MOUNT STANLEY 2371m 7779’
There are 3 ways to access Mt Stanley: from the north up Grizzly Creek FSR to approach from the east, up Greasybill FSR to approach from the NW or up Little Cayuse Creek FSR to approach from the south. I have done it from Little Cayuse and the stats are from this approach.
Difficulty: B2
Elevation gain: 1780′
Key elevations: Cayuse Creek: park at end of road 6000′, summit 7779
Distance: 4.5kms one-way
Time: 4 hours round trip
Map: 82F/12
Drives and Routes:
1. South Face
0.0 From Syringa Creek Provincial Park, turn right on Deer Park FSR.
18km Turn right up Deer Creek Rd before the community of Deer Park. Continue for 35km to its end. There is a right turn up Deer Creek somewhere in this drive.
53km. Park, drop 100’ down to cross the creek to the foot of a large avalanche gently sloped chute leading to the summit.
A forest fire burned this entire route in August 2016.
From Little Cayuse Creek.
0.0 From Syringa Creek Provincial Park, turn right on Deer Park FSR.
10kms. Turn right up the Cayuse Creek Rd. Take the first fork to the left that goes up Little Cayuse Creek. Left at the next junction and straight at the third junction (with actual Little Cayuse Creek FSR). Drive to the end of the road. Start walking trending NW and pass an old trapper’s (Schwarzenhaur) cabin. Walk NW to the south-trending ridge that turns into the east ridge to the summit.
2. Northwest Ridge
From Koch Creek FSR and Greasybill FSR
0.0 Turn left (south) on Grizzly Creek FSR
5km Turn right up Greasybill FSR
13km Park ½ km from the terminus of the road.
Route: Head SE directly towards the summit through a clear cut into the basin above. Ascend the ridge above. Walk this long NW ridge with some downs and ups
3. East Ridge approach the ridge either from the north by Grizzly or from the south by Cayuse Creek
From Grizzly Creek FSR
0.0 Turn left on Grizzly Creek FSR
5-6km Go left up Grizzly Creek. Right goes up Greasybill Rd.
8km Go right. Water bars start. Left goes up Embro Rd.
15km Go right for .3km to clearcut where the road is washed out. Mt Airy is to the west.
Route: Climb to the top of the clearcut where there is a large group of dead snags. Bushwhack uphill for several hundred metres heading for the ridge. Emerge into open meadows at the foot of a small rocky peak. Go to its right aiming for the east ridge. Follow the ridge directly to the summit. 5 hours round trip. A cabin is up Embro Road in a clear cut across from where they parked.
UNNAMED 305891 & 301891
These two peaks of roughly equal height lie 1.5 and 2kms NW of Mt Stanley.
Drive Deer Creek Rd and park. At the headwaters of Deer Creek, take the left fork heading north directly towards the summit of these two peaks. This was a ski trip.
MT STANLEY by Kim Kratky
I left Nelson at about 8:20 and drove to the Valhalla turnoff.
The weather looks very overcast but at least it’s not raining. Up Koch Creek to Grizzly Turnoff. Then on good Grizzly road past Greasybill turnoff (5 km.), past a new cutblock where they’ve lined the road with debris to burn, and past the left-hand turnoff (14.7 km.) that would lead to cutblocks below Spiers and Airy. Instead, I go R, then R again after 100 m. into what obviously is a cut block. The road does continue on farther to Grizzly headwaters. I can drive about 700 m. into the block before deciding to park (grass growing up on the road). The Grizzly Road is 2wd high clearance, only because of water bars beyond km. 13 or so.
I park at 10:00; that’s 1 hr. 40 min. from Nelson. By 10:15 I’m ready to go: ice axe, leather boots, good rain gear, blue polar tech pants, water bottle without water. I head straight up through the cutblock to the top in the middle where I find blue flagging, probably the same that Rowell told me of. Then, I just head ‘er straight up through very open timber. My altimeter at the truck said 5920-5980’. I’m surprised at how soon the terrain flattens out; also interesting that I cross many dry water courses flowing to the L. I’m still in trees at 6500′ when the ground is pretty well covered with snow. I fill my water bottle with it.
Eventually, I see a bump ahead, the 7200′ hump at 323-870. On top of this, I sit down with my map (can’t see much) and decide rightly that Stanley is to the N. The flat-topped thing to the SW is u/n 7400′ (317-862). I continue NW (steep cliffs on my R to a 7500′ bump with a small cairn built by Rowell as it turns out. I descend a few hundred feet (trees right up to the ridge on the SW side & bare rock on the other) then plod the last 300-400′ over easy broken rock (there are even traces of a trail to the top by 12:53–call it 1 hr. 40 min. from the truck.
It has been a No-hands climb. There’s a big, flat-topped cairn; a good thing since I can see virtually nothing. As I lunch, the mist lifts a bit, & I see Arrow Lake, Ladybird & Cayuse Creeks, a very attractive basin below to the N. with two lakes, and the flat-topped 7600′ peak just to the W that Rowell says is Shell Mtn.
After 25 min. I head down (cold & windy on top). The return is easy, but I do get too far S. in the timber & get into a bit of bushwhacking. Using my altimeter, I surmise my cutblock is to my L, and sure enough I see it about 40 m. to the side. I come out right on a horizontal skid trail and walk to right above the truck (which I can’t see), returning at 1:40. That’s a 3 hr. 25 min. day and a 1 hr. 25 min. descent. The key to a better descent is to use the L edge of the cut block across the valley as a visual reference.
Back to Nelson by 3:30. Never got rained on. For Spiers, I surmise taking off from the first or second switchback to the R on the road across the valley. First S/B may lead into the bush, but it does give access to Spiers’ SW ridge. Second S/B avoids bush but may lead to cliffs. Anyway, it should give access to Spiers’ SE ridge.
MOUNT STANLEY 2371m August 24, 2014 by Steve Miros
This trip was an attempt at a new, possibly easier ascent of Mt. Stanley. Previous club trips have been from either the Grizzly Creek FSR (approaching the mountain from the east) or the Greasybill FSR ( from the northwest).
This access was from Syringa Creek Provincial Park on the Deer Creek FSR. At approximately km 18 there is a junction where the well-marked FSR leaves its westerly direction to the community of Deer Park and turns right (north) . Continue on the Deer Creek MAIN FSR to its end for 35 km which puts you exactly at the foot of a large avalanche gently sloped chute leading right up to the actual summit. There was a very nice wood-crafted Mt Stanley sign nailed to a tree.
We first dropped 100 ft down to cross the creek and then began the trod straight up the avalanche chute. Light to occasionally very heavy rain accompanied us. Needless to say, the temptation to turn back was strong. About 2/3s of the way up we began to enter alpine openings and easy scree that kept us out of the wet shrubbery. The sun came out during the last leg of the scramble drying out our clothes.
We had great views in all directions. A trip 2 years previous by Vicky H and Sandra McG was the last registered ascent. With a visual forecast of no rain in the near future which is what we began up with, we descended through meadows on the eastern slope eventually working our way through the lower basin’s huckleberry-infested underbrush where we were met by a bear in the parking lot.
Total time was about 4 hours and we are as of yet undecided if this was the better of the 3 routes. But, it was definitely an interesting one.
Steven Miros
