WHAT'S NEW FOR 2011: in a tip of the hat to safety, and to those Baggers with a fear of heights, we've:
1. allowed points for going almost all of the way up two peaks (Crown and Gotha) but declining to attempt the true summit due to knocking knees at the exposure of the final few metres. True summitters will get a covetted bonus "waterbag" (tiebreaker) star.
2. made three peaks (West Lion, Coburg, and Hanover) "unofficial" peaks due to their real exposure risk: these peaks should only be attempted by experienced alpinists in perfect conditions: these peaks nonetheless count as a bagger point each.
3. added new peaks:
a. Mt Apodaca, on Bowen Island. Access via trails running east from where Salal Road meets Cowan Point Road North, off Grafton Road. Then follow contour lines to peak. Then follow contour lines to peak. Nasty and gnarly blowdown throughout, with no trail to speak of, and no views from peak. A bushwhack for people who do not love themselves. Don't even think of doing this without a GPS and compass and contour map.
b. Burt's Peak, on Gambier Island. Access via Burt's Bluff Trail (from south) or Lost Lake Trail (from north). From Burt's Bluff Trail, trail to peak starts about 200 metres past Burt's Bluff turnoff on old logging road.
c. Gambier Peak, on Gambier Island: the highest point on Gambier Island is often mistakenly called Mt Liddell, which is actually at the south end of the same ridge, on the same trail.
d. true Lynn Peak / South Lynn Peak: recognizing the second bump on the Lynn/Needles Ridge for the true peak it is.
4. we'll run a few "guided tour" Flash Events throughout the summer. The remote and rewarding playground of Mt Capilano will be a definite destination.
5. added an "All Time Peak Bagging List" for those compleatists who aspire to conquer all of the lofty heights.
LOCATION: North Shore Mountains
WHAT: See how many North Shore peaks you can run up and bag in a summer. All but the island mountains qualify as munros (in excess of 3000 feet) under the Scottish peak-bagging system.
DATES:
Mainland peaks: June 22, 2011 to October 27, 2011 at 6:30pm
Howe Sound island peaks (ONLY): April 1, 2011 to October 27, 2011 at 6:30pm
WHERE: non-technical or less-technical (Class 3 or easier) North Shore mountains (listed below). The peak must have its own generally-accepted name AND it must have a prominence of at least 50 metres (i.e. to climb to the next peak one must first descend at least 50 metres).
RESULTS: Post a comment setting out your mountainous conquests (or email "David Crerar" via the CFA Message email service on this site (see left column)), with the dates, and I will post ongoing standings. Please also feel free to post your trip reports in your CFA blog (log in and go to www.clubfatass.com/node/add/bog).
YOUR STORIES: CFA and your fellow Baggers love to hear about your Bagger Adventures. To share your stories, we recommend you blog about them in your CFA member blog. Log in, then go here to get started. You can read about the 2011 adventures posted so far here.
PHOTOS: Please post your photos, too. Add to the CFA Flickr Pool (instructions here. It's easy!), tag your photos: ClubFatAss ClubFatAssEvents ClubFatAssEvents2011 BaggerChallenge2011 BaggerChallenge (with a space separating each tag on the flickr template)
2011 Photos
Photo Archives
ARCHIVES
2011 Munro Quaich: Bill Maurer: 50 peaks
2011 Pippa Quaich: Carolyn King: 33 peaks
2011 Harry Quaich: Harry Crerar: 10 peaks
2011 Tundra Quaich: Tundra the Ultra Dog: 22 peaks
2011 Twisted Quaich: Ken Legg
2010 Munro Quaich for CFA Bagger Champion (non-canine division): Ean Jackson
2010 Pippa Quaich for Bagger Champion of gender opposite to Bagger Champion: Carolyn King
2010 Harry Quaich for pre-16 years Bagger Champion: Harry Crerar
2010 Canine Division Bagger Champion: Tundra the Ultra Dog
2010 Twisted Quaich (for spirit, enthusiasm, getting others involved and/or insanity): Neil Ambrose & Craig Moore
WINNING TIE-BREAKER MECHANISM: In the case of a tie for first place:
1. non-core peaks (i.e. those not on the North Shore and not listed) will not be counted;
2. if still a tie, the bagger with the most water bags (i.e. peaks ascended from sea level to peak: see below) will win;
3. if still a tie, the bagger with the most unique bags (i.e. peaks that no one else visited) will win;
4. if still a tie, the bagger with the most write-ups and comments posted on the CFA Flickr website will win;
5. if still a tie, the bagger with the most photos posted on the CFA Flickr website will win;
6. if still a tie, the bagger with the most obscure/difficult bags (at the completely arbitrary discretion of the host) will win.
PRIZE: The winner will be the proud bearer of the CFA Bagger Munro Quaich cup for the year: the appropriate cup from which to drink a winter whisky and contemplate how awesome you are. There will be an auxiliary prize for the person who draws the most other people into the cult of peak-bagging.
BAGGERS' BANQUET: To cap off the bagging season, we will either have a get-together at a pub, or else a barbeque for all bagger participants and their significant others. The Bagger Quaich will be awarded.
Date: Friday, October 28, 2011. 6pm - 10pm.
Place: t.b.a.
WATERBAGGING:
An ascent up a single peak from sea level to the summit counts as a waterbag. Only one peak per sea level ascent. e.g.: Dip toe in ocean at Ambleside Beach. Run up Capilano Trails and Nancy Greene Way and Grouse Grind. Summit Grouse, Goat, and Crown = 1 waterbag, not three.
NO SANDBAGGING: all claims to bagging a peak must be submitted as promptly as possible (in most cases, within 3 days) of the actual climb. Climbs of more than two weeks old will be stale-dated.
ENTRY: There is no fee and you don't need to be a member of Club Fat Ass to participate in a Flash event, however whining is not allowed. That being said, many of the peaks listed should only be attempted by those with the experience and fitness level of a typical Club Fat Ass member (i.e. ample mountain running experience over long distances).
IMPORTANT SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: All of these adventures are potentially dangerous.
You are responsible for your own well being and safety and should be self sufficient.
Here are two useful lists of "MUST HAVE" survival items that all participants should carry:
Mountains marked with a !!! are scramble ascents or otherwise exposed or otherwise remote and undeveloped and should only be attempted by experienced climbers wearing helmets, etc. Don't try these routes in anything but perfect weather.
Use great caution when rocks are wet -- slipping is the cause of most accidents on North Shore mountains.
Always run/hike with a buddy.
CFA reserves the right to remove anyone from the Challenge for doing reckless, dangerous, destructive, or foolish actions.
PARTICIPATE AT YOUR OWN RISK: YOU ARE WAIVING LEGAL ACTION: By participating in this event you agree to be wholly responsible for your own well-being and agree not to sue anyone associated with this event or Club Fat Ass or any person in relation to this activity. By participating in this event you agree to the terms of the Release of All Claims.
THE 56 NORTH SHORE PEAKS (ranges from west to east)
Altitude listed first, in brackets (metres)
# = Top-12 highest peak
P= Prominence (distance one must first descend before climbing next peak)
[[[ = NOT AN OFFICIAL PEAK in the Bagger Challenge, due to real exposure. Should only be attempted by experienced and competent alpinists. Attaining one of these peaks will nonetheless count as a bagger point.]]]
Peak notes (in round brackets at end)
for greater certainty peak ("pk") location among several possible summits (North,South, East, West)
*** as the true peaks are semi-exposed, and there is a false summit very close, attaining the false peak will get you the point, and attaining the true peak will be starred and count as a waterbag (i.e. a tie-breaker).
e.g. the proper peak of Crown is a hair-raising wedge of rock with an impressive drop on 3/4 sides; attaining the (unscary) platform just below this true summit will get you a point).
e.g.2 the proper peak of Gotha is the south peak, which is a semi-hair-raising traverse above a semi-sheer drop into Deaks Lakes way below; attaining the northern peak, with nearly identical height, will get you a point.
Resources and hyperlinks
103 = Bryceland & Macaree, 103 Hikes in Southwest British Columbia
MG = Matt Gunn, Scrambles in Southwest British Columbia
DH = Dawn Hanna, Best Hikes and Walks of Southwestern British Columbia
12= trip reports and maps
AB= peak photos
Note: the links to trip reports won't work unless your page is set to "50 comments per page" (the default setting)
Difficulty and Quality Rating {purple; in fancy brackets}
Difficulty: Hard; medium; easy
K = best hikes for kids
!!! = Dangerous: exposed or real risk of falling rock
!!!!!!!!! = Very dangerous; experienced mountaineers only
&& = trail at times faint or nonexistent; need route-finding skills
Quality: 1-5, with 1 being the best and 5 the worst
For a guided tour of the Bagger Peaks on Google Earth please click download the file attached below and open with Google Earth (and try the 3D flight simulator option under "tools"!)
For a full size Bagger map click on the image below:
Say, purely hypothetically, I started at sea level and bagged Peak A, left Peak A and bagged Peak B, then left Peak B and bagged Peak C. Would all 3 peaks classify as water bags or just 1 of them?
Darn Twitter feed got me all pumped up for peak bagging now but trying to figure out some etiquette. Is it typical to bag only 1 or maybe 2 peaks in one outing or is it a "as many as you can bag in the outing" type of approach? I see the "prominance" stats which leads me to believe its the latter, but this years stats (albeit early in the snowy year) "only" show one or 2 peaks for the leaders which makes me think it's the former. Any links or belief systems on this that you can point me to?
Haha, you can fill your boots and bag as many as you like in a day. You do have to claim them soon there after (no sand bagging). Part of the reason that there aren't more than two peaks claimed is that the mainland peaks are not open for official bagging yet and the Howe Sound Peaks require ferry access. Last year there was a large group out on several boats bagging a bunch of island peaks during one long day...
I hope this isn't the wrong place to post this, but I'm not a member so I can't start a blog.
For those of you who have completed Leading Peak and/or Mt Artaban, and lack their own boat (filthy peasants), how much does the water taxi cost? Is it cheaper to try and get a group of people together?
Looking forward to my first bagging season. Cheers, Matt.
Submitted by David Crerar on 6 April, 2011 - 15:24.
I've never taken the water taxi to Gambier, but Cormorant Marine can quote you a price. http://www.cormorantwatertaxi.com/ My understanding based on an enquiry about three years ago is that it will be expensive if you commission your own trip, but you can get a decent price if you time your trip when Cormorant is shuttling people to the camp, which they frequently do.
I let somebody else answer the question re the cost of the water taxi...as for posting bagger comments...the ideal location is here http://www.clubfatass.com/calendar/baggerchallenge/2011 That is this years Bagger page.
See you on the trails!
Comments
Purely hypothetical water bag question
Say, purely hypothetically, I started at sea level and bagged Peak A, left Peak A and bagged Peak B, then left Peak B and bagged Peak C. Would all 3 peaks classify as water bags or just 1 of them?
Peak Bagging Etiquette
Darn Twitter feed got me all pumped up for peak bagging now but trying to figure out some etiquette. Is it typical to bag only 1 or maybe 2 peaks in one outing or is it a "as many as you can bag in the outing" type of approach? I see the "prominance" stats which leads me to believe its the latter, but this years stats (albeit early in the snowy year) "only" show one or 2 peaks for the leaders which makes me think it's the former. Any links or belief systems on this that you can point me to?
Gratias,
Rob
Hi Rob, Haha, you can fill
Hi Rob,
Haha, you can fill your boots and bag as many as you like in a day. You do have to claim them soon there after (no sand bagging). Part of the reason that there aren't more than two peaks claimed is that the mainland peaks are not open for official bagging yet and the Howe Sound Peaks require ferry access. Last year there was a large group out on several boats bagging a bunch of island peaks during one long day...
Looking forward to meeting you.
Leading Peak/Mt. Artaban
I hope this isn't the wrong place to post this, but I'm not a member so I can't start a blog.
For those of you who have completed Leading Peak and/or Mt Artaban, and lack their own boat (filthy peasants), how much does the water taxi cost? Is it cheaper to try and get a group of people together?
Looking forward to my first bagging season. Cheers, Matt.
Gambier water taxi
I've never taken the water taxi to Gambier, but Cormorant Marine can quote you a price. http://www.cormorantwatertaxi.com/ My understanding based on an enquiry about three years ago is that it will be expensive if you commission your own trip, but you can get a decent price if you time your trip when Cormorant is shuttling people to the camp, which they frequently do.
If you get an answer, please post it!
Happy bagging!
DAC
Hi Matt, I let somebody
Hi Matt,
I let somebody else answer the question re the cost of the water taxi...as for posting bagger comments...the ideal location is here http://www.clubfatass.com/calendar/baggerchallenge/2011 That is this years Bagger page.
See you on the trails!
ONE MORE DAY
who will seize the honours for First Bagger of 2011?