Summit Elevation (m): 3054
Trip Date: Tuesday, September 2 2003
Round Trip Time (hrs): Unknown
Elevation Gain (m): 1120
Total Trip Distance (km): 13.5
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 3 – you fall, you break something
Difficulty Notes: Moderate scrambling with loose terrain and some exposure depending on the route chosen. Only attempt when dry.
Technical Rating: SC6; YDS (3rd)
GPS Track: Gaia
Map: Google Maps
After bagging Tyrwhitt and Pocaterra the day before, Jon, Kev and I were ready for something a little tamer on this particular day. Once again it was a fabulous morning with nary a cloud and no wind. I had wanted to do Chester Mountain for a couple of years already so we decided this was the one for today. Choosing Chester proved to be a good decision. We were the only ones in the parking lot at around 0900 and we proceeded quickly up to the Chester Lake meadows. We noticed some sheep high up on the Chester col and headed up.
The scree ranged from solid to loose on the way up to the col. but overall it was a very easy climb. We all did an estimate for how long it would take to get to the col. but were all way off. It only took us about 35 minutes thanks to Jon’s blistering pace – he thought it would take 1.5 hours!
I really enjoyed the scramble up to the summit of Chester from the col. The rocks were really ‘grippy’ and you could scramble right up steep slabs for most of the ascent. Unfortunately Jon and I got quite a bit ahead of Kevin so he didn’t make it quite to the top after encountering some steep terrain that he didn’t feel comfortable with.
Jon and I made the summit and since there was no summit register we simply put a small notebook in a Ziploc bag up there and sucked in the excellent views. The descent was uncomplicated and fairly quick once we hit loose scree. The walk back to the car was a bit too long – but isn’t it always? The best part was that we didn’t run into anyone else all day. September really can be the best month of the year for scrambling.
