Diadem Mountain

June 20, 2024

Diadem Mountain

Diadem - 1795M

780M Prominence

49.996557 -124.074175

Jun 20, 2024

12H 51M C2C, 11H 45M moving

1700M+ Ascent and descent

I have been wanting to do Diadem since I first heard of it 3 or so years ago. It is a very distinct and visibly pleasing mountain from just about any peak in Qathet. It's pointy red needle sticks out like a sore thumb as it looms over the low lying bowling alley that is Khartoum valley. When Tyler and I came up with the idea to climb it mid week in a very good spell of weather, I could not turn it down. We decided to leave home at 7 with our overnight packs to give us plenty of time to make it up to the summit and camp out. The vehicle accessibility stops after just over an hour of driving, at the head of Khartoum lake, past the fish farm and the Khartoum campsite. At this point there is a few pretty gnarly cross ditches, so we decided to start biking up the road. After just over an hour of biking up a relatively clear old logging road, there is a fork in the road, the more clear road continues to the left, and our route continues to the right. The road to the right is an impossibly overgrown salmonberry and fallen tree bushwhack that goes on for a few hours until finally the flagged route starts in a relatively old growth forest, shortly after this forest segment starts, you have to cross the Lois river. The river was flowing pretty strongly, as it collects all the snow runoff from the Diadem Side, the Walt ridge side, and many more tributaries at the head of the valley. We did our best to stay dry and crossed the river. after the river crossing we worked our way up through an old growth forest that had been logged way back in the day, it was relatively smooth travelling, and it was far cooler under the trees than it would be once we got out in the open. Eventually we descended down a small rock slide and crossed a boulder field, before going back into the forest. We then reached another boulder field, but this time followed it up to the canyon area. The Canyon was quite striking. Tall rock faces enclosed a large snow patch with sorts of snow caves. We took a quick refueling break, and then started up one of the steeper sections of the route. A splintery plastic rope helped us up into the thick bushes, where the uphill bushwhack started and continued for the next few hours. This section was quite unenjoyable, mainly because it was so easy to loose the trail of flagging tape put up 5 years ago through the endless bushiness. As we got closer to getting up on the ridge, it was important to stay on route, as it is quite easy to get cliffed out. Once up on the ridge we got a clear view of the summit. At this point, we would be up there in less than 2 hours, the ridge walk was easy. The ridge was still covered in snow. The snow was wet, but supported our weight no problem, so we made good time. Gradually the snowy ridge petered out, and the incline started to pick up. Two sections of more distinct class 3 scrambling on loose and crumbly but dry rock were split up by several sections of bush climbing, some trickier than others. It was only 3PM by the time we were standing on the summit, just large enough for 2 people to bivy on. During the day we had discussed trying to do it in a day if we were making good time, which we did. I was skeptical of the one day climb idea, but After a good long break on the summit, we decided we were definitely capable. The summit views were spectacular, we chose a perfect day with optimal visibility. Looking down into the Jervis inlet from above was a view that I had been waiting for for a while now, and it definitely did not disappoint. The views over into the North Vancouver Area and Squamish were quite spectacular, as well as a great view of Mount Churchill and the Gorgeous Marlborough peak. Leaving plenty of time to get back down, we took off before 4, and descended the same route as the way in. I led the game of try and find the flags through the bushes quite successfully, and we were back down through overgrown slope, through the canyon, and back down to the river in good time. I was starting to loose it a bit once we got to the river, so before we crossed, we took a quick break and I chowed down some dry ramen and had a few swigs of water. Careless for our comfort levels for the remaining few hours, we trekked through the river with our boots on, and blasted through the final section of overgrown road back to our bikes. I thank myself for wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt today. Tyler looked like he had been in a fight with a feral cat by the end of the day. The quick downhill ride back to the truck was a good reward at the end of a long day. It was nearly 9PM back at the truck. We booked it out of there, and even got to see a few black bears on the drive out.