Horseshoe Kit
Photo Credit: Eric Carter
On July 17, myself and Eric Carter stitched together the fourteen peaks that make up what is known as the Horseshoe Traverse in Rogers Pass, BC. In order of ascent, the summits are Avalanche Mountain, Eagle, Uto Peak, Sir Donald, Terminal North, Terminal South, Youngs, Leda, Pollux, Castor, The Dome, The Rampart, Afton and Abbot. Our total car-to-car time was 24 hours and 20 minutes and covered ~38 km and ~4600 meters of elevation gain. The technical difficulty of the route relatively low and is primarily made up of 4th and low 5th class terrain, along with a glacier crossing and a number of steep rappels. Below I’ve outlined the gear that I used for this day out and frequently use for similar style objectives.
Excerpt from Rogers Pass Alpine Guide by David P. Jones:
The Rogers Pass Horseshoe D+ 5.4 4500+m 3-4 days 30+km
As a tour de force it is hard to beat the grand enchainment of the 14 peaks around the headwaters of Asulkan Brook and the Illecillewaet River. The Asulkan Ridge Traverse leads to Mount Young, then a traverse of Illecillewaet Icefield to the Terminal Peaks Traverse and down to Perley Rock, followed by an ascent of the Northwest Ridge of Sir Donald, and the Uto-Avalanche Enchainment.
CLOTHING
Patagonia Simul Alpine Pants: Nice light weight soft shell pants.
Patagonia Nano Puff Jacket: Excellent weight to warmth ratio. Synthetic insulation is always the best in anything but very cold and dry conditions.
Patagonia Storm Racer Jacket: Lightweight minimal 3-layer waterproof shell. One of the lightest water-proof shells available. Reasonable durability considering it’s weight.
Patagonia Houdini Jacket: Lightweight wind shell. Out of all the jacket I own, this one accompanies me on more outings than anything else I have. Offers much more breathability than any hardshell currently available.
Patagonia Airshed Pro Pullover: Lightweight pull-over that excels when moving fast as it dries extremely fast due to the ‘camp towel’ fabric used. Very breathable. I often wear this pull over for the duration of the day when in the alpine as it offers great sun protection without being too warm. The hood fits over a helmet nicely to keep sun off the back of the neck.
Rab Vapor Barrier Socks: I like these vapor barrier socks whenever I’ll be spending significant amounts of time in the snow and I know my shoes will get soaked. They keep my foot dry and comfortable. Never been a fan of Gore-Tex footwear as it takes an eternity to dry out once wet.
Black Diamond Gloves: Wool gloves with a leather palm that work well for rappelling with but also a bit of warmth. Retain warmth even when wet. Durable.
HARDWARE
Leki Micro Trail Pro Poles: Simply the best lightweight poles available in terms of durability for a carbon poles and function. I’m a fan of poles anytime significant elevation gain is involved and/or snow travel.
Petzl Gulley Ice Axe: Light ice axe that works very well in everything from steep ice/mixed terrain to pounding in pitons. I was glad to have the hammer on this mission as we ended up placing some pins on the descent off of South Terminal. It also was invaluable in getting down the icy north face of Young’s Peak.
Petzl Leopard Crampons: Super light fully functional crampons that fit softer shoes exceptionally well when done up correctly. These crampons were a key to unlocking this traverse due to the snowy/icy north aspect of Young’s Peak. Paired with a reasonably stiff shoe such as TX Guides, they are most useful for negotiating steep snow sections and ice. Of course, as they are aluminum they do not hold up well when used on rock.
Petzl Laser Speed Light: Lightweight ice screw paired with the Petzl multi-hook, this system allows v-threads to be easily made and offers a cutting edge so the knife can be left behind.
Petzl Micro Traction: Useful piece of gear in the case of a stuck rope when rappelling or if dealing with a crevasse fall. Works well with the Petzl Pur Line.
La Sportiva TX Guide Shoes: Approach shoes that have many characteristics of trail running shoes. I have been very impressed at the durability of these shoes while still feeling light on the feet and nimble. As these traverse involved very minimal actual running, the trade off for shoes that climb significantly better seemed like a clear decision. The also provide a very better interface for use with lightweight crampons as the rubber toe rand prevents the toes from being crushed and slightly stiffer midsole offers a more secure fit. I’ve never felt like I could lose a crampon when using these shoes even when fully on the front points.
InReach: Satellite communicating device as the mountains are dangerous and accidents can happen.
Patagonia Middle Fork Pack: Light weight minimal back pack. This 30 L pack allows everything to be stored inside, which is nice when doing extensive scrambling through chimney and other features that can catch things on the outside of your pack. As the pace was relatively slow on a mission like this I didn’t feel any desire to have water accessible on the shoulder strap and was happy to just grab a drink every hour or so. Not the most durable pack but that’s the trade off for lightweight goods.
Petzl Swift RL Headlamp: Super bright and dependable. The route finding on the tail end of this traverse would have been significantly more challenging without these high powered headlamps. With the reactive tech these headlamps have the battery life is improved by reducing the brightness when it’s not need(i.e. looking at your feet vs looking 60 meters ahead). This was certainly a key bit of gear that made this push possible.
Blue Ice Choucas Harness: Super light harness. Simple and effective.
Edelrid Salathe Helmet: Comfortable lightweight helmet, although I wish it were a little more ‘low-profile’.
Petzl Pur Line 65 meter: 6 mm static rope. We brought this rope along primarily to be used for rappelling, although it is not designed for this use due to it’s thin diameter combined with a more slippery sheath(relative to other 6 mm rap lines such as the rad line). I have found that using a reverso with two carabiners clipped through the bight, along with a hollow block prusik with many wraps, the friction is sufficient for me to feel comfortable. I’ve been a big fan of this static line for use as tag line, haul line and rap line in dry conditions. Very durable for such a thin line and reasonably cut resistant. One stand out of feature for me is this rope is quite a bit stiffer than other skinny ropes, which greatly reduces the possibility of getting your rope stuck when on rocky terrain. To reiterate, Petzl does not recommend this rope to be used as a rap line so do so at your own risk!