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Mount Robson continued (Use the "BACK" button on your browser to go back)

Leaving the Danger zone: Below the seracs and just above Schwartz Ledges on the way up. The seracs randomly drop huge masses of ice onto the ledges, making them a risky place to linger.

The Standard and Kain Face routes join on the upper part of the mountain. Here, my partner, Sim, pauses for a breather in the noticeably thinner air up at 12,500 feet. In centre of photo is glaciated Mount Resplendent. After traversing across Robson's south glacier, we gained the southeast ridge above the top of Kain Face and ascended moderate snow slopes to the summit ridge. For one section (about 50 metres) the angle of ice approaches 45-50 degrees. Parties rappelled this on descent.

Mount Robson's summit ridge, a veritable walkway. The highest point is the summit "mushroom",  a hump of snow at the west end. En route, you can stare straight down the 1000 metre high, 50+ degree North Face on your right.

On Top! Click to enlarge the ugly mugs (well, the guy in red, anyway) if you dare. To me, being up there was more satisfying than doing Rainier and The Matterhorn combined. It takes a little more to get up Robson, but when you actually do, you're not in a crowd. Views were just amazing: We thought we could even see Clemenceau and Tsar Mountain, and it looked like Mount Columbia and Mount Sir Donald far to the south, too. No sign of Borah Peak in Idaho though. Hmmm, wonder why...Maybe I need new glasses.

  Route photo (click to enlarge. warning: BIG 165kb file) This is a telephoto of Mount Robson's south side in early August 1993, from Yellowhead Highway, showing SSW ridge route we followed in 1998. Conditions shown are not ideal due to significant snow remaining on Schwartz Ledges.

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