Ryan Stuart, explore's gear editor

Climbing Arrowsmith to celebrate more than a park

• Posted on October 1, 2009 at 5:32 PM
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Looking out towards the west coast from high on Mount Arrowsmith.

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“Mount Arrowsmith”

There's fresh snow on the mountains today, the first of the year. I was lucky and managed to snag a final summer summit before the weather changed. Four friends and I summited Mount Arrowsmith, a prominent peak above Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni, via the The Nose route, a fantastic way to climb the peak, and the finale to a fun boys weekend.

We started with a quick trip to Tofino, arriving at dusk during a drenching rain storm. We had just enough time to get thrashed by dumpy surf before it got dark. The next day was a classic blue bird fall day, with great waves and no wind. We had another good surf session before heading across the island to Mount Arrowsmith. We set up a camp high on a logging road spur – true white trash camping – built a fire, ate too well and drank too much.

A little hungover we started climbing at about 10 am. The route follows a trail over several scenic bluffs to a small pass. Then it stays on the ridge up and over four minor summits, with the odd steep section, before climbing The Nose. Aptly named this ridge feature rears back to an almost rock climbing angle and is very exposed. We picked our way carefully up the feature. There's a few spots where a fall would be certain death and a few members of our group were wishing for a rope.

We summitted, loafed about for a bit and then two of us descended the route while the others followed the Judge's route, the grunt trail. Overall everyone agreed The Nose is a spectacular route. It features awesome views to both sides of the Island almost the whole way.

As you may remember from the March 2009 issue of explore Mount Arrowsmith was recently protected within a regional park in addition to being a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. Just the week before we climbed the regional park was finally enacted.

Of course I had some great gear out for a test. A new for spring 2010 pack from Columbia that has a tent like exoskelleton. The bread did not get smushed. And next year's La Sportiva Gandolph Pro approach shoes. They're a lite boot with excellent grip and good stability in the boulder field we had to cross when we took a short cut on the way down.