Pump Peak, Suicide Bluffs and Hollyburn
Bagged: ✅ Pump Pake ✅ Suicide Bluffs ✅ Hollyburn
The wet and snowy conditions on the mountains persist and this is making some bigger mountains challenging. At this time of year the snow is slippery and in the process of melting, it can be dangerous. On Saturday I went through the snow and fell into a rock and have many bruises, I got off easy.
Saturday was an attempt to do Pump Peak and maybe beyond, but the snow was consistent and deep all the way from the base of the Brockton chair lift. At that point I put my spikes on, got my poles out and kept them out all the way up and back.
At the top when I got there (in the morning) there was very little visibility and over 1m+ deep snow still covering everything but the most exposed rocks. The weather was bad and I did not fancy trying to do Tim Jones Peak or Mount Seymour - those are on the way if you do Runners Peak or Elsay anyways.
On the way back I decided to do Suicide Bluffs and then looped around to Dog Mountain. The snow had mostly cleared at this elevation and the trail was easy to follow. The weather lifted for a bit, there was even the odd bit of sun and some stunning views.
Sunday was Hollyburn was snowy. And I was snowed on and rained on and cold. It was like a hike in December, not the middle of June.
Most of the way down I was wondering if I’d chosen the wrong year to track and bag so many peaks. July to September is going to be busy.
Note: I’ve removed peaks below 1,000m on Gambier, Anvil and Bowen (apart from the one I did) because they just don’t interest me. Others might do them but I won’t be.