Conor and Leon.. we were moving fast at this point and gained the shoulder in under an hour. It was my third time on this trail in three weeks, having climbed Yam, East peak of Wendell and now an attempt on Mt. Wendell
There was a large dump of snow last wednesday and even though it's been warm and the slopes are south facing, there was still some snow in the trees. Here Conor rejoins the group after taking the switchback.
Leon went a little bit off track (like he does) and explored near the cliffs at the base of the east peak. Here he looks miniscule compared to the massive cliffs above him. At least he's wearing a brightly coloured shirt.
Conor reaches the pillars.. we actually had to ascend out of the valley to reach the pillars below the east summit ridge. We'd give all this elevation back as we make our way up the CMC valley to the gully that leads to Mt Wendell's col.
On the left is the face that you'd climb to get to the east peak of Wendell. On the right is Yamnuska. The bushwacking was about to get more intense as we continued up the valley. There is a distinct lack of a trail in this area.
After hiking up the valley and turning climbers right into the correct drainage, we were finally out of the trees and starting to gain some elevation. The terrain here was rocky with a shallow layer of snow.
There was waterflow coming out of the drainage and a layer of new snow from wednesdays dump. We'd come from the valley and were slowly making our way along. Yam and Goat mountains in the background.
Before we could assess the gully, We had to climb up a slope so we could see it. Behind conor, there was a sizeable runoff that was feeding Ford Creek in the valley below.