Frozen Waterfalls - Bridalveil Falls

Frozen Waterfalls – Bridalveil Falls

Doug Smith  March 8, 2021 at 9:00 am

There is a rough trail up to the foot of Bridalveil Falls in the Peterson Creek Canyon.    In summer it is a light scramble, but care must be taken because of the possibility of falling rock in the narrow canyon.    In winter, the whole route is on ice.   I went in with microspikes on which worked fine but I encountered two other people who were wearing full crampons.   It is not safe to go up the falls without spikes or crampons.   Even with them, it is slow progress and the chance of a fall is always there.

From the lower entrance the route is  straight ahead, following the creek into the narrow canyon.   A faint trail follows the shore, but we also have to climb up the ice where there are small waterfalls in summer.

One of the other climbers also used an ice axe.   I used a hiking pole, but also grabbed onto bare rock or branches on both the way up and on the way back down.

With some scrambling I reached the foot of the cascade frozen in the gorge.

I made some adjustments to each photo to provide an interpretative image of the falls.

There were some greens in the ice and some reds in the rock so the light had a colored cast which I brought out for this artistic interpretation of the falls.

I scrambled up to the cave too, but did not go into the chamber.   I have gone to the end before, but it is not very interesting.

On the way back down I took some more photos of the creek, then crossed the bridge and did a loop hike over the side-hill to add some more distance for the day’s hike.

In mid-February I often work my way into canyons to see frozen waterfalls.   This one was the first of several over the next 3 weeks.

 

 

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Doug Smith

Doug writes for Kamloops Trails, a not-for-profit (and ad free) website, offering information on trails, waterways, routes, featured spots, viewpoints, and explorations in the outdoors in the Kamloops area (and beyond).

Doug started exploring this area in 1976 and continues to follow tracks and routes wherever they lead, with the aid of map, compass, GPSr and camera. After many dead-ends, but also many discoveries, he chose to share this information.

The Kamloops Trails website has a massive number of interesting posts and would be of interest to anyone in Kamloops who enjoys the outdoors. Visit the Kamloops Trails website at: http://www.kamloopstrails.ca/

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