Sky Pilot North Face Attempt

Easter long weekend promised some good weather, and Rohan proposed Sky Pilot North Face climb for Sunday. Rohan shared all the information he had gathered from trip reports and recent pictures. Although there was quite a bit of uncertainty around conditions, I decided to join. 

Territory Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge that this trip took place on the unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I commit to learning about Indigenous peoples and issues and making reconciliation an ongoing effort.

Source: Native-Land Pronunciation Guide: First Nations.info

Trip Planning

Jesse and Ankit would also be joining us, and we got together for a group call on Friday evening. We reviewed the route information on Sea to Sky Backcountry website and discussed conditions, gear, logistics, etc.

Rohan put together an online gear list for the group, which made it easy to pack. Jesse and Rohan would bring their ice screws while Rohan and Ankit got their cams. Once everything was packed, I was surprised to see the weight at 41 lbs, and I still had about 2-3 lbs of water/food to pack. 

The next day, the updated avalanche forecast for Sunday was Low/Low/Low. Most models forecasted a good weather window for Sunday, except for the NAM model on Windy. 

Saturday evening, I picked up Jesse from North Vancouver, and we drove together to Squamish. Rohan’s family treated us to some nice Indian dinner, and then we crashed at his place for a couple of hours.

Approach 

We left Rohan’s place around 1:30 am and met Ankit at the Apron parking lot. We drove along the FSR, parked my car and then hopped into Ankit’s car. 

The road conditions were not too bad, and by 2:30 am, we made it to the gate on Shannon Creek Road. After sorting out the gear, we hit the trail around 02:45 am.

It took us about 25 minutes to hike up to the top of Sea to Sky Gondola, and we continued on the Shannon Creek Road. We got slightly off track and went on Al’s Winter Route. But after a couple of “this is new…” comments, we got back on the trail. 

We continued on the Shannon Creek Road and later got on the Habrich Spur. About two and half hours into the hike, we were at the end of Habrich Spur, about seven km from the gate at Shannon Creek FSR. We took a quick snack break and put on our snowshoes here.  

From here, it was a steep hike up the Sky Pilot Trail to the Sky Pilot Habrich Traverse junction at 1350 m. 

At the junction, we went left (East) on Sky Pilot Habrich Traverse and then South towards the Sky Pilot North Face (same approach as Gunsight Couloir). The visibility early in the morning was excellent, and we enjoyed some fantastic views of Mount Habrich.

Sky Pilot North Face

As we approached the North Face, the ice on the first pitch looked much better, considering it was mid-April. 

It was close to 7:15 am, about four and half hours since we started, and we had covered just over 8.5 km with over 800 m of elevation gain. We still had at least six hours of climbing, a couple of hours of descent via the West Ridge route and a hike down to the car. 

Considering the conditions, I was unsure if I was ready for the effort for various reasons. At an elevation of about 1550 m, about 300 m from the base of North Face, I requested the group to take a quick break. 

A week back, I had taken a bad fall near Pump Peak, and I had slight pain in the ribs every time the backpack strap pressed against the ribs. So far, I was able to deal with this pain on the approach, but climbing with this discomfort was not too appealing. 

Although the conditions on the first pitch seemed okay, there was quite a bit of snow higher up on the route. I was not sure about my technical and physical ability to climb this face in these conditions.

Finally, the descent route via West Ridge was another factor. In summer, it is a scramble, with a fourth-class scramble on Pink Slab being the crux section. Assuming we would get to the summit, would I be prepared to descend via this route in winter conditions with a heavy backpack after being out for 10-12 hours? Again, I was not sure. 

Considering all these factors, some more mental than physical, I decided to turn around. Ankit was not feeling great, and he joined me on the descent. Rohan and Jesse were in better spirits and were the strongest climbers in our group, and they decided to give it a shot. 

It took Rohan and Jesse more than 90 minutes to get to the base of the first pitch. Jesse led the first pitch, and it took him more than two hours to lead the pitch and set up the anchor. By the time Rohan got up the route, it was past noon, and they decided to turn around. Check Rohan’s post for his take on this attempt with details on climbing conditions and their rappel. Kudos to Jesse and Rohan for climbing the first pitch and getting down safely.

Ankit and I got back to the car around 11 am. Rohan and Jesse took the gondola down and we picked them up around 4:45 pm.

Once back home, I did my own scaled-down version of the debrief. I realized that I could have done a better job at route assessment, planning and movement assessment before committing to this trip. However, I am glad I went on this trip and had this experience. Now, I have a goal to work towards and I am excited about it.

Resources:

Trip Reports: Sea to Sky Backcountry | South Coast Alpine Climbing Facebook Group

GPX Tracks: Approach to Sky Pilot North Face

Avalanche Canada – Forecast | Avy Savvy – Online Avalanche Tutorial | Recorded Webinars

Weather Forecast – SpotWx | Yr.No | Windy

AdventureSmart – Trip Planning

Disclosure: The links I have shared in the post and under the Resources section are not Affiliate Links.

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