After 4 weeks of “urban walking”, daily elliptical workouts, and a week of PT evaluations, Jim was given the go ahead to venture back into the mountains. Since Jim is still on weight limitations, we chose a climb which required no backpacking. Fay quickly signed onto join us.
Cathedral Provincial Park in BC Canada can be reached by paying Cathedral Lakes Lodge to drive you up a steep, bumpy dirt road. Their lodge is on one side of Quinscoe Lake and there is a campground on the other side.
I easily made two trips from the lodge to our campsite to shuttle all our gear to camp. I have been incredibly impressed by Jim’s ability to adhere to his weight restrictions. Must be difficult to watch your wife carry everything. I hope he doesn’t get used to this.
The campground was almost full. We had no idea our schedule hit a Canadian 3-day weekend. Whoops! In the end, we were able to find a nice platform over-looking the lake which fit both our tents. Ideally, we would have wanted two sites near each other but there were none to be found.
We also picked the week in which the temps dropped down into the 50’s and well below 40 at night. We had rain our first two days and spent much of our time in camp under a tarp bundled in all our clothes. It felt more like a late September trip than an early August one.
For Jim’s first climb day, we picked something easy: Scout Peak. It was quite a ramp up from what Jim had been doing so it would be a test of whether he was ready for an attempt of Grimface Mountain or not.
Today we were expecting a thundershower or two. Most people stayed around the camps today, but our threesome was more than excited to get out and explore the area.
Jim was a bit giddy to leave the trail and hike toward the Scout Mountain summit. It might just look like a bump on a ridge but for us it marked a long 2 months of uncertainty.
We decided the tall cairn on the ridge must be marking the summit so we took a lunch break and tried to get out of the cold winds. When it was clear rain was coming, we quickly packed up and headed out.
We spent the next several hours wondering around Scout Mountain and Scout Lake. None of us wanted to head back to camp. It was too cold and rainy to sit around. We were much better off just wonder around. We must have had 10 clothing changes. We had rain, wind, and sunshine. Nothing seemed to last more than 10 or 20 minutes.
With a successful climb under our belt, we were all excited to attempt Grimface Mountain the following day. Our forecast was for morning clouds that would burn off to sunshine. The cold winds were supposed to hang around. Our temps would resemble late September. As long as we didn’t get snow, I was happy. Last time the three of us had snow on a climb in August was Jim and my honeymoon.
We left camp just before 8am. None of us are big on an early morning start. We are much better at an alpine finish. Getting to camp just before dark. This climb would be no different.
The weather forecast was spot on. When we reached Glacier Lake, there were patches of blue sky but the mountain tops were still engulfed in clouds.
We climbed fairly slow but steady. I was still fighting my cold. My energy level was pretty low but there was no way I was staying in camp. Not only was this Jim’s first climb in months but we hadn’t done a real climb with Fay in many years. Between her back surgery and being 80+ years old, our climbing opportunities have been limited.
When we took our first break on the ridge, I became more confident that Fay was going to do the climb. Even when we invited Fay to join us, no one was sure she would be able to summit. Grimface is a serious mountain and though Fay still hikes 3 to 4 times a week, she rarely does more than 8 miles and 1500 feet of gain, let alone roped climbing.
We hiked along the Rim Trail in the clouds. The clouds were a real bummer. The three of us recounted memories of our trip here several years ago. In the fall with a dusting of fresh snow. For now, we would have to relish in the brief parting of the clouds.
We took a long break at Stone City. We were able to hide behind a wall of rocks and get out of the piercing cold winds. We held our breath as the sun tried one more time to burn off the clouds.
Then slowly we began to see blue patches of sky above us. Finally we could see more than a couple of yards down the ridge. Our sunny day was about to begin.
There was a new spring in our step as we hiked along the Rim Trail heading for the end and Grimface Mountain. Before we knew it, we were on the shoulder of Ovis Mountain looking directly at Grimface’s west face. There looked to be no route from here but that is pretty typical of rock climbs.
While Jim and Fay went up to the summit of Ovis Mountain, I headed over to Grimface Mountain and the start of the route. Avoiding the summit of Ovis only saved me a couple hundred feet of elevation gain but I had no energy to spare.
We started up the gully unroped but didn’t like the climbing. The route description said the ridge left of the gully was more solid but exposed, class 4. In the end, we decided it was safer to rope up and head out onto the ridge. What a great discission. The climbing was so fun.
We proceeded to simulclimb up the rock, through the gully / chimney, and across the exposed slabs. Jim and I took turns leading until we ran out of gear and then we would switch leads. The three of us climb so well together. It was like old times.
Like all super fun climbs, it was bittersweet to reach the summit. The rock was so solid. There was actually nothing scary just rock pitch after rock pitch. Fabulous class 3 scramble.
Not sure who I was more excited for. Jim had just completed his first major peak climb of the season and was showing no signs of fatigue. Fay had just summited her first major peak in years. I am pretty sure she thought she was done climbing big peaks but here she was on the summit. Or me, getting to share this day with my two favorite climbing partners.
After a long summit stay (the three of us have never been known for cutting a summit stay short, no matter how late in the day it was), we all agreed we now needed to get back to camp. Fay and I were both pretty wasted. It was going to be a long day.
We were able to downclimb the entire route without having to rappel. This saved us lots of time. At the base of the climb, we packed away all our climbing gear and began hiking backup to Stone City. It seemed to take forever but eventually we were heading down toward Ladyslipper Lake.
Hiking along Ladyslipper Lake was one of my favorite memories from our last trip to this area. The trail follows the lakeshore completely. Never more than 5 feet from the water. It is absolutely beautiful.
The hike back to Quiniscoe Lake from Ladyslipper Lake was my least favorite memory from our last trip to this area. It is only a mile and a half but it takes forever. This trip was no different. The three of us bitched and moaned all the way down to Pyramid Lake and then back up to Quiniscoe Lake and camp.
We arrived camp just before dark. It had been a 13-hour climbing day. We had hiked 11 miles with 3600 feet of elevation gain / loss. Quite a step up from what Jim and Fay were used to. It was definitely a big day for the elderly.
We quickly ate dinner and retired to our tents. I wasn’t sure what tomorrow would bring. We had to be at the shuttle station by 9am. I wondered if we would have to drag Fay in her sleeping bag.
I could hear her stirring by 7am. During breakfast, we chatted about the climb. I think we were all still a little high on the climb. Neither Jim nor Fay had any pains other than knees which was typical. The climb had been a huge success.
On the drive home, we stopped at a fruit stand and proceeded to devour a container of cherries after all we couldn’t take them across the border. After the border crossing, I laid down in the backseat and faded off to sleep while listening to Fay and Jim chat away. Climbing is not only about the mountains. It is also about the special people we share them with.