The Downton Creek area will remain in my mind for a long time. Actually, all aspects and places of Nature remain in my mind for a long time, but Downton Creek will have a special place in my noggin; even when I'm old and senile, telling the youngsters how it was back in my day. Stamicets Peak, man oh man! This summit provided me some of the best scrambling I have partook in. It was super enjoyable; good rock and a knife edge ridge to boot!
I don't know many of the mountains in the area. Luckily for me, I had Mr. Alpine Encyclopedia, Fred Touche, with me; unfortunately I can't recall many of the names so far removed from the trip now. Whitecap Mountain was beautiful, but many of the very near surrounding peaks don't have official names. It's a great scene at the top, you get a fantastic perspective of the basin, and of some the glaciated peaks nearby. If you're reading this, stop. Pack your overnight gear, call in sick to work, and just go!
My summit video: Stamicets Peak Vista
The road is washing out! 4.4km after you turn left onto a road with a sign reading "Downton Creek" there is a washout. It was passable at the time we went, but it'll only get worse. Furthermore, in Matt Gunn's book, "Scrambles in Southwestern British Columbia", he writes that at the 5.7km mark, from the turn off off Duffey lake road onto the one with the sign "Downton Creek", to go right. This is NOT correct, you should go left! Also, he states the map reference as 92J/8 Duffey Lake, it is actually 92J/9 Shalalth. That last bit of information was taken from the updates page of his publishing company's website.