29.06.2020
We hiked Metal Dome from Brandywine FSR on June 29, 2020. Since we were able to drive up and park at 1300 m elevation at the fork, the return distance was about 10 km with about 800 elevation gain and a total time just under 6 hours, including one hour at the summit. There is a faint but well marked trail alongside the creek at the end of the upper fork of the Brandywine FSR leading up to the alpine, going mostly through the glades and partly through the forest. If you loose markers, then you should follow glades to the top of the ridge to avoid bushwhacking. There are no markers in the alpine, but you can see the Metal Dome in the far background when you first emerge from the forest on the ridge. It is the far most and the highest bump that you can see. We bypassed two other smaller bumps on the snow to the left.
We left our snowshoes in the car trunk, as the FSR was completely snow free. Continuous snow started at 1450 m. The snow was compact with no post-holing. We used trail crampons and trekking poles for traction.
It was an easy going until the summit block, which had some steep snow around and some easy Class 2-3 scrambling, but nothing really challenging. We saw cornices at the edges of the summit snow field and stayed away from them.
The Brandywine FSR above the main large parking lot is in very rough shape with a lot of loose and sharp rocks, and requires 4x4 with high clearance. If you do not have a 4x4, you can park at the main parking lot at 800 m elevation, which will add another 3 km of distance one way (6 km total) and 500 m of elevation gain. The total hike stats would then be consistent with what is shown in the general hike description: 16 km return, 1300 m elevation gain. The FSR up to the main lower parking lot is in a very good shape and any car can easily drive there.
It was a perfect sunny day and we had fantastic views in the alpine and on the summit. The hike was easier than we expected and we wished we had brought our kids along. There is a lot of fun to be had bum sliding on steep snow slopes. :-)
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