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Still fighting off a virus I was looking for something
fairly tame this weekend. Had an unknown partner too
so I opted for Tricouni Peak. Hannah had arrived from
the UK 3 weeks ago but of course everything had been
closed due to the backcountry travel ban & she was
eager to get out in the mountains. I wasn't able to
find a good trip report of a summit but the hike in
looked easy so I figured I could play it by ear from
there. Looked like it was scrambleable (is that a word?)
anyway so I grabbed my ice axe & off we went.
Picked Hannah up at Science World at 8:00am and we
were 1km below the trailhead by 10:40. You'll need all
wheel drive or four wheel drive to get there but the
road is good. The last km got a little rougher and had
some big sharp looking rocks. Changing a tire on a rough
uphill grade did not appeal to me so we parked just
below the actual trailhead in an obvious pullout. Started
hiking at 11:10. At the actual trailhead there were
a couple of SUV's and a Subaru... all with tires in
tact .
103 Hikes warns that the trial to the first lake is
muddy but after the summer we've had I figured it wouldn't
be too bad. BOY did I figure wrong. This trail is truly
disgusting. I can't even imagine what it would be like
in the spring or fall. Wear gaiters or better yet, HIP
WADERS! The trail follows High Falls Creek through a
narrow valley & meadows
That being said, it is mercifully short and we were
at Cypress lake by 12:30. It was so nice to be on solid
ground again. Our objective could be seen peeking out
from behind a heather covered rise. About 2/3 of the
way long the north side of the lake is a trail that
veers off and takes you to the next lake 5-10 minutes
from the first.
Watched a black bear making its way up the lower, rounded
peak of Tricouni. We misread our vague directions and
went around the north east side of the lake. It was
way more fun than the right route but would have been
a bitch on the way back. A combination of steep scrambling,
bushwalking & talus slopes brought us to the base
of a beautiful waterfall. The holds along side the waterfall
looked good so we climbed up that way. There is a much
easier route up the talus to the third lake.
The third lake at the base of Tricouni was crystal
clear and provided a stark contrast to its rugged surroundings.
We stopped here for lunch as we surveyed the peak &
chose a route. At 1:45 we pressed on.
Most of the way up is a bit of a slog up talus slopes,
broken up by intermittent snow patches. Things got a
lot more interested once we reached the edge of the
east ridge. There were a couple of guys working their
way down about the same time we were approaching. We
asked them how much further it was to the summit and
they said that they hadn't gone that far. They said
they'd gone "as far as the rope" and that
they'd left the rope there and that we'd probably find
it really helpful. So off we went. The scrambling was
steep and exposed but the holds were good. Turns out,
"the rope" was 8 feet of plastic twine. We
decided to take our chances on the rock ;)
Great view from up there. We could see Whistler &
most of Wedge Mountain, Garibaldi Lake & the Barrier
which was pretty cool. Unfortunately the clouds were
interfering with the view. I'm sure its absolutely spectacular
on a clear day.
Didn't spend much time admiring the views anyway as
falling was not an option. The climbing was fun though.
There was a group on the summit already. Nothing like
an audience. As we climbed the last bit I heard a familiar
voice say "so it IS Mountain Girl!" There
were a bunch of BCMC members up there. They'd climbed
either the north or west ridge... can't remember which.
So we did the camera tango, taking pictures of everyone
for a while but really didn't have time to hang around
as it was 3:30 we had estimated that we needed to be
back at the 3rd lake by 5:00.
Fortunately there was a much easier way down than the
route we had taken up. We'd been a little worried about
that on the way out as there had been a couple of overhanging
sections. I'm glad we hadn't noticed this other route
sooner as we probably would have taken it and I really
enjoyed the route we took. We climbed down with the
other group until we had to part ways as they had come
in from Daisy Lake and us from High Falls Creek.
Hannah got to try out her MEC rental ice axe &
self arrest on the way down which she was pretty excited
about since they don't have a lot of high mountains
and snow in England :)
We were back at the lake right on time. The clouds
had followed us down so it was a little damp. Took the
path of least resistance on the way out and were back
at the truck & very muddy at 7:00.
This really is a fantastic daytrip, even with the mud.
It has a little bit of everything and is never boring.
Its a good challenge but didn't leave me crippled by
the next morning. I was very happy that Hannah turned
out to be a capable and was pleased that I'd given her
such a great introduction to BC.
CLICK
HERE FOR A MAP
Directions:
Zero your odometer at the Cleveland Avenue traffic
lights in Squamish. Drive north on H highway 99 for
10km (6.2mi) and turn left onto Squamish Valley Road.
Keep left at the fork at 13km (8.1mi). At 33km (20mi)
the gravel surface starts and you will see that the
distance signs on this road, which is called S-Main,
are in miles from Squamish. At 38km (24mi), about 1.4km
(.09mi) after High Falls Creek bridge, Branch 200 starts
uphill on your right. Zero your odometer again here.
At the 2.3km (1.4mi) fork, go right. As you lose elevation
at 5.1km (3.2mi), the High Falls Creek Trail comes in
from the right. At the 6.0km (3.7mi) fork, go right.
Do not go left at 6.5km (4.0mi) or 6.8km (4.2mi); but
do go left at 6.9km (4.3mi). If you go too far you will
come to the bridge over High Falls Creek in 200m (650ft).
Your road has recently been cleared; so at 8.0km (5.0mi)
swing left onto an older road. High-clearance 2WDs should
drive 1km (0.6mi) to just before a creek crossing. A
rugged 4WD may be able to drive to the landing at 10.5km
(6.5mi).
Directions
from 103 Hikes
Reference:
Trip Report | Photo
Gallery | Map
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