Mount Grohman

BOU AVENUE
Mount Grohman

On 11 August 2020, Zosia Zgolak and I climbed Mount Grohman in the Kokanee Range just north of Nelson, British Columbia. I got the inspiration for this objective from an excellent trip report on the West Kootenay Hiking website. The ascent is mostly an off-trail ridge walk, and although there are a lot of ups and downs, the high starting point grants far-reaching views almost all the way from start to finish.

From Highway 3A/6, turn north onto Marsden Road about 6.9 kilometres west of Nelson or 14.0 kilometres east of South Slocan. In 100 metres, keep left at a fork to get onto Grohman Creek Forest Service Road. Cross a bridge over Grohman Creek 8.0 kilometres from the fork and cross a second bridge 1.6 kilometres further. About a kilometre past the second bridge, take a sharp hairpin turn to the right following a sign for Baldface Lodge. Turn left 4.0 kilometres beyond the hairpin turn and drive the remaining 6.7 kilometres to Baldface Lodge. When we arrived, we parked just in front of the main lodge building, but this may change in the future with ongoing construction there. Although the drive is long, the road to Baldface Lodge is maintained and should be suitable for 2WD vehicles although high-clearance is still recommended.

From the lodge, Zosia and I climbed the steep road heading northward past a sauna and other resort buildings. The road climbs over a high point and then veers to the right of a second high point. While it is possible to follow the ridge over the second high point, we stayed on the road a bit longer before turning left on a trail bisecting the road. This trail led us up to the shoulder of the second high point, and we turned left again here to follow a beaten path heading uphill. Before reaching the top of the second high point, we spotted a well-defined trail descending through a large talus slope. We dropped down this trail to a grassy meadow below where the trail peters out completely. From this point, we essentially followed the long and undulating ridge to the north all the way to the top of Mount Grohman. With snow-free conditions, travel was generally easy, but a few of the dips are annoyingly deep. We made the mistake of following some suspect flagging to try and circumvent one of the high points along the way, but the ensuing side-hill bash and thrash was more trouble than it was worth. After that little bit of misery, we stuck to the ridge crest for the rest of the trip.

Upon reaching the summit, Zosia and I took an extended break there before returning along the same undulating ridge. At the top of the second high point on the way back, we found the wooden "naked-lady sculpture" mentioned in the West Kootenay Hiking trip report, but it had been toppled and was lying flat on the ground for some reason. We speculated that perhaps the statue's political-incorrectness offended someone. Descending from the second high point, we also ran into three men working on the beaten path that we had hiked up earlier just above the talus slope. We thought that they were employees of Baldface Lodge, but it turned out that they were actually members of a local mountain biking club who were working on improving the trails in the area for riding. The men's dedication to their sport was refreshingly admirable. Leaving them to their work in the hot afternoon sun, Zosia and I encountered no one else on the remaining walk back to Baldface Lodge.

	Sonny gets ready in front of Baldface Lodge. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia briefly follows a road along the ridge crest.
	Zosia gets her first good look at Mount Grohman.
	Sonny follows a trail which descends the rubble slope to reach the meadow below. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Sonny is a bit surprised by the number of undulations along the ridge. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia stands atop a rocky perch on one of the bumps along the ridge.
	Zosia approaches the final rise before the summit.
	Sonny and Zosia relax beside the cairn on the summit of Mount Grohman (2295 metres).
	The rugged peaks of Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park are visible to the northeast.

I wanna go back to Valhalla PP already...I just don't wanna drive there!

To the northwest are the striking peaks of Valhalla Provincial Park. Gimli Peak is the bulky peak on the left.

	Zosia begins the long hike back to Baldface Lodge.
	Zosia finds the "naked-lady sculpture" mentioned in the West Kootenay Hiking trip report. For some odd reason it has been toppled.
	Total Distance: 8.7 kilometres Round-Trip Time: 6 hours 5 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain: 722 metres GPX Data