1970 - Blanchard's Needle & Mt. Welch

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Needle Point (Blanchard Peak) - Golden Ears Park
Location of Blanchard's Needle

Dennis checking out the south side of Blanchard Peak.

Dennis and I hiked up from Mike lake and along the old Abernathy and Lougheed logging roads on up to Battery Mountain which we by passed on its west side and on over to Needle Point. Dennis had some nylon rope he got from his dad who was a fisherman and we prepared to tackle the first pitch of the needle which was about a low class five or upper class 4. After that it was scrambling up through short easy class 3 pitches and sections of brush.

Keith on the summit

I had packed up a 8 mm movie camera only to find later that it didn't have any film in it! Note the classy climbing helmet! We didn't have much of a view of the Fraser Valley, but it was a gratifying climb never the less.

Dennis doing a body rappel.

This is looking down on the first pitch of the climb, a class four or low fifth pitch. If you look closely you will notice that Dennis is using a full body rappel. I wonder how many people still know how to do that, or if the reliance on technology is so great that few people could do a rappel without added gear? Thick pants does help with this technique, as those of you who have tried it know. ;-)


Mt. Welch - Lucky Four Group - Chilliwack River Area
Location of Mt. Welch

Dennis and Keith on the summit of Welch KenWillis, Dennis Brown, and myself went up to the Batzer Hut on the south side of the Lucky Four group and then went up the south ridge of Welch. The picture shows Ford Mountain in the distance. The Chilliwack River is just on the other side of it. It was an enjoyable scramble. We even saw a mountain goat quite close up while going up the ridge. Dennis and Ken enjoying the view. One of the great pleasures of mountain trips is being able to take the time to soak up the scenery. Here we enjoy the view of Slesse, and the American and Canadian Border Peaks.