Downie, NW ridge.
Amazingly this beautiful peak dosn't get climbed
much. Its only just over an hour to the parking area
from Revelstoke and one of the most aesthetic peaks
around. Its almost like the Canadian Matterhorn. The
NW ridge has over 1200m of 5th class ridge climbing
and 2000m of elevation gain from car to summit.
Approach up the west side of the creek is quite easy
with Dons well marked trail. Allow around 2.5 Hrs
from the car to the base of the route.
The guide book is a bit vague on the route so I'll try
to elaborate as its quite complex to follow the
correct way in the start.
After scrambling up from the left on old moraines and
snow gain the base of the true ridge were it
overhangs. Rope up and climb two 1.5 pitches up to the
small tree island to the right of the ridge crest.
>From here you want to continue up the broad, shallow
gully straight above. This gully is easy to spot as
its the contact zone between limestone and
marble/quartzite? It parallels the ridge crest around
80m to the right (south).
4 or so pitches in the 5.5-5.7 range will bring you to
a spot were the gully opens up to more of a face. The
first ascent kept on climbing up the face paralleling
the ridge crest for another 300-400m and then joined
the ridge. Instead at this transition we headed out
left (north) directly onto the limestone and to the
ridge crest on a blocky, loose ,ledge system (5.8
ish). Ofter this point the route is obvious, just
climb the remaining 900m to the summit!
Descent is straight forward however you will want a
light axe or at least mountain boots as the snow
slopes get up top 45 degrees in steepness near the
bottom. Near the bottom you want to regain the same
treed knob and do 1.5 rappels to gain the base of the
ridge.
Contrary to what the guidebooks says about the rock
being excellent, I would say that most of the route is
quite loose and serious with only a few solid pitches.
Great care has to be taken to to pull off to much
loose rock.
We used a double rack of cams from finger size to 3
inches and a single set of nuts.
Retreat would be quite difficult from high on the
ridge so good weather is a must.
Overall I would recommend the route to anyone who has
component skills on loose limestone and is looking for
an excellent, long day out in the mountains.
Craig McGee, Mountain Guide
Craig McGee, ACMG/IFMGA Mountain Guide
102-4369 Main St. Suite #337
Whistler BC
Canada
V0N 1B4
cell 604 902 0296
Home 604 892 2259
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These observations and opinions are those of the person who submitted them. The
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continuity. Conditions differ greatly over time and space due to the variable
nature of mountain weather and terrain. Application of this information
provides no guarantee of increased safety. Do not use the Mountain Conditions
Report as the sole factor in planning trips or making decisions in the field.
Please check out http://acmg.ca/mcr for more information.
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