| Follow the
Whiteswan FSR beyond Whiteswan Lake to
Fenwick Creek junction. Take a left and drive along the west
side
of Flett Peak on another well-traveled gravel road to White Elk FSR,
107669. This road is in poor shape with several washouts, (one before
the 45 marker followed by two others). Within about 1.5 km of
the
ascent drainage a fourth washout forced us to turn around and park,
132686. Slipping and getting stuck with the truck in a remote area is
never appealling. The south-east drainage of Dorman offers a direct,
straightforward ascent. The creek bed is accessed from the
road, 142693, and followed to the back of the draw, 124672. The long
south facing scree slope easily leads to the summit. |
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Fenwick Creek
junction. |
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White Elk FSR. |
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Scramble: RT 8.0; 5.5 up.
Unbelievable and against all odds!
We woke up early to over 10 cm of fresh snow in Golden, and still
snowing. Oh
no, did we miss the opportunity by one day? We were already
packed for a
camping trip with the hounds and we hadn't been in Canal Flats for a
while, so
we decided to go anyway. The drive was slow but by Invermere, the snow
diminished. The forecast called for mild, overcast weather.
Unfortunately, we
only got a glimpse of Dorman's ascent slopes on the drive in; the
clouds were
low and obscured the view above treeline. We left the truck at 10:45
AM; Fab
escorted me to the ascent drainage along with the doggies. We went up a
little
trail past the creek bed, it became overgrown quickly (I stayed on
the creek
bed on the return). The terrain was covered with ankle deep
snow,
travelling was good and the gully soon came into view. Fab went back
down to
set up camp while I plodded up the gully. At the crest of the lower
gully,
amazing ice had formed in the creek bed. I ascended climber's left,
well above
the drainage and continued uphill of the tree's edge where the snow was
not as
deep. The amount and texture of the snow changed rapidly. By the time I
neared
the back of the draw it was 2:15 PM and windy. The going was slow; I
still had
some distance to go in knee-deep snow before reaching the southern
windblown
slopes and close to 500 m. of elevation to gain. Filled with doubt I
called Fab
on my radio, he did not dissuade me to go. We both knew earlier that I
would be
returning in the dark, I had two headlamps. Encouraged I pursued the
top.
Travelling got better but visibility declined. Soon the shale rock was
heavily
rimed and everything
was white, I
blindly continued, up, up, up this steady incline. When it leveled off
I cheered but
there was no summit cairn.
I quickly pulled out my GPS and looked at my watch: 4:30 PM. Whoa, I felt
so small up there by myself in these conditions: standing on this
featureless,
very obscured summit (I may have missed the cairn, I didn't roam). Regrettably, my
two summit
pictures are not usable and I omitted to take pictures on my speedy way
down
this summit block. I truly felt I needed to get as far down before
being caught
by darkness. I did manage to reach the lower gully before total pitch
dark,
slipping several
times. I followed
the creek bed all the way back to the road. The road was a relief,
Lincoln
welcomed me near
the camp. I could see the warm glow of the fire ahead, I felt happy,
tired and
satisfied! The next day, on our way out, Mount Dorman
revealed
itself to us. What an
amazingly beautiful mountain, it reminds me of Cirrus Mountain.
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The first washout
and Dorman's south-west flanks. |
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Nice rock along the
road. |
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The creek bed. |
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Away from the creek
bed the terrain is aldery. Lower part of the ascent gully up ahead. |
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A closer look. |
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Back of the draw and
windblown south slopes. |
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Looking back towards
the upper gully. |
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There was less snow
on the edge of the treed terrain. |
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In the meantime Fab
is investigating wolf tracks? |
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First real look at
Dorman on our way out the next day. |
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A closer look at the
summit. |
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Mount Dorman is a
very beautiful mountain. |
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