This is an entertaining and accurate description of what this climb entails. A friend and I did it 37 years ago, and the life memory feels like last week. We were lifted by crazy youthful energy and were much less concerned with safety, which allowed faster movement. We carried an 11mm rope and had a couple of ice screws but never used the screws, using a short rope technique for the Kain face and glacier only. We bivouaced at the top of the face because of concern the ice was a little too wet to do in the late afternoon, waking in the dark to go down before the sun rose the next day. I remember watching the wind blow our tent (left at the bottom of the Kain face with sleeping bags inside) across the glacier, since we didn't tie it down properly. No problem, we recovered it OK the next day. I vividly remember leaping across the bergschrund. Over the years I lost a few friends to the mountains, and was happy to learn that my kids didn't jump into mountaineering.
Hey man a buddy and I are seriously considering this climb, if your still on RU-vid, after 2 years of posting this comment, could I ask you a few questions about the journey? -Henry
Awesome job, all. A serious mountain. Got stormed in for 5 days at 9,500' +/- at the base of the north face in '78. Was glad to be down. Looks like you had some typical Robson weather too.
Great video. I love that you showed both the scenic parts of Mount Robson but also the technical parts; when you had to rope up for shale and steep sections, ice screw placements, v threads.etc. 👌
Haha thanks Steve. We did have a strong team that worked well together, which was really critical as the route we chose (the approach specifically) was pretty rough.
great effort guys - so many parties skip so much of the route these days and opt for a chopper to the base of the Kain face- I don't consider that an ascent of Robson, but so many do - I don't get it? anyway, stellar effort, old school!
Thanks! I could never chopper in and feel good about myself. I get it that some people have their reasons, but for me, the approach to the Kain Face was hard but extremely rewarding.
Haha. Part of me says "save weight at all cost", but the other part knows that you gotta get the shot. Shout out to James for lugging that sucker up there!
Excellent footage. Great to see another 2017's summit party. I can remember every choss part of that approach spur and you guys must be super efficient on ice. Good work.
I can never forget the spur approach, ugh. Thanks, I felt that we moved well on the ice. Simul-climbing is a must in order to do it in a timely fashion.
Yes. We descended the Robson Glacier which was relatively straightforward to descend but would have been challenging to ascend. As this was 6 years ago, I would imagine the glacier is in much worse condition now, especially the Mousetrap Icefall section on the Robson glacier. Currently, I would guess that ascent and descent via Patterson would be the best option.
Such an accomplishment. How did you guys get to the point where you guys decided to do mount Robson? What big mountains did you guys do prior to mount Robson?
Thanks! We trained a lot in the NE in the winter to dial in gear systems, winter travel, etc. Then we climbed Denali via the West Buttress with a very experienced friend a few months prior to Robson.
Unless you are able to get time off and have partners available on short notice when weather and conditions coincide, you can waste your summer vacation year after year attempting it. That's how it is with some big Rockies peaks. There are years where it never gets into condition at all.
Brandon McCarthy the rock does suck, but the glacier is a mess too. It was easy to rap down the glacier but personally I would rather take the rock up, plus it’s faster.
@@allenstoltzfus7006 very cool, that's one hell of an accent. Do you think it would be viable to climb in summer months or would the kain face be to soft. Again insane inspiring accent, props.
I’m hoping to do the president this summer, gain skills - eventually try for mount Robson (if I can conquer my fear of heights) and I ultimately want to try for the trek to Everest base camp. But I won’t actually try to climb it lol! What is the steepest section of mount robson? My husband is really into mountain climbing but I’ve been too scared to try. Something in me feels like if I can climb a mountain I can do anything 🤞
I am planning the same route starting next Sunday, the 29th of July and saw that you took 3 days to do the approach to Kain face and then one summit day and a return day. I have watched the video several times and it has been very instructive. We are planning one or two days for the approach from the park to the col. Is it possible, or is that pushing it? We are planning to be hiking in as a 6AM and then do a long day, maybe 12 hours. Did you use a lot of belay gear on the approach hike? Any information you can reply to would be great.
Paul Robitaille thanks, I'm glad the video is helpful. You should be able to get to the base of the Kain Face in 2 long days. We got close to the face on the 2nd day, but since we had a decent weather window, we took an extra day. We set one nut and pitched out one pitch a few hundred feet below the top of the Patterson Spur. And we wouldn't have had to rope up at all except that we had 50 + lb pack so the scrambling was hard. It depends a lot on how comfortable you are scrambling, I would say that the whole Patterson Spur is 4th class and lower, but it's easy to hit 5th class if you get a little off route. My advice is pack as light as possible and move fast. Ideally you can do the approach in 2 days, summit in 1, and descend down the glacier and all the way back in 1 day. Good luck!!
Allen, Many thanks for the clarification. Sounds like getting to the base of Kain face in one very long day is very unlikely. I am targetting a much lighter pack, trying to come in under 40lbs. We were hoping to do Resplendant on the same trip, and to be 4-5 days on the mountain. Sounds like it may be possible. So there was really only one section on the Spur that you tied in for. We have the GPS route on a device from a guide who did it recently, so hopefully that will keep us on the route, or pretty close. Did you descend down the same route or take the more traditional route? Paul
FUCK YES FELLAS!! The 4 losers who hit dislike are all fat kids with big bellies and small arms. LOOL Seeing as this face has been skied a few times, I think maybe a snowboard descent should be in order.
