Ep 59 - West Lion via Howe Sound Crest - Pt 2 - Unnecessary Mountain to West Lion summit, in 4K

Описание: The Howe Sound Crest Trail is a visually stunning trail, near Vancouver Canada. The climax of this beautiful and adventurous ridge hike is the by-pass of the West Lion, one of the iconic Vancouver backdrop landmarks.

This is Part 2 of 2. You can see how we got here from Cypress Mountain, up and along the Howe Sound Crest, in Part 1, here:    • Ep 57 - West Lion via Howe Sound Crest Tra...  

We are now alone in the coastal back-country, aiming for the summit of the iconic West Lion. The route continues along beautiful exposed alpine ridge, before the last ~100 meters of steeper exposed terrain to the top.

To fly the drone, while avoiding having anyone else on the route I found 2 weekdays with rain and dense cloud forecast before noon on the second day. This window allowed me to enjoy this spectacular ridge route and summit during this weather window, with no other soul within miles. This required a 3:30 am get-up on the second day, allowing for spectacular and optimum early morning conditions for the crux West Lion summit, with just enough time to then drop the 1600 meters of vertical, 9 km, back down to Lions Bay.

Having experienced bigger mountains like Mt Baker, Mt Blanc, Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt Aconcagua, early summit bid starts are normal. A midnight start helps with firm, stable, snow/glacier, offers a full day of light to get down safely, and reduces exposure to the harsh and dangerous glacier sun.

Here are some key moments:

1:50 – 3:30 am, packing up with the city lights of Vancouver in the distant background
2:20 – Cold brew instant coffee... yum!
5:10 – City lights of Vancouver in the distance. The visually striking Lions are seen in the distant skyline from much of Vancouver.
9:38 – This will be our descent route
10:37 – First light brings stunning views
11:02 – The next 6 minutes offer continuous, spectacular, dawn views, in the final steps to the West Lion summit block.
11:22 – 15 minutes of breathtaking drone footage, while I'm waiting for more light for the final ~100 meter climb to the summit.
27:21 – The only thing better than a sketchy rope... is 2 sketchy ropes!
29:48 – There are 2 (poorly) flagged routes to the top. The exposed scramble route (class 3-4) is in orange/yellow. The more exposed climbers route, with a couple of class 5 moves, is in purple.
34:28 – While waiting for more light, I had time to study the summit block with the drone. I found a line that broke West from the purple climber's route, maybe 1/3 of the way up. This direct line up the south face was comfortable but exposed class 4-5. This is why you'll see no more flags from here.
38:00 – RIP action camera hat mount... it dies to a fall. The hat is on a lanyard, secured to my pack. The hat falls of during an exposed move, and hits the rock face before the lanyard stops it. Unfortunately, the plastic mount broke, leaving the hat secure, with the Osmo Action 5 resting unsecured on a tiny foothold spot!
38:29 – With the action camera now in my pocket, I did not film the remaining exposed climbing. Here the terrain is gentle again, and I reflect on how close I came to losing all of the footage for these 2 episodes. Because weight was a constraint, I only carried 1 camera, not 2 like I normally do. When the mount-clip to the hat broke the camera landed perfectly, and millimetres away from a non-recoverable fall!
40:25 – The last spectacular, sunrise view, steps to the summit!
42:51 – 30 seconds of 16X time laps. It is about 7am, and the clouds are starting to roll in.
47:10 – Descending by way of the standard route, with a quick recap of why the filming will be a bit fragmented on this exposed section. I still captured most of the route, just not while moving under exposure.
51:04 – Back down to the col, where I left the drone, some water, and overnight gear.
53:12 – Enjoying spectacular views now on the ridge that we ascended in the dark.
56:12 – Sublime flowers with a bumble bee. My oldest daughter taught me to capture this foreground with distant viewscape perspective.
1:00:30 – Snow patch
1:08:00 – Long steady descent through the trees now.
1:10:50 – Very tasty blueberries!
1:13:24 – Beautiful bridge and creek
1:22:32 – Back down to the road at Lions Bay, as the clouds thicken up. This is why I had the mountains entirely to myself today. No views anymore from up there.
1:22:43 – 11 am now, and just dropped the 1600 meters of vertical, 11 km, to get back down to Lions Bay. Just as forecast, the rain starts to fall the moment I step under the covered bus shelter, where I will wait for my ride home!

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