Mount Arrowsmith from Little Mountain Parksville British Columbia, Canada. SCO 7909
With the possible exception of The Golden Hinde, Mt Arrowsmith is likely the best known mountain on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. This is hardly surprising given the fact that it presents an eye-catching spectacle from the main Island thoroughfare, Highway 19, all the way from Nanoose Bay to Qualicum when driving north or from as far away as Courtenay when heading south. Arrowsmith is situated just east of the head of the Alberni Inlet between the Englishman and Cameron River watersheds in a region where the distance from tidewater on the Pacific to that on the Strait of Georgia at Parksville is a mere 40km. Unsurprisingly the mountain makes its own weather and, in winter in particular, enjoys a reputation for “Scottish” conditions. Although not as high as some of the Island mountains to the north, “Arrysmith” has been and continues to be venerated by generations of Island climbers as a training ground, for its abundance of sporting bluffs and gullies and for its history. Just about every route on the mountain can be undertaken as a day trip from cars. Wildflowers on Arrowsmith Don Munday on Arrowsmith Claims regarding the first ascent are ambiguous and could be ascribed to the Macoun party of 1887 or to that of Fletcher et al in 1901. There is even a claim that it is due to Edward Whymper (of Matterhorn fame) in 1905. In any event, the mountain, probably because of its visibility, attracted the attention of even the earliest visitors to the Island to the point, in fact, when in 1910 the CPR considered it worthwhile to build a tourist chalet at Cameron Lake and organise guided trips up the mountain by pack horse to an overnight hut at 4,200 feet on the slopes of the neighbouring Mt Cokely. The original CPR pack trail is still in use over 100 years later.
Size: 6063px × 4035px
Location: Parksville, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Canada.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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