2005, July: Selkirk Lodge: Mts. Justice and Virtue
Selkirk Lodge with Justice Mountain and Glacier behind. The peak is climbed easily via its glacier once one gets around the steep bump known as Devine Peak (out of view to the left).
In late July, 2005, a group of 10 of us, joined by hut mistress Grania Devine, spent a week at Selkirk Lodge. We had perfect weather and so were able to summit several peaks, including Justice, Fulgerite, and Virtue. Personnel: Stan Wagon, Joan Hutchinson, David and Vicki Nebel, Jonathan and Jacque Kriegel, Martha Fulford, Diane McNamara, Katie Larson, Bob Bekes.
The hardest ascent was Virtue Mountain. On our first try we made it only to the preliminary bump called “Feel the Love”, where we decided to turn around and grab the three easier peaks surrounding the Primrose Icefield. It looked like the ridge from the bump to the main ridge would be loose and unpleasant. Two days later Katie and I started again, leaving the hut at 5:45 a.m. We got to Feel the Love in under two hours and the ridge from there turned out to be exposed but solid class 3 scrambling. At three hours we were at the lowest point, and soon thereafter we negotiated the easy class 4 step. Further scrambling from there brought us to the glacier, which we could walk to its highest point. Then we ascended the headwall, which was a little loose, but which offered enough route choice that we could find a way that was fine. This put us near the west summit and the scramble to the main summit was straightforward. Time to summit was 5.5 hours and we did not rope up.
On other days we investigated the snouts of the Devine and Justice Glaciers, and hiked to two lakes on the other side of Phantom Pass. Views were always terrific, especially of Moby Dick and Butters to the southeast, and nearby Albert Peak.
Natural highlights included a cave in the rock talus that led to a hidden glacier, and a spectacular array of flowers, including Butterwort, a carnivorous plant that traps bugs, and a tremendous variety of Indian Paintbrush. An especially noteworthy spot was the large lake northeast of the hut, below Cassiope. Perhaps it could be called The Pool of Andromeda. This was as pristine an alpine lake as I have seen.
The weather throughout the week was superb: no rain except for a very few drops on Tuesday. The lodge itself was outstanding, with fine woodwork, well-supplied kitchen, comfortable common space, a great deck, and a shower that worked well.
Photos
Justice Mountain. Selkirk Lodge visible at bottom left. This view shows Devine on the left; the rocky summit is Prudence. The flat snow bump between Prudence and Justice is called Sanctuary and the bump on the right-hand ridge of Justice is called Cowboy.Jacque Kriegel with the jumbled but pretty Justice Glacier behind. Photo by Katie Larson.After leaving the snow we had only a short rocky section to the summit.On the descent Katie and Jonathan climbed into a large crevasse from the side. Here is Katie’s view of it.Bob Bekes had never been in terrain like this before and he had an exciting week, culminating in the climb of Fulgerite. Here he is almost to the summit of Justice.Here is a view of Katie, David, and Jonathan on the high ground behind the hut as we made our way to Cassiope and the Primrose Icefield. This area, between Cassiope and Feel the Love, was really spectacular: easy walking in high meadows with one beautiful lake.The peaks around the Primrose Icefield are easily attained. This view of Primrose (left) and Campion was taken from the summit of Cassiope. The rock on the final ridge to Primrose was especially beautiful granite.Virtue Mountain from near the top of Cassiope. The climbing route first goes to “Feel the Love”, a minor summit from which a long ridge descends and then rises to the base of the south ridge on Virtue. This point is near the lower left end of the glacier. From there one wanders up the south ridge, then takes snow to the base of the headwall and climbs the headwall, which is slightly looser than the rest of the climb.Here I am climbing the fourth-class crux, which was steeper than the rest of the climb, but with such good holds that a rope was not needed. (Photo: Katie Larson)Here is the view of the summit ridge, looking west from the main summit. We found that the easiest way through the headwall was at the far end of the ridge, near the snowpatch. But this photo gives a nice sense of the serious relief we felt on all sides. (Photo: Katie Larson)Katie Larson on Virtue’s summit. The right side of the distant horizon shows Moby Dick at far right, with Butters and Ahab left of it. While not clear in this photo, through binoculars we could make out many familiar peaks, such as those three, Scylla, Horseman, and International, and the many large peaks north of those.On the ridge leading to the main ridge we found a nifty tunnel through the rock at one spot, providing a nice way around a steep section. Here I am returning through the tunnel. (Photo: Katie Larson)Martha, Jacque, Joan, Vicki, Jonathan, and Diane check out the opening at the bottom of the Devine Glacier. Descending to this spot we found a small cave in the talus that turned out to hide a large amount of ice. From the surface one would never guess that there was ice there.Bob at a steep part in the descent of The Phantom (so-called because the peak is not shown on maps).Bob having some trouble in a soft part of the descent from the Phantom.
