Immediately before us was the first of 'the bumps'. we headed easily up to the top of it, then paused as we scouted
out the descent down the other side of it. The first bump is the most challenging, with a nearly 4th-class exposed
scramble down it's far side. It's always a bit unnerving when you first see this bit, but with a bit of care and a
realization that there is a route down with excellent holds and solid rock, there's no problem. Plus we had nice warm
sun to cheer us up. Really, no problem!
From the tight col between bump 1 and 2, we headed back up, this time to the top of bump 2. From here the terrain over
the remaining bumps is easier, all the way to the nose of Arrowsmith's summit itself. Speaking of the nose and the
summit, we could see it from here, half-in and half-out of the clouds. The nose route was an impressive and
improbable-looking proposition from this angle. I didn't point it out in too much detail to my compatriots, lest they
become a little too spooked!
As we approached the nose, the clouds came rolling in again, and by the time we scrambled up to it's base, we were in
mist. We were only a couple of hundred metres to the summit from here, but I knew it was going to take a substantial
amount of time. We had one, maybe two short pitches of roped climbing on exposed fourth class terrain; 5 people, one
rope and a fair bit of climbing inexperience. All of that translated, I knew, into one thing: s-l-o-w.
Slow was ok, though. We'd factored that into our time schedule, and were prepared to spend a large amount of time to
get up. We were in no hurry and the conditions were fine. The rock was dry and the winds calm, the day young.
Looking back at the bumps
I fastened an anchor to some low-lying brush at the start of the 4th-class section and had Jenn belay me up to the
first belay anchor (there are nice shiny fixed belay anchors at two spots). I then proceeded to top-rope Roy to my
belay stance. We made the mistake of hauling the rope up, coiling it, and then trying to send it down. This proved a
time-waster, since the not so steep terrain meant we had a hard time getting the rope to go far enough out. After
finally getting the rope low enough for Jenn to retrieve it, I decided that we'd try a different tack: get the next
climber to tie into the rope as far up as possible so as to leave the end of the rope down with the lower party. This
would allow them to simply pull it back after the next person had climbed.
Ruth climbed up next, and this system was indeed much faster. Next was Ewart, then Jenn. Slow but safe, and
everyone handled the climbing quite well (although a few in our group, especially the ones given to only bringing
shorts, were somewhat chilled in the cloudy +5C air).
We switched things up and I led the shorter but steeper second pitch, placing a few pieces of protection in the rock
for good measure. I then belayed Roy up first again (who seemed quite interested in the mechanics of this climbing
business), followed by Ruth, Ewart and Jenn. I was quite impressed with Ewart's scrambling ability. He handled the
steeper climbing with no problem at all!
courtesy ETempest
courtesy ETempest
Finally, after a couple of hours of mostly standing around and belaying (I told you we were super slow!), we finished
the technical bit. In short order, less than 5 minutes, we were standing on the Canadian-flag adorned summit of Mount
Arrowsmith. We were still in the clouds, but enjoyed the top nevertheless, having achieved the route that (for lack
of gear) we could not achieve three years before. And congratulations to Roy, Ewart and Ruth for their first
successful Vancouver Island summit -- done in good style, too!
After photos and writing entries into the summit logbook, we headed down. The lack of sun and cool temps made people
want to move off of the breezy summit. We headed down the Judges Route, taking care on the steep track. Although the
Judges route is shorter and less technical than the nose route, it is very much steeper, and consistently so. Those
with knee issues made full use of their hiking poles!
An hour and a half later and 2,600 feet lower, we finished off with the super-steep path and reached an old logging
road. Ewart and I had gone on ahead to ferry the upper vehicle back down to the lower trailhead, thereby saving some
time for the others, who were taking it easy on their knees. As we descended, the usual thing that happens to me on
these cloudy-day hikes happened. I looked back up, and saw the summit, now almost devoid of clouds and backed by a
blue sky. Why, oh why does that always seem to happen AFTER I've left?
Congrats to all those new to roped climbing - you did well! Hopefully the experience has piqued your interest and you'll join us on more such outings!
Interactive Trackmap & Photo Points - Arrowsmith Traverse - Click link below to expand
Arrowsmith Traverse Climb Data
Start Time:
9:33a.m.
End Time:
7:16p.m.
Duration:
9h42m
Distance:
7.7 km
(4.79 mi)
Average Speed:
0.8 km/hr
(0.5 mph)
Start Elevation:
3417ft
(1042m)
*
Max Elevation:
5966ft
(1818m)
*
Min Elevation:
2513ft
(766m)
*
End Elevation:
2516ft
(767m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2710ft
(826m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
3615ft
(1102m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
Elevation Profile over Distance
Elevation Profile over Time
Again, note that this backpack was part of a larger trip to Vancouver Island that Jenn and I took in August of 2008. If you'd like to read about the trip as a whole, complete with many pictures and a full narrative, please
click here.
