Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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47.61266°N / 121.60365°W |
Route Type:
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Scrambling |
Season:
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Winter |
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Time Required:
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A long day |
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Difficulty:
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Class 2 |
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Overview
There were a few feet of snow on Loch Katrine, and the upper loch had 6-8' of snow, so we were spared from any bush-whacking in mid-February. It appeared that you would pass to the west of the lower loch, and traverse clockwise around the upper loch in the spring-fall.Note that the Lock Katrine area and the Lk Phillippe valley haven't been logged for a long time, so the alpine scenary is quite nice.
Getting There
See main page description.Route Description
We followed the route shown in the attached image and stayed on the logging road trail to Loch Katrine. After negotiating some stream crossings at the SE corner of the lake, the rocky terminus of the ridge heading up to Upper Loch Katrine comes into view. Work to the right and follow the path of least resistance all the way to the upper loch. From the upper loch, the summit is left of the more impressive pt 5245 summit that drops steeply into the loch.
Summit above Upper Loch Katrine
Pt 5245 above Upper Loch KatrineTry to stay more to the left as you make your way onto the NE ridge. This avoids steeper chutes that could be dangerous in the winter (30-40 deg). We ascended one of the steeper chutes on the ascent, and learned from our mistake.
Looking back at NE summit ridgeAbout 13 mi RT, 4000' to summit, 300' return, 5-7 hrs to summit.
The yellow shortcut reduces the RT milage by about three miles. We planned to try the shortcut on the way back, but it was getting dark. We verified that the high end of the shortcut agrees with the map, so I'm bullish that it will go. It's only about 500' from the logging road trail to the waypoint "4WDRD".