Oluk Peak

July 10, 2021

2695m

Manatee Range, BC

Oluk Peak is a small summit right next to the fabled Wahoo Tower but this peak offers the best view of Wahoo Tower’s north face buttress. I had seen comments that if I did make a trip there then Oluk Peak’s a must-do, so I kept that in mind. When Ellie, Rob, Jason and I flew into the area with the primary objective being Wahoo Tower itself, we agreed to spend Day 1 exploring these smaller peaks nearby. Earlier in the day we had scrambled up and over Mermaid Peak.

Our routes on Wahoo Tower and Manatee Range group. GPX DL

From Mermaid/Oluk col we tried to stick close to the ridgeline but getting over one bump proved to be a little bit tricky. The rock had transitioned from beautiful granite to choss with some very sandy dirt that I had no idea about the origin. They felt like to have some high concentration of minerals and they broke very easily. A class 3 section on this type of rocks required a lot of care. Thankfully once over that bump we were able to hop back onto snow, and from there to the summit of Oluk Peak was all on easy terrain.

At Mermaid/Oluk col looking back at Mermaid Peak
Looking at Wahoo Tower and the complicated descent from M/W col
Jason and our objective – Oluk Peak
Jason negotiating a steep, exposed and loose section
Ellie negotiating the same stretch. This part required lots of careful work
Jason leading down the next exposed stretch on the connecting ridge
After that bits we managed to drop down onto snow
The rest of the ascent of Oluk Peak on snow was easy
Summit Panorama from Oluk Peak. Click to view large size.
Me on the summit of Oluk Peak
Ellie and Rob approaching the summit with Mermaid Peak behind
Ellie on the summit of Oluk Peak with Wahoo Tower behind
Bonito Peak is another cool-looking objective in this zone
Our group shot on the summit of Oluk Peak with Wahoo Tower behind

The others did not want to do Dolphin Peak and honestly I wasn’t too excited about it neither given that it barely looked like a “peak”. However, I had no reason to conserve energy on this day and we still had a load of hours to kill, so I decided to head down there solo while the others would enjoy a nap on the summit of Oluk Peak.

Dolphin Peak in the very foreground is where I’d head towards next