6 Peaks Bagged in the Grouse Area

6 Peaks Bagged in one day! The top of West Crown Therefore, lots of photos below!!!

A nice sign post pointing out the various peaks!

It's Wet and Cold!

The Top of Goat Mountain.

Steep!

Using the Chains to Get UP. What goes up must come down them too!

Rocky Section Heading up Crown Mountain.

Coming down West Crown - thanks for the trail markers David!

On the trail to West Crown - Crown in the background.

A view of Crown from the trail to West Crown

Neil and a view of the city between clouds.

On the return from West Crown - West Crown in the background.

Heading Up West Crown

Knarly Rock.

The last of the trees!

Don't look down!

Almost there!

The Top of Crown Mountain.

The clouds were rolling in!


Up! Up! Up!

The mist with some hidden vertical drops on the way to the summit of Crown Mountain.

Heading up the trail to Crown Mountain.

The main trail where the routes to Dam, Little Goat and Goat turn off from.


The day started out quite clear but by mid morning the mist started to roll in. We were up Grouse mountain to bag some peaks that are listed in the Bagger Challenge. Just beyond the Chalet you can climb to the top of Grouse Mtn. We came back down and paid a visit to Coola and Grinder the 2 Grizzly Bears in the bear habitat on the mountain. It was busy around the main chalet first thing in the morning but once we headed out on the trail that takes you to the peaks it was very quiet. We did not see another human for hours. Neil commented on the many piles of fresh bear scat in the area. The next peak after Grouse was Dam. Last year when we did these peaks it was a very icy day. It was nice to have a dry trail and dry rock this time. We were up and down quite quickly and then carried on to Little Goat. Minimal views at the top as the mist was rolling in. The next peak Goat had a couple of sections with chains to help you up and down some steeper rock sections. Once I got the technique down they were very helpful. The top of Goat was misty and cold. We didn't stay long and kept moving to stay warm. The trail to Crown Mountain is quite challenging with a little bit of everything along the way. It is steep, rooty, rocky, has a boulder field, vertical drops and it was starting to get wet and slippery. I had a couple of moments where I felt nervous crossing on rock that was exposed with vertical drops. Near the top of Crown it was misty and the clouds were moving fast so the vertical drops were hidden in the mist. Occasionally it would clear and Neil would say don't look down - and I didn't! The wind started to pick up when we were at the top of Crown so we did not stay long, we came back down and stopped for a bite to eat in a more sheltered location. The next Peak was West Crown. We saw the green tape marking the trail on the way up Crown so we knew where we had to turn off on the way down. The trail to West Crown was not as well travelled but was well marked (thanks David!). There were a couple of sections where I had to just sit down on my butt to get down. I actually ripped a couple of holes in my pants by the end of the day! I was tired on the way back to the Grouse Chalet at the end of the day - my hands were cold from the wet, soggy gloves. Time to put 2 pairs of gloves in the pack! Once we were lower down we could hear the sounds of the Zip Treck which was welcoming knowing that we were getting close to the chalet. We managed to catch the Gondola down just before it was departing - perfect timing as we were wet and cold. Once down first stop was to get a coffee to go. A quick change into dry clothes and we called Wendy who couldn't join us today to let her know we were down. It was a 9 hour day - that's 6 more peaks!