International Basin – Mary’s Peak

July 28, 2022

This is Day 5 of 6 days climbing at International Basin with the Alpine Club of Canada General Mountaineering Camp. All climbs are guided by ACMG guides and experienced volunteer leaders. To see an overview of climbs in this area, please click here.

Today I got very, very lucky! Mostly everyone had summited Mary’s Peak the day after International Mountain as it’s an ideal half day to recover after a long glacier traverse. As I was hauled off to Horseman Spire that day, I missed out. However, Mary’s Peak was offered again on day 5, and I was SO lucky because I got another private tour with Hamish Sanderson. This time I was paired with Jeff, the Camp Doctor. I met Jeff at last year’s GMC, but never climbed with him. That was rectified today, and I’d be with him again tomorrow.

Mary’s Peak is the closest mountain to camp, so it’s a very short commute. While Mary’s is smaller than Miners Peak, it is actually more technical. Once at the summit, the work is not done as the traverse is technical, plus lots of lowering off the other side. I was very happy to once again have ACMG Guide Hamish Sanderson leading this, as his calm and steady personality ensured that everything went smoothly. Jeff is also a great climber, so it was a fun day.

The big draw of Mary’s though is not the mountain. Nope! It’s the small tarn at the base. As we had record hot temperatures, no one was missing the opportunity to go for a cool down swim. So refreshing!

Gear

Boots, helmet, harness, climbing rope, and climbing tackle. Poles are handy for the trek there and back.

Mary’s Peak Overview

From camp, we crossed the Bobby Burns creek, and then headed north to the far north side of Mary’s Peak. We climbed up, and then traversed across to the summit. Hamish did a lower, then a steep scramble descent. From there, it was a steep snow descent down to the meadow. After a quick dip in the lake, we continued on to camp.

Totals – Downloadable Tracks on Gaia. Displayed on Strava.

Date: July 28, 2022
Group:  3 (ACMG Guide Hamish Sanderson, Camp Doctor Jeff, and Alisen)
Distance:  4.5 km
Elevation:  526 m (1,735′)
Time:  5 hours 20 minutes total time, including hunting for mining artifacts and swimming. Actual moving time is closer to 4 hours.

Mary’s Peak Route

We didn’t leave camp until 7:00 am today, which was so relaxing compared to the glacier days. The biggest challenge seemed to be how to get across the creek just north of camp. Everyone took a different route, but Hamish absolutely nailed it. So much so, that we’d try and follow his tracks the next day on our way to David’s Peak. With the snow melting out so quickly, a snow bridge today was a rotten mess tomorrow.

Once on the meadow, Hamish was on the hunt for the various mining debris and structures left behind. We found quite a few interesting bits. No geologists with us, but Hamish has more than enough geological knowledge to keep us well informed.

I will fully admit that this next section is going to be sketch on details. There was a lot of climbing, down-climbing, traversing and lowering. As it was just the three of us, we boogied through this fairly quickly. I got photos of the main stuff, but this is in no way exhaustive.

Time to summit was 2 hours, 45 minutes with lots of dipsy-doodling to dig through mining artifacts. We had great views of the mountains we’d already summited, plus a view to tomorrow’s objective – David’s Peak.

Mary’s Peak Return

After a bite to eat at the summit, we started the descent. There was at least one lower, but there might have been more. Of all the climbs this week, I must have been more tired than I thought as this one just didn’t stick in my mind. After the lower, there was a final large boulder field, followed by a snow descent.

At the col, we descended via a snow slope. It was very steep at the top, and Hamish gave us the option of roping up. Jeff and I considered the angle, and we both agreed that a rope was appropriate. Once the angle backed off, we took off the rope and had a great ride down.

After a cooling dip, we got dressed and headed back to camp. It was sure nice to have an extended day in camp, as I was finally able to have a shower and clean up a bit.

Mary’s Peak is a close access mountain with no shortage of interesting climbing. Everyone at camp agreed that Mary’s was harder and more technical than Miners Peak. It’s an ideal half day objective, with an awesome swimming hole at the end.

Join me for the final adventure of climbing David’s Peak.

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Alisen