Russet Lake approach
Maria picks me up at 2:30pm in Burnaby. We make pretty good time on the highway, but have to stop for gas on the way. The clouds look ominous, and it's hard to believe that Saturday is supposed to be sunny. Nevertheless, we're committed and dish out $76 for two lift tickets. We step off the Whistler gondola at 5:00pm and begin our hike along the Musical Bumps trail.
We're in a hurry as we don't feel like hiking in the dark, so the camera stays in my pack most of the way. The trail is incredibly scenic, bypassing Piccolo Summit, then crossing Flute and Oboe Summits, dropping to the Singing Pass junction, and then finally ascending to Russet Lake. On the way, we experience rain, snow, warm sun, and cold wind. We're in the mountains...I guess that's to be expected...
The sun disappears at about 8:00pm, just as we open the door to the Himmelsbach Hut. The hut is in good shape, recently cleaned, and complete with playing cards, dustpan & broom, a pair of tea lights, and a wine bottle opener. It's a Friday night, so we have the hut to ourselves. One solo camper has set up his tent nearby.
Maria wakes at 3am for a bathroom break. I decide to go too. Outside, the skies have cleared and the moon is spectacular.
In retrospect, we should have hauled a tent along. Staying in the hut is convenient, but bloody cold. At least with a tent, you trap a bit of air in the smaller space, adding a degree or two of warmth (seems like a good theory to me).
A frosty but beautiful morning greets us. We have a leisurely breakfast and depart by 9:15am.
Ascending Whirlwind Peak
We walk along the east side of Russet Lake heading south towards the low point of Fissile Peak's west ridge. It is here that we see the first of the guardian sentinel marmots.
Looking across to Whirlwind's west ridge, we look at the route described in the Scrambles book. Matt Gunn's description suggests accessing the west ridge. However, we don't like the looks of the cornices and decide to ascend the glacier between Fissile and Whirlwind.
As we reach the col between Fissile and Whirlwind, we get our first glimpses of Overlord.
Not that one, this one!
But first, we have to hit up the Whirlwind summit,
Refuse Ridge traverse
Viewed from Whirlwind, the route to Overlord is obvious. Follow the ridge north-east until you get there.
We begin our descent, aiming for Refuse Ridge. As we descend, we make the mistake of dropping too low on the scree slope. It made for a cool photo, but turned out to be an unpleasant slip-sliding affair.
It's a steep but easy (and loose) scramble up to Refuse Pinnacle. The best route is to once again stay as close to the centre ridge line as possible. A footpath is occasionally visible to remind you that you're on the right path. If you get too low, falling rock becomes a safety hazard.
Overlord!
From Refuse Ridge, the remainder of the route is a simple walk across snow and rocky terrain.
The views are outstanding. We gawked at the glaciers and nearby summits, ate lunch, chatted with the solo hiker who summitted ahead of us, gawked at views a bit more, and just absorbed the atmosphere.
Return via alternate route
From the summit of Overlord, we had a good view of the glacier on Whirlwind's north side, allowing us to plan an alternate return path. Conditions were good, so we accessed the glacial slope in the col between Whirlwind and Refuse. Although we chose not to rope up, different conditions could have made for a different decision.
What a difference! We saved at least an hour using this route, avoided slippery scree, and didn't even need crampons (although I wore mine anyway).
From there, we met our original ascent tracks and descended to Russet Lake the same way we came.
After a brief rest, we decide to hike out instead of staying another night. The lure of warm showers and soft mattresses is too much. We sign the register, pack up, and depart by 4:30pm.
From Russet Lake to the Singing Pass junction (approx. 2km), we encounter about 20 people coming in to spend the night. After a full day, the hike out was long and tiring, but I think we made the right choice. I am imagining rustling sleeping bags, snoring, and no privacy...
A final glimpse of Overlord, Fissile Peak, and Cowboy Ridge presents itself as we shuffle down the Singing Pass trail.
