Pinto Mountain

BOU AVENUE
Pinto Mountain

On 11 July 2010, Kelly Bou and I ascended Pinto Mountain near Invermere, British Columbia as per the route description in Hikes Around Invermere & the Columbia River Valley by Aaron Cameron and Matt Gunn (C&G). Like my trip to Indian Head Mountain the previous day, there was some confusion with respect to C&G's access directions although we managed to find the trailhead without having to backtrack. In fact, the road all the way to the trailhead was in good shape and could easily be negotiated by 2WD vehicles. There are several grassy avalanche gullies on Pinto Mountain that look equally feasible to ascend. Emerging from the forest, we stayed on the trail which headed upwards through trees to climber's left and bypassed the first two obvious gullies. We decided to ascend the third obvious gully, and this turned out to be the same one pictured in C&G's guidebook. A long grunt ensued interrupted by a couple of minor rock bands that required some hands-on scrambling. At one point, I tried following one of the many elk trails cutting across the gully, but sadly, it led nowhere or at least nowhere that we wanted to go! Gaining the summit ridge, we had a short but delightful traverse over the south peak to the cairn on the farther north peak. After having a quick bite to eat, we retreated back the way we came. Though the steep descent was far from being enjoyable, it was, if nothing else, quick and trouble-free.

	Kelly hikes through a cut block at the start.
	Not far from the trailhead, there is already a nice view of Mount Nelson.
	Sunlight filters down through the trees in the forest.
	This is the third obvious gully (C&G's "grassy draw"). Note the trail on the left edge of the grass.
	Sonny finds a Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina).
	There are lots of wildflowers in the gully such as this clematis.
	The narrower parts of the gully require some hands-on scrambling.
	Higher up, Kelly gains the broad slope below the summit ridge.
	Kelly pauses to admire the view of Invermere and the Columbia River Valley.
	Kelly hikes along the summit ridge.
	The summit ridge narrows just before the north peak.
	Kelly reaches the north peak of Pinto Mountain (2547 metres).
	Here is the view to the north.
	Here is the view to the south. Mount Bryan is the peak in the foreground at left. On the horizon at right is Indian Head Mountain.
	This is a closer look at Indian Head Mountain.
	Lowly Swansea Mountain can be seen to the southwest.
	On the western horizon are Mount Farnham (centre) and Farnham Tower (right).
	Kelly hikes back over the south peak of Pinto Mountain.
	Kelly down-climbs a minor rock band in the gully.
	Here is one last look at Pinto Mountain from the forestry service road.
	This is the route as viewed in Google Earth.
	Total Distance: 7.1 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 6 hours 22 minutes Total Elevation Gain: 892 metres GPX Data