Only 4 days in to the move to BC and the first adventure is underway. The aim was to summit Fissile Peak (2439m) following an overnight stay in the mountain hut on the edge of Russet Lake.

Being based in Whistler, it started by taking the Whistler Gondola and then Peak Chair which up to Whistler summit where the view was pretty stunning…

A short while into the hike we had some great views of Cheakamus lake:

Once we reached the edge of the Whistler boundary we had a 9.5k hike along the top of the Fitzsimmons Range, taking us over the top of the Flute and Oboe bowls – must remember these for wintertime skiing!

The Fitzsimmons range were very green and meadows lined the path all the way to the bottom of the climb upto Russet lake:

On the climb upto Russet lake we started getting our first views of Fissile Peak and were able to scout out some potential route options:

The hut at Russet lake was only small, but warm, dry and fairly empty. We were sharing it with a 78 yr old guy from Saalbach Hinterglemm, Gernot Dick, who is still mountaineering and had just come back from climbing Whirlwind Peak on overload glacier with his friend!! He used to run art and wilderness classes in Atlin (on the northern BC boarder with Yukon), but now just offers guest house accommodation. A true legend and inspiration to everyone interested in mountains!

It was also equipped with a ‘toilet’ only a few hundred yards away with out a doubt one of the best views you could have whilst on the bog:

Spent the evening chilling at the lake edge and watching the thunder storm across the valley of Fitzsimmons Creek. Also lucky to see a rainbow form over the peak we were about to climb:

Once the storm had almost subsided, the skies that it left were pretty epic:

Turned in for an early night watching the inversion settle into the bottom of the valley over Whistler from my bedroom window:

The following day we were up early to a blue bird conditions and not a cloud in the sky:

We were out of the hut by 8am and soon off up the valleys to the first of the snow fields:

Having walked all the way around the back of the peak, we finally found the route we wanted to take up:

It got surprisingly steep pretty quickly:

Rocks were horribly loose and there were a few hairy moments. Eitherway, after two hours of scrambling up the face we were on the summit:

And the views were incredible:

The way back down involved a bit of ‘feet skiing’ to get back to camp over this big bowl of snow in the top right.

Once down off the peak the lake was still perfectly still and reflecting what we had just climbed:

Once all packed up we headed back along Singing Pass Trail. A tree lined 11.5 km walk all the way back into town.

All-in-all a pretty epic trip. Fantastic views and an incredible climb. Would definitely recommend it. Have uploaded all the photos to the gallery and if you have any questions, get in contact.