Scaling New Heights
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Horseshoe Bay, BC, Canada.
Posts: 89
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Locomotive- Faceless- Face loop - Aug 13-15
This is such a beautiful area, a longish drive from Vancouver, but the short approach from the road to the lakes makes up for it- i will be back.
I drove up after work on Friday and arrived at the trailhead around 9:30- too late to hike in- shoot. Slept in the back of the truck and left for the lakes in the morning.
A quick 1 hour jaunt and i arrived at the lakes- sublime views. Bugs were terrible.
After finding a decent camp i struck out for Locomotive at around 9:45am- my intention for the day was to take it easy and break in my new boots- i figured i may head over to Tender if all was good up Locomotive.
The route up was fairly straight forward- cairns all over the place, some moderate scrambling and fun bits- was on the summit at 12:10.
After doing battle with the horseflies for a bit(a recurring theme of the trip) i assessed the situation- i had made good time to Locomotive, the feet felt good and Tender looked real close- so i snapped some pics and made my way down towards the col.
Another 40 mins and i was standing on the summit of Tender- at least i think it was.. not much of a summit- looked over and saw Caboose was real close and the ridge looked fun- so off i went, a few tricky steps and exposure but all could be bypassed by dropping to the left a little.
Aprox 30 mins later and i was on Caboose looking back at Tender and Locomotive- great views down the Train Glacier to the Lakes as well as Faceless which now looked very, very doable..
It was about 1:30 at that point so i went for it- still thinking that i would come back the same way- that was until i reached the summit of Faceless and looked over at Face and thought- well why not?
2:30 - ate some lunch, battled some more and then headed off for Face- a steep rocky drop to the col- bypass a prominent bump and drop down a tricky section before the final ascent of Face- lots of old bivi spots and broken flagging boards along this part. The route up Face was straight forward, many options for different lines- some loose scree, some fun scrambling.
4:00 - sitting on the Summit of Face thinking- well, now i've just gotta get down. This is where i hit a bit of a wall and my pace slowed..
i managed to find the ramp(i think) that is described in Matt Gunn's book, unfortunately it was snow filled- i had been anticipating this as i saw it from Locomotive earlier. it was steep! crampons on, ice axe out, helmet on- slowly made my way down and out.
The rest of the descent was fairly uneventful, i ended up dropping off the ridge route too early and walked the steep moraine/scree slopes down- it was painfully slow going and i wished i had brought my poles.
I eventually made it to the tent at around 7pm after a few creek crossings- ate some dinner and collapsed in my tent- so much for my 'easy' day.
Hiked out the next morning- met a group of three and saw a few other tents/groups on the way out- including some ladies skinny dipping in one of the lakes
Total distance: 18km
elevation gain: 1700m
flickr set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/special...7624738361686/
I drove up after work on Friday and arrived at the trailhead around 9:30- too late to hike in- shoot. Slept in the back of the truck and left for the lakes in the morning.
A quick 1 hour jaunt and i arrived at the lakes- sublime views. Bugs were terrible.
After finding a decent camp i struck out for Locomotive at around 9:45am- my intention for the day was to take it easy and break in my new boots- i figured i may head over to Tender if all was good up Locomotive.
The route up was fairly straight forward- cairns all over the place, some moderate scrambling and fun bits- was on the summit at 12:10.
After doing battle with the horseflies for a bit(a recurring theme of the trip) i assessed the situation- i had made good time to Locomotive, the feet felt good and Tender looked real close- so i snapped some pics and made my way down towards the col.
Another 40 mins and i was standing on the summit of Tender- at least i think it was.. not much of a summit- looked over and saw Caboose was real close and the ridge looked fun- so off i went, a few tricky steps and exposure but all could be bypassed by dropping to the left a little.
Aprox 30 mins later and i was on Caboose looking back at Tender and Locomotive- great views down the Train Glacier to the Lakes as well as Faceless which now looked very, very doable..
It was about 1:30 at that point so i went for it- still thinking that i would come back the same way- that was until i reached the summit of Faceless and looked over at Face and thought- well why not?
2:30 - ate some lunch, battled some more and then headed off for Face- a steep rocky drop to the col- bypass a prominent bump and drop down a tricky section before the final ascent of Face- lots of old bivi spots and broken flagging boards along this part. The route up Face was straight forward, many options for different lines- some loose scree, some fun scrambling.
4:00 - sitting on the Summit of Face thinking- well, now i've just gotta get down. This is where i hit a bit of a wall and my pace slowed..
i managed to find the ramp(i think) that is described in Matt Gunn's book, unfortunately it was snow filled- i had been anticipating this as i saw it from Locomotive earlier. it was steep! crampons on, ice axe out, helmet on- slowly made my way down and out.
The rest of the descent was fairly uneventful, i ended up dropping off the ridge route too early and walked the steep moraine/scree slopes down- it was painfully slow going and i wished i had brought my poles.
I eventually made it to the tent at around 7pm after a few creek crossings- ate some dinner and collapsed in my tent- so much for my 'easy' day.
Hiked out the next morning- met a group of three and saw a few other tents/groups on the way out- including some ladies skinny dipping in one of the lakes
Total distance: 18km
elevation gain: 1700m
flickr set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/special...7624738361686/
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High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Burnaby, , .
Posts: 2,221
Nice shots. Good loop.
Really bad bugs eh? Maybe I'll wait till September...
Really bad bugs eh? Maybe I'll wait till September...
Off the Beaten Path
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Posts: 747
NICE! burnabyhiker when you plan to go drop me a line.
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High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: vancouver, bc, Canada.
Posts: 1,099
nice rob! thats a hell of a way to break in new boots. sounds like your snowboard could have come in handy on the way down face, as you are now an extreme skier by my accounts.
We went to Baker and enjoyed a cool breeze off the glacier and the wildflowers in full bloom.
We went to Baker and enjoyed a cool breeze off the glacier and the wildflowers in full bloom.
Summit Master
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Forest Gnome Cabin, , Canada.
Interest: Outdoor stuff...especially scrambling,trailrunning,mountain biking,kayaking,and hiking, and of course photography
Posts: 13,876
Nice!
High on the Mountain Top
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Fraser Valley
Interest: Photography, Nature Observation, Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Shinrin-yoku
Posts: 1,730
Nice area!
Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Vancouver, , .
Interest: hiking is a private thing.
Posts: 348
Really nice one!
Headed for the Mountains
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: , , .
Posts: 253
love this area. Great photos
I had the same situation last year, from one peak to another. Party wasn't happy when I left them and waited for me all day.
I had the same situation last year, from one peak to another. Party wasn't happy when I left them and waited for me all day.
Off the Beaten Path
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: , , .
Posts: 889
That's the way to do it! [8D]
Super Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Abbotsford, B.C., Canada.
Interest: Hiking, Snowshoeing, and Photography. Enjoying the outdoors fresh air and fitness experience.
Posts: 17,917
Well done getting those series of peaks. Great photos too.
K
K
Scaling New Heights
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Horseshoe Bay, BC, Canada.
Posts: 89
thanks for the comments- it was an awesome trip, highly recommended!
i forgot to add a photo of this, not sure if you can see it well- it was like a perfectly round hole in the middle of the glacier, looked like one of those meteors had landed
i forgot to add a photo of this, not sure if you can see it well- it was like a perfectly round hole in the middle of the glacier, looked like one of those meteors had landed
Summit Master
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Vancouver BC
Interest: 10%
Posts: 5,022
The last shot in your TR is really good. I enjoyed your writing style and can certainly understand the urge to keep going from peak to peak.
Summit Master
Good T/R and sounds like you were well prepared for the conditions and changing terrain.
Off the Beaten Path
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Maple Ridge, BC, Canada.
Posts: 640
Yes, great loop - spontaneously motivated
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