April 24, 2013

 Participants: Max Aleksandrov, Paul Kubik

 Map of route: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php

 
The headwaters of Coin Creek with Jimmy Jimmy in the distance. (Photo by Peter Margetak from the summit of Pokosha Peak)

Merit points were earned for:

1. An officially named summit was attained by the entire team.
2. A good dog was found enroute and accompanied the team to the summit.
3. We were able to drive very close to Pokosha Creek road on a good 2WD road that was recently cleared and graded.
4. Recent trail work by the club made for a smooth ascent.
5. Snow conditions were by and large excellent.
6. Sunny weather prevailed in the afternoon for the descent but it was sufficiently cold to preserve the snow conditions for skiing.
7. A brief snow storm before noon deposited fresh powder on the route down to 800 metres.
8. Avalanche conditions were favorable for backcountry travel.

 One demerit point was awarded because through no fault of the trail maintainers a large number of trees came down in the winter.

 This was probably my eighth ascent of Jimmy Jimmy, always on skis. For Max, a recent arrival from Kyrgzstan, it was his first ascent. January 30, 2011, we had actually been able to drive to pretty much the same spot after the snowmobile track up Ashlu Creek was soaked by a Pineapple Express rain event and subsequently froze hard. So the road access is very good at times due to the presence of the IPP project on the Ashlu.

 We parked just beyond the intake for the IPP project. It put us within two km of the Pokosha Creek turnoff. Unfortunately, the unique circumstances of the previous December contributed to an impressive amount of downed trees across the road. These circumstances I attribute to heavy snow throughout December with little wind. It allowed an enormous snow load to accummulate on trees. All around the south coast and the North Cascades there was heavy damage to trees in the band between 600 and 900 metres elevation. While annoying, it was not sufficiently bad to turn us away.

 The continuous snow line did not start until about 1.2 km up Pokosha Creek road. Again, fractionally annoying but travel up the cleared road was quick carrying skis. The blowdown was actually less intense than the main road.

 Around the end of the road is when we acquired the dog. The past president Alena had driven up with a party of four plus Karma the dog and parked shortly after we did. Although Alena's destination was to be Sigurd Lake or Sigurd Peak, the dog had dashed that plan. It was following Max and I to Jimmy Jimmy. There was no sign of the other party despite us waiting for 10 minutes and yelling. So we took Karma with us.

 The dog was quite capable on the snow and never had a problem keeping up. From the avalanche path off Pokosha Peak at road end, we ascended steeply up the forest on the other side. Steep climbing brought us to the lake were we continued to ingratiate ourselves with the dog by feeding her. Now that the dog had sufficiently bonded with us, we headed up to the saddle with Coin Creek beyond the lake.

 A brief loss of elevation of no more than 50 metres is necessary in order to wrap around the headwaters of Coin Creek. It is completely unavoidable. On the other side is a wonderful ramp that ascends to around 1800 metres before it steepens into a steepish snow slope below the Jimmy Jimmy Glacier. The last 200 metres was a bit of a grunt to gain the glacier. Once attained, a persistent cold wind was blowing at us across the glacier. We could spy the summit of Jimmy Jimmy still about two km away and only about 200 metres higher. Off we went and before too long the entire party including Karma were on the summit.

 It was a bit too cold in the wind to sit around for long before we were off for the next great adventure, about a 1500 metre ski descent back the way we came. Conditions did not disappoint. The snowpack was largely firm and supportive with a bit of powder or creamy slush on top.

 I was prepared to take Karma back with me and I considered awarding the trip another demerit point because we had to give her up. She is a good dog and would make a welcome addition if only she could be pursuaded to remain with her pack. We skied past Alena back down at the lake and decided to stay put until her party had all returned from skiing Pokosha Peak. Apparently, Karma "has a history" in this regard. The other major problem is that she eats apple cores which would be bound to arouse jealousy in my dog Linus.

Max and Karma on the ramp.

Sigurd Peak.

Max on the summit.

Looking southwest from the summit to Phantom and Misery areas.

Chimai in the foreground.

Summit of Jimmy Jimmy.

Skiers returning to the pass. (Photo by Peter Margetak from the summit of Pokosha Peak)