HIGH-LINE TRAVERSE OF GWILLIM LAKES BASIN

Start at Hoder Creek Road parking lot and follow the Gwillim Lakes Trail to the height of land between the lower and upper Drinnon Lakes. Turn left and head towards the objective, Mt. Gregorio.

Ascend a series of gullies on the east face or via the east ridge. The later provides ample opportunity for pleasant class 4 bouldering. It is covered with huckleberries in season. The gullies converge below a short steep wall of the summit ridge. Scramble up this or rope up (low class 5 exposure) and walk the long ridge to the summit. (3 hours from the parking lot).

Down climb the NW ridge with some nice route-finding problems. Then follow the long pleasant ridge up and down with grassy hollows, white granite and expansive views, to the next unnamed summit, identified by a large cairn.

From here the best way is to drop down the slabs towards the Gwillim Basin until it’s possible to traverse left and rejoin the ridge in the saddle between the summit and the long shoulder of Black Prince.. If one chooses to follow the ridge proper, there’s some rather interesting down climbing or an opportunity for a rappel just below the saddle.

The shoulder leading towards Black Prince is much longer than it appears. It has several small buttresses that can be bypassed easily on the right, but then one gives up the views and the fresh breeze on the ridge. There are several false alarms before one finally reaches the real summit. The views are second to none and one can spend quite a long time contemplating future trips and new lines.

Then it’s time to make a choice – the more ambitious ones can continue on the ridge towards the Black Prince – Lucifer saddle and then climb the west ridge of Lucifer, a few pitches of low class 5, time to rope up. From the summit down climb the south ridge (one short roped-up part) then drop down to Gwillim Lakes and the trail back.

A more conservative choice is to forgo the Lucifer trip and descend pretty much straight down to Gwillim Lakes. The route is quite straightforward: go only to the lakes below Lucifer, then traverse that little basin so it’s south and where one can easily walk down to the lakes and the trail.

The round trip takes some 10 hours for the shorter version and 13-14 hours when one climbs Lucifer as well. A rope and small rack are necessary for Lucifer, but optional otherwise. Be aware of a longer day if the weather threatens.