Located in the north of the Tantalus Range, Ossa Mountain differs markedly from its close neighbour Pelion Mountain in that its N face is to alpine climbing what Pelion's is to skiing. The rock is predominantly granodiorite and well suited to climbing. There is an east peak and a main summit. Its steep north faces remain cold throughout the year- ice can be encountered most of the year.Since the original trapper's trail up Sigurd Creek was refurbished by the BCMC in the early 1990s, there has been a spate of new climbing activity. Most modern approaches to the mountain use the Sigurd Creek Trail although the original ascent in 1960 was from Zenith-Tantalus col.
The rock tower at the head of the Pelion-Ossa glacier is an inviting, unclimbed horn- a bergschrund having repulsed at least one attempt on it.
There are no known climbing routes on the south face of the mountain. Unfortunately, due to its angle and intervening ridges, no one except Clowhom River loggers has ever seen it. The only feasible approaches are via vertical snot in Clowhom River or dropping down from Ossa's W ridge or Pelion's south ridge. Clearly, this is an ultimately masochistic endeavour for half bush apes, half climbers. There is a shallow glacier in a deep hole at the base of the south face with an equally uninviting lake with permanent icebergs.
All first ascents and variations were accomplished by hiking all the way in from the Squamish River.
Name Notes: From Neal Carter's "Early Climbs in the Tantalus Range": Legendary Mt. Ossa in Thessaly is the one upon whose summit the giants piled Mt. Pelion in an effort to attain the summit of Mt. Olympus, home of the Greek gods.
