Mount Habrich Escape Velocity

Mount Habrich Summit View — View from the summit of Mount Habrich

Escape Velocity is a 5.9 seven-pitches route on Mount Habrich. It is a relatively new (2013) route established by Jeremy Frimer and Matt Parker and is not listed in the Alpine Select guidebook. Compared to other climbs on Mount Habrich, I would guess Escape Velocity’s Alpine Rating would be AD.

Things lined up last weekend, and Oudi, Bala and I decided to climb Escape Velocity. Oudi would be bringing his 60 m single rope. Bala and I would get our standard trad rack with some extras. We were very conservative and packed more gear than recommended for this route. After adding some food, my backpack weighed about 20 lbs without the rope.

We left Vancouver around 7 am and didn’t have any issues getting up the forest service road in my Forester.

Mount Habrich Escape Velocity Parking — Trailhead at Shannon Creek Road

The parking lot at the gate on Shannon Creek Road was already full, so we parked just down the road.

Joy

We started our hike around 8:30 am. It took us about 20 minutes to reach the trail junction that connects to the Sea to Sky Gondola. Just ahead, we came across a dog that was running back and forth, barking and howling. Soon we realized that the dog was lost.

The dog’s tag read Joy and had two contact numbers. Joy was tired and thirsty. Oudi took out his Nalgene bottle and poured some water into the palm of his hand. Joy drank that up and soon started drinking directly from the bottle.

We didn’t see anyone around, so we decided to take Joy to the top of Sea to Sky Gondola. Fortunately, we didn’t have to hike all the way back, and Joy was reunited with her family.

Climber’s Trail

Mount Habrich - Sky Pilot Valley Trail — Sky Pilot Valley Trail

The trail from Sea to Sky Gondola is well marked and relatively flat for the first section. We were at a junction about 3.5 km from the gate (car parking), and we followed the Sky Pilot Valley Trail (Habrich Spur).

Mount Habrich - Climbers Trail — Junction of Climber’s Trail (goes left) and Sky Pilot Valley Trail

Just two days back a bear had taken off with two backpacks with bivvy sacks, sleeping bags and pads.

For the next two km, the elevation gain is moderate at around 175 m. Then, at about 5.5 km from the gate, Climber’s Trail goes up to the left from the Sky Pilot Valley Trail. From here, the trail climbs steeply and gains about 600 m over 1.3 km to the base of the climb.

Closer to Mount Habrich, we went left on Climber’s Trail to access Escape Velocity. Around 11:15 am, we arrived at the base of the climb. There were two groups ahead of us, and later another party arrived. It was a busy day on this route.

Escape Velocity – 5.9, Seven Pitches

Mount Habrich Escape Velocity — Pitch 1 – 5.4 scramble

Pitch (P) 1 (5.4) – We climbed this short section unroped, pulling on the tats tied to the two bolts. Since there were two groups ahead of us, we had to wait here for about 45 minutes. We left our approach shoes, one backpack with some food/water and other gear we didn’t need for the route.

P2 (5.9) – Second pitch is the hardest climb of this route. Once you climb up and traverse left, the initial section on the corner is the crux. Bala did a great job of leading this route. Bala tied himself to the middle of the 60 m single rope, and Oudi and I were at each end. I went second, and Oudi followed shortly.

P3 (5.6) – Route goes left and behind the chimney

P4 (5.4) – The route goes left and then a short walk up the slopes, finishes with a traverse protected by two bolts.

Pitch 4 – 5.8. Bala (left) and Oudi coming up the route

P5 (5.8) – At 28 m, this was the longest pitch on the route. Assuming that the rope might fall short, I continued to be tied to the end as I led the route. At one point, as I climbed up a crack, I saw a bolt of the next pitch and realized that I was too high. So I climbed down, traversed left and made a short move over a bulge to get to the anchors.

P6 (5.7) – I went right and then went up the route with six bolts. I don’t think I used any trad gear for protection on this route. A short scramble from the top of pitch six leads to the base of the next pitch.

P7 (5.7) – Oudi led this final pitch and took us to the summit.

Mount Habrich Summit

It took us about two and a half hours to finish the entire route.

As a party of three, I thought it would take us much longer than that. Fortunately, all the groups on the route that day were moving quite well, and we didn’t have to wait once we started climbing.

Mount Habrich Summit - Escape Velocity — Mount Habrich Summit

It was a beautiful day, and we had excellent views from the summit.

Descent

We took a long break on the summit and started our descent around 3:30 pm. Bala tied a Stone (Stein) Knot, and we rapped down simultaneously on a single strand of the rope. It was my first time using this knot and rappeling on a single strand. Oudi would clean the anchor and rap down last.

Left – Stone Knot. Right (Photo by Oudi) – Bala and I rappeling down simultaneously

We used this technique for the rest of the pitches, and it took us just over an hour to get back to our stuff on top of the first pitch. A short scramble down the first pitch, and we were on the trail back to the car.

We were back at the car just after 7 pm. Car to car, it had taken us less than 11 hours and was a much shorter trip compared to the Nesakwatch North Spire climb we had done earlier this month. Easy route finding, quality rock, bolts, lighter backpack and back to the car before dark – felt like we were cheating for an alpine climb.