North America, Canada, Coast Mountains, Mt. Winstone, Passport Couloir

Publication Year: 2003.

Mt. Winstone, Passport Couloir. Forrest Murphy, Don Serl, and I climbed the Passport Couloir (TD-) on Mt. Winstone in the Tchaikazan Valley, British Columbia (www.bivouac.com/ArxPg.asp?ArxId=1247) over a long weekend in September. Climbed on the 22nd, this new route takes the obvious couloir left of the National Pillar.

From below the bergschrund, 200m of simul-climbing, followed by three belayed pitches, led to the base of the serac band. This we tackled on the far left, next to the rock. A 50m pitch (WI3) was followed by 20m of WI4-. Another two pitches on which we moved together led to the summit ridge and the end of technical difficulties. The summit itself was another half hour along the ridge.

We took four hours to approach from a BC just above treeline, and eight hours from bergshrund to summit. The lengthy descent, which involves traversing around the peak, took just under seven hours to BC.

Ade Miller, Alpine Club, AAC