1992 - The Spearhead Traverse - Part 1

The Spearhead Traverse
Location of Mt. Macbeth - about half way around the traverse
My Flickr site for more pictures - 

Mt. Macbeth, Overlord, Fissile and the Russet Lake area from the traverse

What is an adventure? An adventure is a journey into the unknown in an effort to achieve a goal knowing that failure is a possibility and an element of danger is a certainty. Keeping danger to a minimum and fun to a maximum helps me to have a good time whether I reach my arbitrarily set goals or not.

It is the risk and uncertainty that is such a large part of the appeal. So many things in our lives are prepackaged and have a known outcome. It's good to occasionally set out into the unknown and get to know oneself better. To do so with a good friend makes it that much more rewarding.

I had done a lot of climbing with Chuck McCafferty and we knew one another well. He knew my strengths and weaknesses and I, his. With that knowledge we set out one summer morning for the Spearhead Traverse: a horse shaped traverse of numerous high mountain passes and glaciers, starting with Blackcomb Mountain, and finishing at the Himmelsbach Hut just east of Whistler Mountain.
Chuck and I found a place to park the car and carried our packs through the dapper crowds of tourists at Blackcomb village, and bought our lift ticket to the top of Seventh Heaven. I remember some lightly dressed young woman, on her way up the lifts, ask her male friend if she should take along a sweater. I thought, my God, she's going up to about 8,000 ft. in the mountains and wonders if she might need more than shorts and a T-shirt! I looked forward to getting away from the crowds.

Looking west towards our start.

We got to the top of Seventh Heaven, dumped our packs, and strapped on our crampons. People coming off the lifts asked what we were doing and wished us a safe and enjoyable trip. We explained that we were always safe, and had an adequate supply of scotch, so we saw no reason to not have a good time.

We were off! It was a short walk around a ridge, and we were out of sight of all the people. Our adventure was about to begin.We got to the top of Seventh Heaven,

We were off! It was a short walk around a ridge, and we were out of sight of all the people. Our adventure was about to begin.Chuck and I took the lifts up to the top of Seventh Heaven, dumped our packs, and strapped on our crampons. People coming off the lifts asked what we were doing and wished us a safe and enjoyable trip. We explained that we were always safe, and had an adequate supply of scotch, so we saw no reason to not have a good time.

We crossed the top of the Horseman Glacier to start our Spearhead traverse on day on August 20, 1992. It was high noon. It was a sudden but welcomed transition from civilization to being on your own in the mountains. Summer crevasses were evident from the outset and it wasn't long before we felt the need for the rope. We got up to the Spearhead - Blackcomb col and looked east. From there you can see the highest mountain pass on the trip. The Tremor - Shudder col didn't look that far away, but we would not reach it until the afternoon of the next day. We reached Blackcomb-Spearhead col at 2:00.
We dropped down through scree to the Decker glacier and by the time we got to the crest of the north ridge of Decker, it was time to make camp. It was a very friendly spot with sun shining, running water, and wonderful view to the north.

Blackcomb - Spearhead col behind Chuck

Day Two - The next morning dawned clear. After eating breakfast we strapped on our crampons to go up the remaining part of the ridge, as we thought scrambling down the steep, loose gully down to the Trorey Glacier looked far from aesthetic and it seemed to make more sense to go up and over the bump on the east side of Decker and go down into the Decker-Trorey col. It was a late start that morning (9:45). We met a friend of Chuck's (Graham ) at the Trorey-Decker col. He was on his way out as he wasn't feeling good. He was a member of a group ahead of us. I was realizing that this wasn't one of my best days either, but it wasn't bad enough for me to want to turn around.

Keith nearing the top of Decker

Chuck

We headed for the slopes on the south side of Pattison as the snow slopes on the north side looked a bit less friendly. By the time we got to the south side of Pattison I was feeling lousy. I had not been feeling well during the last week and it was showing. I was discouraged. I knew that I had to have something to eat and drink, so we sat in the sun and had lunch. Chuck knew I wasn't feeling well, and I think he was preparing for me to say that I wanted to turn around. After eating and resting, I felt better, and I realized that it wasn't time to end the adventure yet. Chuck scouted out a pleasant route that allowed us to gain the summit of Pattison for a nice view. From there, we dropped onto another glacier and headed for the pass ahead. Interestingly enough I felt good for the rest of the trip.

Chuck approaching Tremor

The day became increasingly cloudy, and by the time we were approaching the Tremor- Shudder col, it was windy and cold. The last slopes up to the col were on steep snow and as Chuck kicked his way up the slope, hail started to pelt us and we had to yell loudly to be heard over the wind. Thunder and lightning began! It was getting really atmospheric. This was more like an adventure!

Keith looking across to Overlord

We crossed over as quickly as we could as the col was acting like a funnel and it was very windy. Thunder crashed every few seconds, and as it was late afternoon and as I was quite tired, it was time to look for a campsite.
The view to the south was both impressive and troubling. The tumbling glacier on the north side of Overlord and Benvolio looked impressive, but the weather had definitely taken a turn for the worse. The water running down the Platform Glacier where we stood added to the cold, wet feeling at the time.
We found a good spot in the middle of the Platform Glacier at the base of the cliffs. We pitched our tent as quickly as we could and climbed inside. It snowed a bit so we cooked just at the entrance to the tent.
Later, the weather eased so we stood outside enjoying the last of the sunlight. As darkness closed in, we shone our headlamps towards the Himmelsbach Hut at Russet Lake, and lo and behold, someone shone a light back at us! We weren't so alone after all.

Fissile just above the tent and you can just pick out Russet Lake.

It snowed more during the night and the temperature dropped well below freezing. There were about five centimeters of the fresh stuff! The snow was not all that surprising considering how high we were, despite the fact that it was early August!

Rope frozen like cable.

After breakfast we climbed out of the tent and tried to straighten out the rope. It had been wet the day before and had frozen into a cable (see photo) during the night!


Spirits were raised by the sun. It was cold and crisp and I felt good. It was time to move on and see what was over the next col. As we crunched along in the shadow of the cliffs to our left, our crampons bit into the firm snow and small patches of blue ice at the col. We were struck by the remarkable beauty of every view and every breath of fresh mountain air.

Crossing along the east side of Quiver Peak.

.... go on to part two of the Spearhead Traverse