Mercer, Mount

Summit Elevation (m): 2970
Trip Date: September 19 2024
Elevation Gain (m): 1500
Round Trip Time (hr): 10
Trip Distance (km): 36
Quick ‘n Dirty Rating: Class 3/4 – you fall, you break something or die.
Difficulty Notes: There is plenty of room for difficulty even though the route is fairly straightforward in the end.
Technical Rating: SC7-
Map: Google Maps
GPS Track: Gaia
First Ascent: Possibly Campbell and Vermeulen in October of 1978 but unsure if they made the true summit. Possibly Rick Collier in September, 1994.

Last year I finally got around to an ascent of Mount Allenby along with “false Allenby” on a beautiful September day. There are 3 peaks tucked into a small area here, Mount Mercer being the 3rd. Back in 1994, Rick Collier ascended Mount Mercer from the same valley he (and I) ascended Allenby. He mentions in a post on Bivouac.com,

On September 25, I did a solo ascent of nearby Mt. Mercer (9750’/2970), climbing SE directly up from our camp spot at the SW head of the Mercer Creek basin. This 2300′ ascent consisted of scree gullies, ribs, and a final summit ridge. In general I tended to spiral around to the SE and then make my way back NW. There was lots of scrambling, but nothing too horrendous; however, any route that one takes will be complex…

On my long march back to the Shark parking lot along Bryant Creek I pondered the feasibility of coming back some day for Mount Mercer. I could obviously day-trip it since it was much shorter than the day I’d just done on the Allenby peaks. I also figured I should be able to ascend the SW face directly from the Bryant Creek Trail. 

Plans were set and a route was mapped out over the winter. 2024 started out fairly dismal as far as mountains were concerned but things have picked up a little for me since late August. A beautiful late summer season and good conditions were putting me in the mood to stand on top of things again. With a Thursday off and fresh off a successful ascent of the difficult Mount Marpole the week before, I decided that a solo effort on Mount Mercer was in the cards for September 19th, 2024.

An uneventful drive to the Shark parking lot had me there in time for sunrise. Excellent – I wouldn’t need a headlamp to start things off. As usual for any trip up Bryant Creek, I biked the first 6.5 kms to the “no biking” sign and proceeded on foot up the trail. It was a beautiful morning. The smell of fall was in the air and birds were chirping as I quickly made my way through familiar landmarks. It didn’t seem to take very long at all and I was passing the warden cabin at the Marvel Lake junction and continuing up the trail.

Again – it didn’t seem to take very long and just over 2 hours from the parking lot I was bushwhacking off the trail to the lower SW slopes of Mount Mercer. After a short and somewhat fierce willow-whack, I found myself at the swampy bottom of an immense avalanche slope leading to cliffs high above on Mercer’s SW face. There wasn’t much to do but head up, so that’s what I did. The lower slopes were choked with small bushes but soon I was in the clear and enjoying crisp morning air and views back to the Cautley massif over Bryant Creek.

At a junction in the creek, I chose left for no particular reason. I should have gone right but in the end both work. Eventually I had to traverse into the right hand one anyway. Not far up the ever-steepening drainage I heard rockfall ahead and noticed a large Billy goat gazing sternly down at me. Good thing I’d already donned my helmet since this felt like a bit of a terrain funnel! As the gully steepened into cliffs I decided to traverse into the larger SW drainage to my right – it was where I had my original route line drawn.

The traverse was easy and soon I was trudging up the main SW drainage, headed for a line of cliffs above. Although they looked steep and intimidating, there weren’t any other options than simply heading right up the gut of my ascent gully where it came out of the cliffs.

The scrambling through the lower cliffs was fun, moderate terrain with mostly good holds on sharply tilted slab and rubble.

A few times I had to get out of the center and deviate right or left, but never out of the actual gully. There were plenty of options to avoid getting too difficult with ledges and firm rock options where needed. It was bloody steep, so don’t underestimate it if you go.

Once above the lower cliffs I realized I wasn’t as close as I’d first thought. The SW face of Mercer is very foreshortened, similar to my experience on Mount Marpole a week previous. A brown layer of scree formed below an even steeper looking upper cliff band.

Arg. It looked very difficult from below. As I started up the brown scree I decided that I would deviate to climber’s right and abut the face from there. It looked a little less steep but it ended at the same complex cliff band as every other route would. Rick’s mention of “SE” and “NW” didn’t help my sense of where he went. This was a case of following my nose rather than my brain.

Sure enough. On hindsight I should have simply stayed on course – straight up the middle. As I navigated my way through the upper cliff band, I found myself forced to the left until I tip-toed one last ledge and was back in the central gully. Darn it – I should have just stayed there. Despite plenty of steep terrain, every time I thought I’d be stopped a reasonable route would present itself.

This was great, fun scrambling! Ledges appeared on steep slabs just where I wanted them. I wandered back and forth up the gully, trying to keep things in the realm of scrambling and succeeding for the most part. I was still very nervous about the upper mountain but stubbornly pressed onward. It didn’t help that Gaia was totally off on the topo map as I passed under the summit (supposedly) and kept going off the north face (but not really).

Finally I ascended one last, very steep rubble ramp that felt like it might be near the summit. And it was! I couldn’t believe my eyes when I topped out and started a short traverse along the upper NW ridge to a crumbling cairn. YES! It felt very good to make the summit after so many doubts and seemingly complex terrain below. In the end the route was very simple – just head into the mess and trust that it’ll work out.

Views from the summit were excellent, as expected for the area. Unfortunately Mount Assiniboine was hidden in clouds but everything else was there for the spotting. A tarn to the SE towards Cone Mountain was particularly neat, as were the stunning waters of Marvel Lake to the SW.

I was particularly excited to spot a PVC register in the cairn – surely this must be Rick’s artifact from his 1994 ascent! How many others had been up here since? It turns out only 3 of us have stood on the summit of Mount Mercer in the past 30 years. Rick Collier in 1994, Paul Zizka in 2023 and myself in 2024. Paul and I used the same route via the SW face. For a peak that’s extremely accessible as a day trip off a well maintained approach trail, it’s somewhat surprising that so few people bother to ascend it. I started down.

Descent was fun and engaging down the center of the cliff bands into the lower SW avalanche gully. I loved how the terrain underfoot kept breaking up into manageable sections despite looking impossible from above and below. I kept looking back up what I’d just descended and couldn’t believe that it wasn’t harder.

As I exited the lower cliffs into the large SW gully below, I continued to appreciate the Cautley massif in front of me and the views of my route behind. Instead of traversing into my ascent gully, I simply stayed in the main one until it merged lower down. The bottom of the SW slopes was a little painful on shifting rubble and offensive willows but nothing too dramatic.

As I exited back onto the Bryant Creek Trail I couldn’t believe I’d actually made it – and how relatively straightforward the route ended up being considering where it went. The next few hours were serene hiking back to my bike on a very quiet trail – much quieter than it was a year earlier for some reason. (Helicopter traffic to Mount Assiniboine Lodge was nonstop all day so I think Thursday must be a fly-in day.)

The bike ride back was fast and fun as usual. (Except for the darn hill that anyone who has biked this section will recognize.) I loved this trip and highly recommend it for experienced scramblers looking for a rarely ascended mountain with stunning views and an engaging route. It’s not often that one can nab a 3rd ascent in 30 years via a major trail network and minimal bushwhacking in a 10-hour day. It’s even less common that the route is as fun and hands-on as this one, despite looking impossible from every angle.

__PRESENT