Friday, March 11, 2011

Snowshoeing Mt. Seymour, PT 1: Pump Peak

Sunday, March 6 was a gorgeous day as forecasted and I had only been snowshoeing once this season. I called up my sister, her boyfriend and my friend Richard to see if we could organize a last minute snowshoe adventure to the top of Mount Seymour's first peak, "Pump Peak". It took very little convincing before we were on our way to the rental section at MEC in North Vancouver. Equipped with snowshoes and Cliff bars, we headed for Mount Seymour to ascend some peak!

From 2011-03-06 - Mt. Seymour 1: Snowshoe to Pump Peak


The day started out lovely and sunny with mostly clear skies. However, as soon as our snowshoes touched the trail, fog started to set in and snowflakes started to fall around us. It was really disappointing because we were looking forward to the view on top of Pump Peak. We slogged on, though. The trail full of rolling hills that really challenged our cardio. I was expecting a hike much like Dog Mountain, but this was much more difficult. Although, what Dog Mountain's wooded trail offered in ease was traded for an almost continuous stream of scenic outlooks. Lucky for us, the closer we got to the peak, the less it snowed and the more the fog was burning off. Of course, this prompted a brother sister photo op.

From 2011-03-06 - Mt. Seymour 1: Snowshoe to Pump Peak


Hill after rolling hill disappeared behind us until we found ourselves at the foot of the last big trudge to the base of the peak. By this time, the clouds had vanished, leaving only one big puffy one and the snow had stopped falling. The sky was blue again and no one else was around. We slogged up this last big hill found ourselves at the base of the peak. We stopped to catch our breath before tackling the remaining few meters.

From 2011-03-06 - Mt. Seymour 1: Snowshoe to Pump Peak


While my sister, Richard and I caught our breath, Rob decided he was going to be the first to the top. He ascended to Pump Peak and while doing so, gave me the opportunity to catch this picture, my favorite of the bunch:

From 2011-03-06 - Mt. Seymour 1: Snowshoe to Pump Peak


The rest of us followed him to the peak and we were greeted with a spectacular view of cities below. By this time, it was clear and radiant, save for one big bad cloud. While it may have obstructed a bit of the view, it added to the grandeur of it all. We snacked, chatted and enjoyed the views in all directions.

From 2011-03-06 - Mt. Seymour 1: Snowshoe to Pump Peak


It felt like we could have stayed forever but when the fog started to roll back in, we knew we had to go. The trip back was far easier as the big hills allowed our backsides to double as sleds. My tail bone still hurts, but it sure was fun.

This concludes Part One of Snowshoeing Mount Seymour. Hopefully we'll do the next two peaks before the season's end! Enjoy the video.

2 comments:

  1. Nice hike & great photos! Looking forward to the other 2 peaks. The bumsliding looked like a lot of fun :o)

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  2. Hehe, thanks. It was fun, but my tailbone hurt for days! :P

    ReplyDelete