SARDINE MT 2149m 7,050’
A mountain with trees and a character-building bushwhack to the top. Sounds like a trip for masochists, someone who wants to get up everything around Riondel or someone who wants a first ascent. This attests to what strong hikers Terry and Ron are.
Location: 6kms NNE of Riondel
Difficulty: D3
Elevation gain: 1166m (3,825’)
Key elevations: Park 3225′ Summit 7,050′
Distance:
Time: 4 hours up
Season: July through September
Assess:
Map: 82F/15 Kaslo
Drive:
0.0 Tam O’Shanter Creek – off Powder Creek FSR (north of Riondel)
1km Turn right on Chatter Creek Spur road
4.5kms Park
Route: A rough skid trail leads to the edge of the cut block. Then a steep bushwhack due east goes around cliffs, through devils club, stinging nettles and a scramble up a major rock slide to the snow line at 6,000’. From here the slope decreased, the tree cover grew more sparse and the snow increased. After 4 hours and 3,825’ elevation gain, reach the summit at 7,050’.
There are stunning views of Mount Loki and Riondel. Looking to the SSE up the Tam O’Shanter Creek valley and beyond Plaid Lake to Haystack Mt, some 26 miles away.
FA Terry Turner and Ron Stockerl
Sardine Mountain, NTS 82F15 June 9, 2014 by Terry Turner
We started at Tam O’Shanter Creek, which is Km 0 of the Powder Creek Forestry Road north of Riondel on the east shore of Kootenay Lake. At Km1, turn right on the Chatter Creek spur road for 3.5 km.
A rough skid trail leads to the edge of the cut block and from there, it is a very steep bushwack due east around cliffs, through patches of devil’s club, stinging nettles and a scramble up a major rock slide to the snow line at 6,000ft. From here the slope decreased, the tree cover became more sparse and the soft snow cover increased.
After four hours of climbing and 3,825 ft of elevation gain, we reached the summit of 7,050ft. (GPS 49d 48.282, 116d 48.108). The climb was worth the effort with stunning and seldom-seen viewpoints of Mount Loki and Riondel. Looking to the south southeast up the Tam O’Shanter Creek valley and beyond Plaid Lake we could see Haystack Mountain (8,596 ft.), some 26 miles away. We built a small cairn at the summit, left our names to identify our personal achievements and commenced a three-hour descent.
Although this mountain does not have an official designation and will never appear in the “Peakbaggers Almanac” or a “Don’t Waste Your Time” hiking book, it is the most visible peak from Riondel and has been on my “FH Peak List” for more than 20 years. The name “sardine” was first observed in a 1930s photo album prepared by a resident hiker/photographer/mining engineer Peter Fowler. Some say the name may have originated from the fact that sardines were the most popular and perhaps only hikers’ lunchtime snack.
Terry Turner
