Sky Pilot Mountain
I have been wanting to make a trip up the Shannon Creek valley to climb some peaks for a while now. Initially It was just Sky Pilot on my radar, but after some time I found out about the striking satellite summit of " the Copilot". I then later found out about Mount Habrich when I began to see its gorgeous and striking shape from many peaks and places around Squamish. I then came up with the idea to make a 3 day self propelled mission up the valley to make an attempt at all three of them. I bounced the idea off of my sister Stella, and she was of course in for it, as she wanted to climb them all as well. The first of the trio to do was Sky Pilot, and although it is the one with the least technically demanding route, it was the one that I had to do the most, as it is such a striking peak from just about anywhere. The day got off to a late start, and just after 10AM we got a move on from the Shannon Falls public parking. We found our way to a steep trail, marked as "The Climb", and followed it for hours until it finally ended up at the top of the Gondola. I am now aware that there are maybe easier trails than "The Climb", but it seemed like the most direct route and I was trying to be mindful of the time. The trail was steep and a a bit scrambly with a few fixed ropes and some ladders, so I would imagine it would be much more fun without a 35+ Lb backpack.
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| Stella coming up "The Climb" |
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| Nearing the upper gondola station. First good look at Sky Pilot (Left) and the Copilot |
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| More ropes and ladders on trail |
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| We set up camp just below the snow |
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| Stella hiking up the snow, Habrich looms behind |
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| To the left is the anniversary glacier, we followed the footsteps |
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| A few steeper snow steps up above the glacier |
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| A group rappelling the Pink Slabs, just before we ascend |
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| Stella climbing up chimney #1 |
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| This sub summit gendarme looks extremely daunting |
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| Stella scrambling up out of chimney #2 |
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| Summit view, Goat Ridge, Copilot, Howe Sound, The Tantalus, Al's Habrich ridge. (L>R) |
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| Habrich looks great below, Mount Garibaldi still looks massive in the distance |
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| Ledge Mountain is one to come back for |
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| Panorama for a better understandiong of the area |
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| Stella on the hike back down, Ledge still in full view |
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| It's pretty easy to make the Pink Slabs look horrifying |
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| Sights set on the Copilot for tomorrow |
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| And on Habrich for the following day... |
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| Set up camp for the night. |
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