BOU AVENUE
Baldy Rocks And The Crags
Baldy Rocks and The Crags...sound like a cool rock and roll band!  They are also the officially-named summits guarding the south side of Kootenay Pass in British Columbia's Stagleap Provincial Park.  Both are popular backcountry ski objectives, but bushy slopes and lack of a good trail render them less appealing for hikers.  Still, Baldy Rocks and The Crags see occasional hiker traffic as evidenced by Kieran Simpson from whom I drew my inspiration to do a traverse of the two summits with Zosia Zgolak on 6 August 2024.

Starting from the parking lot at Bridal Lake (49.05889, -117.04071), Zosia and I carefully crossed to the south side of the highway and began hiking up Monk Creek Forest Service Road (FSR) which is decommissioned within Stagleap Provincial Park.  We exited the park a little more than two kilometres up the road, and then about a hundred metres past the turnoff to Ripple Ridge and Lightning Strike Cabins, we veered left onto a reclaimed spur road which shortly ends at a cut block.  From there, we thrashed our way through light to moderate bush to gain the mostly open south ridge of Baldy Rocks and eventually made it to the summit without too much grief.  We stopped on the summit only long enough to sign the register and take a few photos before setting off eastward along the connecting ridge to The Crags.
We've skied here before. Zosia starts up Monk Creek FSR on the south side of the highway at Kootenay Pass.
It's not really worth the long drive just to start here for the hike. Zosia comes across a truck near the turnoff to Ripple Ridge and Lightning Strike Cabins which are located outside of Stagleap Provincial Park.
Time to bushwhack! This reclaimed spur road is probably the best access point for Baldy Rocks which is visible in the distance.
Probably much nicer to ski this...

Zosia climbs up the south ridge of Baldy Rocks.
This isn't the summit, but it's a more scenic spot on top of Baldy Rocks. Sonny and Zosia stand on a pile of boulders near the summit of Baldy Rocks (2174 metres).
More complicated than it looks... This is the connecting ridge to The Crags (left).

Maybe we'll return someday to ski The Muffin...

Here is a view to the southwest from the top of Baldy Rocks.  The open ridge in front of Ripple Mountain is called Lightning Strike.

 

I would definitely consider skiing Cornice Ridge again but hopefully on a bluebird day. The view to the northwest includes Cornice Ridge (centre) and Bridal Lake.
While technically not difficult, the 2.3-kilometre traverse along the connecting ridge between Baldy Rocks and The Crags is far from trivial.  There are two significant dips along the way, and although some short-lived game trails exist, most of the route is off-trail where the footing is often uneven or loose due to the steep and scrubby terrain.  Our progress felt tedious and slow, and I could not help but wonder if skiing the traverse in snowy conditions would be more enjoyable despite the added risk of avalanches.  Not surprisingly, it took us about 2.5 hours to traverse between the two summits, and as we stepped up to the cairn on top of The Crags, I was already contemplating an alternate route for our return trip.

Zosia and I took only a slightly longer break atop The Crags before commencing our descent.  Rather than suffer through another traverse of the ridge back to Baldy Rocks, we opted to simply drop down the very steep southeast slopes of The Crags aiming for an obvious  road that we could see further down.  Some route-finding was necessary here to avoid a few steep drop-offs, but we managed to slither our way down to the road quite straightforwardly.  This road--most likely used to collect skiers coming off the ridge during ski season--eventually connects with Monk Creek FSR, and although the long walk back to Bridal Lake was simple enough, the heat from the afternoon sun certainly did not help alleviate our growing fatigue.  Fortunately, we had plenty of cold water and drinks to refresh us when we returned to our car, and after packing up our gear, we promptly drove west and put the misery of climbing Baldy Rocks and The Crags far behind us.
Not terrible bushwhacking but not pleasant hiking either! Zosia begins a rather arduous traverse of the connecting ridge to The Crags.
Of course the summit is NEVER the closest bump along the ridge! Zosia drops down the second of two major dips along the connecting ridge.  The summit of The Crags is not visible here.
People ski this during winter? Sonny carefully picks his way along the top of the precipitous north face of The Crags.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
Almost there...truly! Zosia walks the final easy stretch before the summit of The Crags.
Highest officially-named summit in Stagleap Provincial Park! Sonny and Zosia relax on the summit of The Crags (2224 metres).
Yep, we're not backtracking that way for sure! Here is a look back toward Baldy Rocks (right) from The Crags.
Very steep here...it's a shame we're not skiing it! Zosia carefully descends the south side of The Crags in hopes of connecting with the road visible below.
I wish I had an e-bike here... Fireweed and Indian paintbrushes adorn the side of the road which Sonny will follow all the way back to the trailhead at Kootenay Pass.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
Probably much better to do these on skis... Total Distance:  13.5 kilometres
Round-Trip Time:  7 hours 30 minutes
Cumulative Elevation Gain:  707 metres

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