Southern Battle Range climbing fun.

In the last week of July Suzanne Corno, Sonia Szombathy and myself decided it was time for a climbing trip in the Selkirks. So we did, we went remote and into the southern Battle Range. Laidlaw creek to be exact. We had an awesome chance to get placed by a helicopter versus a 3 day boggle of weeds and alder to get where we wanted.

 

  Reflection in small lake, looking at the south side of Mt Thomas in the Westfall Group. 

 

We spent a week exploring an area locally known as Caribou Basin which had no signs of caribou but had good signs of Grizzly Bears though. We camped in an awesome meadow with great views towards the jagged granite peaks of the Nemo Group. Thumb Spire was the most impressive to look at from camp. In the southern Battle Range the rock is not granite but a combination of dog turdite and quartzite which made for some scrambles.  Our first objective was War Drum peak which held a 20 gallon fuel drum near the top from Geological Surveys of the early 60's. It still was tightly sealed and located on the ridge crest keeping it out of the snow accumulations of the winter.  This was a reminder of how much exploration and prospecting covered the area many years before we got there. Not many folks get into this part of the range at all so we felt removed from the worldly comings and going- ons which was a main idea of this trip. A Get away!

Our second peak was Whiteout Peak located just north of War Drum and was very pleasant scrambling on quartzite.

Both peaks had awesome views to the south and west into Westfall river and the Badshot group in the southern Selkirk Range. After an easy day and with the pressure changing, we planned to make the big move and go south to Gyr mountain, which is the south most point of the Battle Range.

We headed out early passing amazing alpine flowers going over to the toe of the Gyr Glacier.  Goat tracks were everywhere but no animals to be seen in the south fork of Laidlaw Creek.

 
The glacier is seen from Battle Abbey and often has ski tracks on it from the CMH Bobbie Burns Heli-ski Lodge. We stomped up over the crevassed glacier for 1050m of elevation gain. Found a flag along the way and pegged the summit. Views were spectacular,  360 degree views of mountains and no hazy skies. As we soaked up the vistas we also devoured many spicy buffalo pepperonis that Sonja and Suzanne brought along for lunch. Lunch was a real treat that day as hungry we were, thirsty we became and motivated we had to be. By midday the thunderheads were billowing just above us. Like searching around for overdrive on the gear shifter we finally found additional speed and energy to get us down and then up and over the pass back to camp in the increasingly dark rumbling skis. Somehow when lightening and deluges of rain appear the ones radar, the distance on foot flies by. We made it back to camp several pounds lighter and a little more wet than our previous days.

Dinner and wine went down so well that night, we wanted more.....more...

 

The next day we explored around camp checking out the geology and

photographic possibilities above camp.

 On our last day we explored a rather nice looking exposed rock ridge just above the campsite on Unnamed mountain. Yet another morsal of interest to be checked out and sampled.

 The rock was good, Sonja and I climbed while Suzanne soaked up the major views of the whole area.

It was a most fitting last day to experience the mountains of the Southern Battle Range with two awesome friends, good food and wine and great memories of what our wilderness mountains areas mean to our natural heritage and our chance to explore them.

Roger.