Mount Harrison Summit Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This cache is hidden at the summit of Mount Harrison, the southern most of the Canadian Rockies 54 "11,000ers".
Mount Harrison is often referred to as "the forgotten 11,000er" as it was not confirmed to be over 11,000 feet until 1964 and because of this, was not climbed for the first time until later that year. Werner Himmelsbach lead the first ascent of Mount Harrison accompanied by Ralph Hutchinson, Joe Hutton, Don MacLaurin, Brendan Moss and Paddy Sherman. The mountain is named after WWII soldier Francis Arthur Harrison, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross who was killed in action when his Lancaster bomber crashed in Obermeiderich, Germany.
Getting to the trailhead requires a 4x4 vehicle. You will need to camp overnight at the trailhead as the hike will take a full day.
From highway 93 south of Canal Flats, take Whiteswan/White River/Bull River FSR to the 66 km marker and turn right onto Harrison Creek FSR. The campsite and trailhead are near the end of this road just past the creek.
Begin the hike at the crack of dawn and follow the well flagged trail up to the treeline then scramble up to the col between Mount Harrison on the left and Mount Folk on the right. Next, traverse across the three scree basins on the southwest face. The first basin is fairly short and easy to cross, aim for the cairn near the top of the next ridge. The second basin is by far the longest of the three and crossing is very tedious due to the looseness of the scree, there are a couple of cairns in this basin marking the best route across. The third basin is the shortest but also the most difficult. It consists of a scramble down a narrow ramp to the base of the cliffs and then some climbing and walking along a narrow ledge up the cliffs on the other side. Once across, scramble up the loose scree to the gullies at the base of the cliffs just below the summit. As you get closer to the cliffs it will become clear which gully is the correct line of ascent. The scramble up the gully begins with more loose scree but gets better as you climb. It is a short walk to the summit once you reach the top of the gully. Good luck!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Rnfl.