Mount Matier!



 

 

I signed up for a introduction to mountaineering course through the Alpine Club of Canada.  The first weekend was rock climbing at Smoke Bluffs in Squamish, the second weekend was practicing mountaineering skills at Mount Seymour such as roping up and using the ice axe to self arrest falls, and the third weekend was climbing Mount Matier in Pemberton.  The instruction was awesome with a 4:1 ratio of skilled leaders. 

We set up camp at Keith's Hut and at 4:00 in the morning, while the snow was still firm, we set out. Travel is slow when roped up in a team of 5, but it was an awesome opportunity to really enjoy the scenery and take awesome pictures. We summited a narrow and corniced ridge at about 10:00, took 15 minutes to enjoy the views, and then began our descent to make room for other teams at the top.

It was during the descent I had an opportunity to really practice skills introduced the previous weekend at Seymour.  While enjoying the views I somewhat lost focus and taking a large stride my crampon hooked into my gator, tripping me and sending my hurling down a steep slope.  It's amazing how instinctual already it was to use my ice axe.  I was so concentrated arresting the fall that I didn't call out to my rope team, but the 3 people in front of me noticed the commotion and also got into arrest position, ready to break my fall.  Thankfully I didn't need their support as I was able to dig the axe into the snow and stop myself before tugging on the rope.  Definitely an adrenaline rush, but good to know that the skills learned actually work in an emergency situation.  

At 2:00 we got back to camp, took a break, and by 3:30 we loaded up all our gear and were heading back to the parking lot with packs that didn't feel any lighter in spite of less food and water!

An awesome experience...can't wait for the next mountaineering adventure!

 

Roping up at Sunrise

 

 

Sunrise on Joffre Peak

Anticipating moving from the mountain's shadow into the warm sun!

Almost there!

Heading up to the Col between Matier & Joffre.

First glimpse of Matier, the pyramidal mountain in the background to the left.

Blue bird skies...it doesn't get better than this!

A group behind us with Joffre towering above.

Views of Mount Slalok

Approaching the summit!

Walking on the ridge!

Summit shot :)

Mountain view from the tent!

 

Photo Credit: Gina Hopper

Photo Credit: Julien Simon

Photo Credit: Julien Simon

Photo credit: Gina Hopper

 



Photo Credit: Julien Simon