Mount Outram

June 19 - 20, 2004

Trip Report | Photo Gallery

After my Baker trip was cancelled last weekend due to poor weather and avalanche hazards I was REALLY ready to get out in the alpine this weekend. So when Rhys told me that his girlfriend Lesli was thinking about taking their 11 month old German Shepherd puppy 'Moxie' on her first overnight, I jumped at the chance to get out and have some fun with CJ & make a couple of new friends.

We decided on Mt. Outram because we hoped we could get the dogs up to the summit on snow. The Mt. Outram trailhead is right at the Manning Park sign if you're coming from the West but is only in the park for about 15 minutes. The weather was absolutely perfect. We set off from the Chevron on Boundary Road at 7:15 and were at the trailhead after a Tim Hortons break by 9:30.

CJ & Moxie got along great as we made our way up through the forest, crawling under, crawling over & bushwhacking around a lot of trees that had fallen over the trail over the winter (I had left my trusty chain saw at home). The trail climbs steadily, switching back through the forest, dipping down slightly at 4900ft to cross the only significant stream. Some more climbing brings you to the beautiful alpine meadows with their sweeping views of peaks to the south. There were already several flowers blooming. I imagine that it is pretty colorful up there later in the summer. We stopped for lunch just below the snow line which was only about 20 minutes from where we ended up camping.

The dogs had a big burst of energy when they found the snow & had a great time playing and racing around. We decided to camp by the lake on a patch of heather. Unfortunately it wasn't a very flat patch of heather but I had only gotten about 2 hours sleep the night before so after climbing about 5000ft with a heavy pack on, I was happy to lay down and have a little nap.

After dinner, we headed for the summit. It had cooled off a little bit & the puppies scampered & played in the snow and the avalanche lilies. It was a steep climb made more interesting by the fact that we had to stick to the snow as much as possible for the sake of the dogs. Kicking steps in steep snow is a little more work than scrambling on scree but we made it. The trail is well marked with red paint although at least one of the marker rocks has fallen down the slope.

CJ promptly fell asleep before I could take her triumphant summit picture. Moxie stood guard as I signed the summit register and we enjoyed the views. Silvertip is the most predominant mountain. Redoubt is a little behind it. The one with the big glacier to the left of Silvertip is Custer. To the left of Custer is Spickard. Rahm, with it's narrow glacier is in font of Spickard. Mount Baker & it's neighbours are also visible. You can see the Chilliwack range to the west too.

It was getting chilly up there so I roused Sleeping Beauty from her slumber & we headed down. Glissading is considerably more fun than climbing up! Tried to glissade down one very steep slope but lost control quickly and had to self arrest before I became one with the big boulders below. Note to self: store bags of dog poo better next time. Fortunate it didn't burst as I drove my ice axe into it but it was a close one!

We made it back down pretty quickly and were happy to crawl into bed around 9:30. It was Moxie's first time in a tent and she wasn't at all sure she liked the idea. She wanted out but if she wasn't going to be allowed out, she wanted a sleeping bag. CJ on the other hand was very happy to sleep as long as she was on top of me. Have you ever tried to sleep with a 70lb dog on top of you? I think she was cold. She was wearing my polar fleece vest but I think next time I'll bundle her up more. The good news is that she only barked once all night. The last time we did an overnight she barked all night.

Needless to say, Lesli and I did not get much sleep. At 7:30 we gave up and got up. After a leisurely breakfast, we packed up and headed down. Took us about 2.5 hours to get down. I'm not too quick on the downhill sections so it can probably be done a lot faster.

With the exception of the sleepless night, it was a great trip. Spectacular views, beautiful weather (although the wind was REALLY cold!) and great company! Could also be done as a day trip but you'll have to forego the afternoon siesta ;)

Total distance: 18km
HIgh point: 8000ft
Elevation gain: 5900ft

Directions:

Drive East on Hwy 1. Take the Hwy 3 exit towards Manning Park. Park at the Manning Park sign.

Reference:

Map: 92H/3

Trip Report | Photo Gallery