Connecting about change
Documenting the impacts of climate change in the Tonquin Valley with support from the Jen Higgins Grant for Young Women
Trip participants: Katie Reeder, Rikke Foss, Lauren Rychliski and Brooklyn Rushton
The Alpine Club of Canada is dedicated to helping young women pursue their adventure dreams with annual cash grants from the Jen Higgins Fund. Teams must include a young woman who is central to conceiving, developing and leading the trip. Established by friends and family to honour Jen Higgins after her death in 1997, Jen’s enthusiasm and generous spirit continue to live on by supporting young women in creative, self-propelled, mountain adventures with this grant. The ACC is honoured to continue Jen’s legacy of sharing knowledge and enthusiasm with others.
*Annual deadline for applications is January 31.
Brooklyn leading up the second pitch on the North Buttress. Photo Credit: Lauren Rychliski
In late August, four of us set off to the mystical realm also know as the Tonquin Valley, on a trip partially funded by The Alpine Club of Canada’s Jen Higgins Grant. On this all-women’s trip, our purpose was building leadership skills in alpine terrain, empowering each other, and documenting the impacts of climate change in the Tonquin Valley. For those who do not know, this valley is one of Jasper National Park’s gems; home to towering quartzite peaks, vast glaciers, turquoise lakes, and even mountain caribou. This area hosts countless alpine climbs, but it is remote and the presence of the surrounding peaks tells you to check your ego at the trailhead and approach the area with humility and respect.
Our trip began with an early start at the Astoria trailhead, followed by an 18-kilometre trek with heavy overnight climbing packs. We were certainly happy to set our packs down at the historic Wates-Gibson Hut, seeing a glimpse of the Ramparts in the background.
After settling in, we did a scoping mission up Thunderbolt Peak, which is a beautiful third-class scramble on solid quartzite rock that gifts you with an amazing view over the Eremite Valley, an area now difficult to access by climbers after the bridge was washed out in recent years. With a short weather window and rain forecasted for later in the trip, we decided to save climbing Outpost and Memorial Peaks via the North Buttress route for our second day.
Outpost Peak towers over the Wates-Gibson Hut and is a great introduction to the climbing in the area. Knowing there was a possibility of rain coming in the later afternoon, we got an early start the next morning in an attempt to avoid getting stuck climbing slippery quartzite covered in black lichen. We headed out from the cabin and up the terminal moraine left behind after the recession of the Fraser Glacier. From the moraine, we gained a ridge with some fun scrambling before the climbing started. Our group alternated leads up the North Buttress and we were stoked on the climbing, views, and teamwork throughout the day. I mean, how could you really be upset with great friends, views, and climbing on a bluebird day?
A: North Buttress of Outpost Peak
Upon reaching the top of the North Buttress (Photo A), there was some great third-class scrambling standing between us and the summit of Outpost Peak. Stoked on reaching the summit, we had a quick celebration and signed the summit register, noting that the last group there had been some of our good friends from Jasper. From there, traversing to Memorial Peak required a bit of route finding, but we were blessed with solid pink quartzite stone on fourth-class terrain, which was certainly the most solid rock we climbed on all day! The descent down Memorial Peak was straightforward and is definitely the best way to descend from Outpost Peak. However, we were greeted with an incoming thunderstorm at the base of Memorial Peak, which prompted us to pick up the pace and get boogying back to the hut.
B: Historic route up the North Glacier on Outpost Peak
This first climbing day was great and really allowed us to come together as a team and recognize our strengths and weaknesses, all while having amazing views over the valley and down the Ramparts. Back at the cabin, we read some of the history of climbing in the area from a photo book in the hut and discovered that there was a historic route up the North Glacier of Outpost Peak (Photo B) that is no longer accessible due to rapid recession leaving behind a steep and unstable terminal moraine. As our team reflected on the fate of this glacier and historic climbing route, we got to thinking about the future of alpine climbing accessibility, asking ourselves what historic routes will not longer be feasible, accessible, or safe in the next 50 years? 30? 10?
On our third day, climbing plans were limited by rain and low clouds that seemed to linger throughout the day. Listening to the mountains, we decided to stay off any technical rock terrain and headed to the South Ridge of McDonnell Peak, which is a third-class scramble requiring us to traverse across the Fraser Glacier. Walking up the moraine left behind by the glacier’s recession, it was eye-opening to see how much the glacier has receded compared to historical photographs from the Mountain Legacy Project website and in the photo book in the hut. As we were walking up, we discussed how outdated mapping software is and decided to do some ground truthing on the extent of glacier recession compared to mapping software. The photo at the bottom of this page shows where our FatMap software indicates the toe of the glacier to be, compared to where the actual toe of the Fraser is (which was approximately 400m behind us).
Rikke & Brooklyn at the “Toe of the Fraser Glacier”
The route up the South Ridge of McDonnell Peak over the Fraser Glacier proved to be a perfect objective for a rainy day. The ridge itself has amazing exposure and from the summit you can see the icefall behind the Ramparts, which was one of the most beautiful sights on the trip. From McDonnell, we had hopes to traverse over to Simon Peak, which is the tallest peak in the Ramparts, hoping for some more amazing views. However, once we reached the summit, Simon Peak became engulfed in a large low-lying cloud, almost as if the mountains were saying “not today, ladies.” We decided to listen and descend back to the hut.
The following day, we hiked out but first decided to scramble up Surprise Point to get one last view of the Ramparts (a highly recommended adventure close to the hut if you want to scope out terrain). Walking back to collect our heavy packs and make the trek out, we walked barefoot through this open meadow on spongy moss, all while following caribou tracks which really tied the trip together and made us feel very connected to the natural environment.
Group photo at Wates-Gibson Hut.
Overall, this was a trip that involved connecting with nature and each other, documenting change in the area, and gaining fundamental leadership skills in alpine terrain. We are all so thankful for The Alpine Club of Canada’s Jen Higgins Grant for empowering and providing opportunity for women in the mountains. Being surrounding by such strong, fiercely independent, and supportive women was inspiring for us all and gave us the opportunity to grow, learn, and evolve. On top of that, it was enlightening to document the impacts of climate change in an area that does not host many visitors each year. The change in some of the historic climbing routes and recession of the Fraser Glacier was dramatic and inspired us to come up with a call to action. We’d like to call on members of The Alpine Club of Canada to do the following:
When you are out on your next objective, expedition, or mission, open your mind and peripheries to connect with and document change in the area where you are recreating. Some good ways to approach that is to seek out historical photographs of the region, which can be found at your local museum, through personal networks, guidebooks, and the Mountain Legacy Project website, and take repeat photographs, reflecting on the differences you see. Additionally, look at the mapping software that you rely on for navigation, investigate where your map showcases the glacier to be, and take a photo of where the toe of the glacier is showcased on your map in real time – you will likely be astounded by the difference with how things are now. Share this information with your personal, professional, and social networks to inspire those around you to do the same.
As recreationalists, we have a great responsibility to be advocates for Mother Earth and document what we see in areas that are often inaccessible to scientists and the general public. We hope that this story inspires you to recreate with a purpose, document change in your local environment, and advocate for change in our society to create a more sustainable and equitable future.
DONATE TO THE JEN HIGGINS FUND
The ACC is dedicated to helping young women pursue their adventure dreams and your donation to the Jen Higgins Fund helps us support them. The Alpine Club of Canada is honoured to continue Jen’s legacy of sharing knowledge and enthusiasm with others.