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Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Sloan Range (Hurley Range)

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

In the misty panorama above, the Sloan Range (or whatever you'd prefer to call it) is to the left of Downton Lake, which is the reservoir formed by Lajoie Dam.  The Dickson Range's drier summits are to the right, and in the distance at left is the Lillooet Crown Icecap, which is the source of seven of the Coast Range's largest rivers, including the Bridge and the Lillooet.  This large and very high range doesn't actually have a properly gazetted name although it seems proper to call it after its most prominent peak, Mt. Sloan (at far left), which stands at its eastern apex; its rough boundaries are formed by the valleys of the Lillooet, Hurley and Bridge Rivers, and it butts up against the foreshoulders of the immense Lillooet Crown Icecap on its northwestern end.  Some have called it the Hurley Range, but some old-timers maintain this is best applied to the mountains at the headwaters of the Hurley River, southwest of Lone Goat Creek, which form the ramparts between the Bridge River Country and the deep valley of the Lillooet River.  If there's an actual name convention for the range now - thanks to its popularity with climbers and alpinists - someone please let me know.    I've sometimes called it the Thiassi Range, after Mt. Thiassi at the range's rugged core - Thiassi was king of the frost giants in Norse mythology; it happens that a neighbouring crag to Mt. Sloan is called The Frost Fiend, so maybe I'm onto something.  The other named peak that I remember is Mount Vayu, after the Hindu god of the sky. The highest of the group is Mt. Samson, in the Hurley Range subset, which stands directly above the Pemberton Meadows area of the Lillooet River valley on its westward side.   Another few panoramas of the range follow, including at left just below the source image for the panorama above, which shows Little Gun Lake in the foreground, and then closeups of certain peaks as available; the similar view at lower right also shows Big Gun Lake.  The mist may be atmospheric and mystical-looking, but it's the result of forest fires or controlled burns in the area; these shots are from late fall (November 1, 2002) when controlled burns are often done.

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Mt. Sloan & Greenmount & The Frost Fiend
Photo: E. "Andy" Cleven, c. 1960	Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

	Once known as the "Queen of the Bridge River Country", Mt. Sloan is one of the principal peaks of the Bridge River goldfields country, standing at the head of the main part of the upper valley and reminiscent of the Matterhorn as one approaches up Gold Bridge along Carpenter Lake. Standing as the last peak in the promontory of mountains between the Bridge River and the "South Fork" of the Bridge (usually known as the Hurley River nowadays), Sloan dominates the view in Bralorne and Gold Bridge as well as the Gun Lakes. The view of Mt. Sloan and its neighbouring peaks just below was taken by pioneer photographer Artie Phair.  In the section on Bralorne, there are other pictures and a history of the Old Arrastra shown here, as well as other views of Mt. Sloan.  Greenmount is the knoll to the right of Sloan, and The Frost Fiend is to Sloan's left; I don't know if the summit at far left has a name or not; I don't think so.
	BC Archives # D-07821  Photo Artie Phair
	Aerial pic from Photos by Kat	Another aerial wintertime view of Sloan, this time looking more WNW towards the upper Bridge River Valley; the Lillooet Crown icefields can be seen dimly at upper left.  This picture shows the old forest fire lookout on Greenmount, at the extreme right of the ridge in the foreground; now abandoned.  There used to be a passable 4x4 road to the lookout, but I think it's ATV or mountainbike turf now only.  The view from Greenmount is focal within the Bridge River Country; if you manage to get yourself on top of it, you get a view up most of the valleys converging on the Bralorne-Gold Bridge area; Greenmount and nearby Gwyneth Lake occupy a central position, as can be seen on the map of the upper Bridge River Country on the goldfields page.

This picture for a while now I've attributed to the Bendor Range; upon fiddling with the contrast a bit to bring up the relief I realize this seems to be the view of The Frost Fiend from a few miles up the Hurley from the Crossing (i.e. where the old road from Bralorne crosses the Hurley); Bralorne would be over to the right, Mt. Sloan in behind The Fiend, which is the central of the three knolls apparent here, but actually over 9000 ft in height (the valley here would be c.3000).  Older views of the Hurley Range are pretty rare - the road out even this far was well-out-of-the-way during Dad's time up there.  Possibly this was taken at "Limey John's" - at one time the last outpost of civilization and pretty much the end of the road, a trapper's cabin perched atop a moose-haunted swamp, beyond which the road became something between a goat track and a war zone.  At one time not so long ago, this was one of the more remote parts of the Bridge River Country, known only to prospectors and trappers, with only the most primitive of roads through it (if you could call the old Hurley Main a road, that is!).  Because of improvements in the last couple of decades, it's now well-known to most of the Bridge River Country's visitors, who can drive this route up from the Coast via Pemberton during the few months a year the road is open.

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat	Aerial pic from Photos by Kat
	Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat
Mt. Samson (Hurley Range)
Aerial pic from Photos by Kat	Aerial pic from Photos by Kat
Aerial pic from Photos by Kat

Lone Goat Creek-Mt. Thiassi area

Aerial pic from Photos by Kat