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A Trip In B.C.'s Other Mountain Range

It is a little known fact that granite has strong magnetic properties.  In fact, its attractive forces are strong enough to  reach across 4500 km and seize the imagination of  an Ontario-bound climber, drawing him back again and again.  This, then, is a brief account of an ongoing affair between Mt. Slesse and some of the men who would climb it.

In addition to its massive granite walls, this 7800' colossus located about 2 hours east of Vancouver has a grimly fascinating history.  In 1956, a passenger aircraft bound from Vancouver to Alberta got lost in a storm in the area and crashed into Slesse's cliffs, just a hundred feet shy of the summit.  All 62 people on board were killed.  At the time, this area was inaccessible except to the hardiest of climbers, so it was not until the following year that the remains of the aircraft, as well as its fate, were discovered.  No bodies have ever been recovered.  As a reminder of the tragedy, fragments of the plane still litter the glacial cirque to the east of the mountain. 

Mike and I first pitted ourselves against Slesse a few years ago when we attempted the standard route: 4000' of near-vertical trail, followed by Class 3 scrambling and a pitch of mid-5th.  The first attempt saw us bushwhacking up the wrong ridge and end up, several hours later, gazing at Slesse across an impassable valley.  The second attempt was more successful, probably because we managed to find the trail and the bright yellow 3'x4' sign labelled "Mt. Slesse Trail" associated with it.  But we still weren't satisfied, because you haven't really climbed Slesse unless you've gone up... the Northeast Buttress.  As described in "50 Classic Climbs", this is a lovely 20-odd pitch arete rated at no more than 5.9.  Most parties do it in 1-2 days, then descend by the standard route. 

After a winter of chin-ups and the purchase of a 40th Anniversary pin, I felt ready.  We added Scott to our party, deeming him to be an eligible member for having suffered at least one defeat at the hands of our granitic opponent.  Ropes, clothing and 39 bagels were jammed into packs and off we went!  Owing to Person X having forgotten their rock shoes in Vancouver, we didn't start our approach until 10 PM, but it was a grand night, the trail was clear, and the bear turds on the path didn't look too fresh.  We camped at a memorial located beneath the huge east face, shivering in our bivy sacks until 5:30 AM when we launched our bid at the Big Guy.  It was a gorgeous morning as we made our way up to the base of the wall, psyched and confident. 

Unlike most Coast Range mountains, Slesse looks like it was carved neatly out of a block of solid rock.  The glaciers responsible have been reduced to mere wisps of snowfields, or have even been lost altogether.  The Northeast Butt forms the north side of one cirque consisting of a small, but actively calving, glacier perched above giant slabs of the smooth glacier-polished granite.  A party using the usual approach route from the south thus has two options: climb up the sidewall and cross the cirque on the glacier, or run (very quickly) across the wet slabs below the glacier, hoping not to get hit by anything.  We decided that as responsible married men, Option B would be unwise.  And so it came to pass that Scott found himself perched on grit-covered 60-degree wet granite, looking unhappily at the #2 Rock he had placed 30 feet back.  Meanwhile, Mike and I quaked in fear below, equally terrified that Scott might either fall or succeed (in which case we would be obliged to follow him). 

As it happened, Scott's Fires lost their unequal friction battle with the rock, and Mr. Phillips did the cartwheel thing in the direction of the valley.  The #2 Rock held, as did the body belay, but he sprained his wrist badly enough to make the decision to turn back an obvious one.  Chalk up another victory for the Big Guy.  He may have won this round, but we'll be back.....