Vision Quest Ridge - Epiphany Peak - Bright Star Peak - Jul 19-20, 2024 - David Thompson Country скачать в хорошем качестве

Vision Quest Ridge - Epiphany Peak - Bright Star Peak - Jul 19-20, 2024 - David Thompson Country

Note that this circuit took me greater than 24 hours to complete. Each of the objectives could be done as day-trips, and a person could conceivably tag 2 out of 3 as a day trip. Also note that I utilized a 5th Class ascent line to go over one of the false summits on Vision Quest Ridge. As such, I do not consider that scrambling. There is a viable scrambling option that keeps the terrain to 4th Class, and I personally used that in snow conditions in May 2021 with Darren Steffler and Natalia Frolova. I had been up the Vision Quest Ridge several times in the past, and even once to the very far north end (considered the true summit of Vision Quest Ridge). On the May 2021 trip, I spied a striking summit to the northwest of Vision Quest, and since it appeared to be higher than Bright Star Peak, I sought out the name of the peak ... surely it must be named (if Bright Star had a name, then it must as well). I was wrong - I could not find anyone that knew of its name. David P. Jones did inform me that it was referred to as "Unnamed 2980 (GR265-928)" - I consider him as the "go to" person for knowing who has done the first ascents of anything over 2600 metres in the Rockies, and by what route. His Rockies South, Rockies Central, and Rockies West guidebooks have a plethora of routes described with many lines drawn of stunning photographs of the mountains from many angles - this incredible compilation is an amazing testament to the number of mountains that he has climbed. His descriptions are not all first-hand, but many are, and those that aren't he has curated to ensure accuracy. The other fascinating feature in the area is a pinnacle/fin feature near Littlehorn Pass that Eric Coulthard and I noted on our approach to Hangman Peak in 2019 - that looked very cool!... so, I got to thinking how I could incorporate the pinnacle/fin feature into a trip. ...And since I had not ascended Bright Star Peak, but I knew that Steven Noël and Brett Pawlyk did (both Facebook friends of mine)... what if I could snag a route description/gpx track from them and then include that in a trip?? So, I had two well-known segments to start with (up to Vision Quest summit, and back from Littlehorn Pass).. The rest was just based on topo lines, trips to Vision Quest Ridge Peak, Hangman Peak, Littlehorn Pass Peak, and first-hand accounts from Steven and Brett. I had the makings of a great adventure...but... and there generally is a "but"... Who in their right mind would agree to join me on a route that surly was over 30 km in length, likely close to 4000 m elevation gain with a pile of that in "uncharted territory" (no beta), and potentially would require an overnight stay on the mountain? I did try shaking a few trees, but "no apples fell out". Try as I might, I wasn't able to get any takers - to be fair, I did self-limit my invites by ensuring that I was transparent about what I didn't know, and the the terrain likely involved 4th and 5th Class moves... I may have been able to secure a partner or two if I cast my net larger. The trip played out much like I expected in terms of probability of success, however, my progress from the Vision Quest Ridge Peak summit to Epiphany Peak was much slower than I anticipated - I was hoping for easier ridge travel, and less scree side-hilling and slogging. It was obvious to me that I would be staying the night on the mountain before I even started my attempt on Epiphany Peak, so I sent a message to the emergency contacts to that effect. In the end, I summitted Vision Quest Ridge Peak at roughly 10 AM on Fri morning, Epiphany Peak at about 10 PM on Fri evening, and Bright Star Peak at about 7 AM on Sat morning. If I count the AllTrails / Gaia marked summit for Vision Quest, I summitted Vision Quest at 6:30 AM !! hahaha I hope that my photos, video and descriptions at least paint a picture that you might: 1) Visit the Rock Bridge on Vision Quest Ridge 2) Visit the true summit of Vision Quest Ridge Peak, Epiphany Peak, and Bright Star Peak (independently or together by any route) 3) Visit the pinnacle/fin feature near Littlehorn Pass Any of these would be engaging adventures I hope that you enjoy the video. *DISCLAIMER* Please note that I took a 5th Class terrain (NOT scrambling) option on Vision Quest Ridge to get over one of the false summits. There is an option to bypass that bump and keep the terrain in the 3rd and 4th Class range (scrambling) - I have taken that option personally, and ascended the crux of that line in snow conditions in May 2021. If you chose the route option that I chose, please consider that you are soloing the route and not scrambling, and you should be considering whether using trad gear and protection devices is justified.