Summer 2007 - The Alpine Club of Canada

Glaciers, girls and granite:
A three-week long self-propelled kayaking, mountaineering and cycling adventure
BY KRYSTIL KOETHLER
Time and again the debate
regarding what ‘truly’ qualifi es
as a self-propelled wilderness
adventure will pop up. For our team, it
meant going on a trip where we used
our own power to go door-to-door. No
motorized vehicles were used to gain any
distance, and we traveled from Vancouver
to the northwest region of BC’s Tantalus
Range (near Squamish), and back to
Vancouver. Along the way we gained
the summits of Mount Jimmy Jimmy
and Mount Ossa. We traveled with sea
kayaks, our feet, sometimes our hands and
feet, and bikes.
How do these things start is a
question that often comes up on trips
during times of uncertainty. Ellen
Morgan and I applied to the Alpine
Club of Canada’s Jen Higgins Fund in
January 2005. Excited and honoured
barely begin to describe the feelings
that washed over us when we found out
we had been awarded the grant. Greta
and Alex were keen to jump on board
when presented with the opportunity,
and we had our dream team of choice,
brought together through our University
of British Columbia Varsity Outdoors
Club. Over the next several months we
began to implement our plans, and for
every one chore we accomplished, two
more would be added to the list, creating
an exponential amount of preparation for
our multi-dimensional undertaking.
Nevertheless, August 14, 2006
arrived and we found ourselves carrying
kayaks and gear down to Vancouver’s
Kitsilano Beach from Ellen’s house two
blocks away. Our fi rst two days were
incredibly productive and we made it
all the way across Burrard Inlet, along
the Straight of Georgia to the town of
14 Alpine Club of Canada ● Gazette ● SUMMER 2007
Sechelt, through Sechelt, and to Porpoise
Bay Campground on the Sechelt Inlet.
Our success was attributed to amazing
weather and Greta’s ingenious idea of
using shopping carts to help with the
portage through town. Our presence did
not go unnoticed and the great townsfolk
of Sechelt encouraged us, off ered us help
(which of course we politely declined),
and told us to get boyfriends;
errrr, right. Our hard work was
rewarded with a paddle through
phosphorescence, and four casual
days of paddling thereafter because
we found ourselves ahead of
schedule.
Our hiking began on day six
from the north end of Narrows
Inlet when we bid adieu to our seafaring
vessels, thanks very much
to Porpoise Bay Charters who
helpfully picked up and returned
our kayaks to Vancouver for us.
Our fi rst attempt at gaining the
alpine cost us two and a half days when
we tried to travel southeast up a tributary
at the end of the Tzoonie River logging
road. Both nights were spent without
tents due to the steep terrain, and the
second was spent tied into trees just in
case we thought of rolling during the
night! Defeated, we returned down to the
valley hoping that we could get to Mount
Jimmy Jimmy via a pass further up the
valley leading to Tatlow Creek beside our
destination. Our hopes were met, and we
camped beside Mount Jimmy Jimmy on
day 11 of our trip.
Finally, we gained the glacier near
the summit of Mount Jimmy Jimmy by
scrambling along its southwest ridge and
making one 25-metre rappel just before
its false summit. From there it was an
easy, short and pleasant scramble to the
true summit. Perhaps it was the eff ort
it took us to get there; the summit of
Mount Jimmy Jimmy felt like the most
astounding mountain I’ve ever stood on
top of, and our entire group savoured a
feeling of accomplishment with highfi
ves all around.
Feeling pressed for time and uncertain
of our planned route, we decided to
re-route ourselves along the Ashlu River
Road towards Sigurd Creek to get into
Mount Ossa. We descended by following
Mount Jimmy Jimmy’s glacier north,
and after completing a solid nine-day
program of bushwhacking we reached
the Sigurd Creek Trail Head for Mount
Ossa.
Up the trail we hiked once again (we
had gone in there before our trip to make
a food drop). Camping on the moraine
at the base of Mount Ossa on day 16, we
Left: Krystil and Ellen kayaking on the Sechelt Inlet
Top: Alex crossing a creek on her way to the Ashlu
River Road
Above: The girls' favourite group shot with Mount
Jimmy Jimmy in the background
Far right: Ellen, Greta and Krystil during the bike
ride back along the Squamish River Road with
Mount Tantalus in the background
PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY THE TEAM