. Unfortunately, we didn't really find it.
We got through the bushwhacking and up onto the first plateau (20-30 mins). This gave us a look at the rest of
the approach. It also gave us a look at the approaching weather. We were about to get wet. We quickly turned
around and ran back to camp, but the rain had caught us. By the time we got back to camp, we were soaked.
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So, we decided to build a fire and dry off. The rain only lasted about 30 minutes, then it was clear skies again.
The fire was a nice touch. We made dinner and watched the wildlife on the slopes above us (a family of goats and
a grizzly). We could have used some good campfire stories, but Blair and I have been climbing together long
enough that I've heard all of his stories.
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The next morning was a beautiful morning. We got up at 0445, and left camp at 0605. The bushwhack was wet because
of yesterday's rain. By the time we got through the bushwhack and onto the first plateau, we were wet again.
If you look closely at the bottom of the picture just left of the creek, you can see Blair (yellow). On the
approach, we went through these trees, but on return, we went around them on the south (left).
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Just another look at the morning alpin-glow.
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There is a bit of side hill bashing, but nothing compared to the traverse around to the SW side of the mountain.
Seen here, we will head straight for the red dots, then slog our way up to the col. Stay above the creek until
the very end of the valley.
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Ahhh. the north face of Harrison with the 12-pitch route up the couloir. This had Blair licking his chops.
Personally, I don't really care which way I get to the summit, as long as I get there.
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1hr 40mins after leaving camp, we were at the col. In the background, you can see Mt. Mike. This will
prove to be a navigational landmark because you'll circle the mountain until you reach a rib that points
to Mt. Mike.
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This is looking up the NW ridge from the col. You'll want to ascend this about half way to the first
flat spot, perhaps a bit higher. You'll then start your traverse around the mountain.
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Now for the hard part. From this vantage point, you need to traverse three prominant gully systems.
These are steep scree covered slabby gullies and not the most pleasant. To make matters worse, the rain
from the night before soaked the rocks, and then froze solid overnight. Crampons were a fantastic idea
for traversing this scree.
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This is the second major gully system. I thought that this gully traverse was the crux of the climb.
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This is me completing the second gully. One more after this one.
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Getting into the third gully was a bit tricky from where we were. For return, we were much
higher, which would have been more exposed, but it involved more of a trail.
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This is after the third gully. Notice how the ridge is now aligned with Mt. Mike in the background.
That means you can head up.
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As usual, I'm trying hard to keep up with Blair. The arrows mark the gully that we ascended. Lots of verglass
in this couloir, but the crampons made short work that.
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Here we are at the top of our gully. All that remains is some ridge scrambling to reach the summit,
seen just right of Blair's elbow. Notice the two major bumps in the ridge. On the second one, we were
forced to swing out onto the north face.
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This is me, stumbling along the summit ridge.
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This is Blair stumbling toward the summit. The picture reminds me of that religious poem called "Footsteps".
Only, Blair didn't carry me.
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This is me slogging up to the summit.
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This is Blair at the summit.
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And this is me at the summit.
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After a rest at the summit, we started back. This is taking one last look at the summit.
This time, you can see our footprints.
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And now for a look down our couloir. This was an easy descent with the crampons.
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This is at the base of that couloir (a bit foreshortened). We took the crampons off briefly here, until
it was time to start those gully traverses. We put the crampons back on for that.
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