MOUNT HARLOW 2580m
Mount Harlow lies directly west of the Mulvey cirque, between Koch Creek (on the west) and Hoder Creek (on the east). It is 4 km south-southwest of Mount McKean.
Difficulty:
Elevation Gain: Summit 2580m
Key Elevations:
Time: 7-8 hours round trip
Access:
Map: 82F/13 Burton.
Drive: To access the southern Valhallas, drive south from New Denver or north from Playmor Junction (between Nelson and Castlegar).
From New Denver. Start at the Petro Canada Station at the junction of Hwys 6 and 31A in New Denver. Drive Hwy 6 south, along Slocan Lake’s east shore, 32.5km to the village of Slocan. Near the village, ignore the signed turnoff for Drinnon Pass, but turn right (west) onto Gravel Pit Road. Zero odometer 0.0
0.0 Start west on Gravel Pit Road. Go straight and cross the bridge over the Slocan River.
.8km Stay left on Slocan West FSR.
1.2km Cross a bridge over Gwillim Creek.
2.3km Go right on Little Slocan FSR.
13.2km Right is Bannock Burn FSR to Gimli Ridge / Mulvey Basin TH.
Bear left SW on the main road for the rest of the Valhallas.
20.3km Right is Hoder Creek FSR to Drinnon and Gwillim lakes. Left continues southwest on Little Slocan FSR. Reach Little Slocan Lakes FS campground in 200m.
From Nelson or Castlegar. Start at the Playmore Junction, the junction of Highways 6 and 3A between Nelson and Castlegar. Turn north on Hwy 6 up the Slocan Valley.
The southern Valhallas are accessed from Passmore Road, 15.6 km from Playmore. there is a large transformer station at the turn. This is 12.1 km south of Winlaw on Hyw 6. Turn left (west). Zero odometer.
0.0 Start NW on Passmore Upper Road.
.3km Cross the Passmore Bridge over the Slocan River.
3.1km Pavement ends
3.6km Left on Little Slocan FSR. Red 44 KM sign.
5.2km Right.
7.5km Go straight on the main road.
9km Stay right, following a sign for Valhalla Provincial Park.
13.2km Straight on Little Slocan FSR. Left is Koch Creek FSR to McKean Lakes.
16.1km and 23km Proceed straight.
25km Go straight. Turn off to the right for Little Slocan Lakes campground.
25.2km Junction for Hoder Creek FSR – left to Drinnon/Gwillim Lakes. This is 20.3km from Slocan City.
For Koch Creek FSR
0.0 Start on Koch Creek FSR. Go straight.
9km Stay right on the main road. Left goes to Grizzly Creek Recreation Site (2 tables, above creek gorge, no flat parking) and Greasybill Cr Rd.
11km Go straight. Right is Marioka Road.
16km Stay straight and level. Then pass two ascending right forks (the second one has 51km sign).
17km Cross bridge over the creek. Go straight where the rough road ascends right.
21km At a huge boulder, go right on the higher road. Left goes up Dago Ck FSR
22.6km Turn right onto the upper road signed Branch 1. Straight proceeds to McKean Lakes. Branch 1 is a steep, high-clearance road with water bars,
25.6km At the first switchback just over 3 km (2 miles) from Koch Ck Rd, park at an overgrown spur road on the left.
Alternate Drive??: 10km (6 miles) up the Hoder Creek road, just before the second bridge which brings one back onto the east bank, stay on the west bank for 6.5km more until a road leads back left and mp toward Mount Harlow. This approach leads to the same route, the southeast ridge. The road is in unknown condition.
1. Southeast Ridge (Route 1) has had numerous ascents dating to the mid to late sixties, but no record appears to exist in the KMC literature.
2. South Face, Southeast Ridge. Walk the spur road to 383-124 (WSW of Mt. Harlow) and descend 60m to the bed of the creek flowing west (from the lake SW of Mt. Harlow). Ascend the creek valley, pass through a col (398-122) north of the lake, and contour east and north around the basin south of Harlow.
Ascend a steep snow couloir to gain an obvious ridge on the south side, and follow it to a crest below Harlow’s summit dome on the southeast side.
Follow the mostly level crest to the base of the southeast side of the prominent summit tower. Finish on steep snow to the top, 4.5 hours up, 7 total.
This route is best done early in the season, as the approach could be an unpleasant bushwhack after snows melt. (II,3,s).
FRA Doug Brown, Ken Holmes, Kim Kratky, Sandra McGuinness, Stan Metcalfe, Bert Port, Howie Ridge, Peter Tchir, Fred Thiessen, June 9, 2002.
Beyond the forest lies a cirque with 3 lakes, above which is the southeast ridge. This may be the original approach.
MT.HARLOW, 2582 m.,8471’(map 82F/13 Burton) by Kim Kratky
On Sunday, June 9th, a KMC party scaled this infrequently climbed Valhalla Range peak from the Koch Creek side. As far as we know, all previous KMC trips to Harlow have been from the east, or Hoder Creek approach.
Our road access was via Branch 1, which begins on the east side of the Koch road about 21.7 km. from the Little Slocan junction. We drove 2.8 km. to 5100’ on Branch 1 before being stopped by snow.
Starting on foot at 8:00, we hiked on the road to the first switchback, where we turned left onto an overgrown spur. After a further 10 min., we descended directly to a creek at GR 383-124 and followed this east on snow. Still in timber, we passed through a notch at 398-122 and contoured east and north around the basin south of Harlow. We then ascended a steep snow couloir to gain a ridge leading to the southeast base of Harlow’s prominent summit knob. A short finish on more steep snow led us to the summit at 12:40.
Return, via the ascent route with a detour to the lake at 400-120, took only 2 hrs. 40 min. Since we were back to the vehicles by 4:00, Fred said there would be no overtime charged. Snow and weather conditions: although skies clouded over an afternoon, we never received any rain or snow; snow in the alpine was almost firm enough to require crampons, although neither crampons nor rope was used.
All members of the party summited in good order: Doug Brown, Ken Holmes, Sandra McGuinness, Stan Metcalfe, Bert Port, Howie Ridge, Peter Tchir, Fred Thiessen, Kim Kratky (co-ordinator).
Overall, an excellent trip, but again one best done early in the year because of formidable bushwhacking after snowmelt.
Kim Kratky