Little Hector offers close-up views of the Hector Glacier with only two sections of moderate scrambling: the first is fun, hands-on scrambling on decent rock along a waterfall, but the second is a short, steep, loose slope that requires a helmet. The approach to Little Hector is shared with Mount Andromache.
As with our 2021 trip up Andromache, we parked at the pull-out and then easily found the trail to climber’s right along Hector Creek. We reached the waterfall in half an hour.Looking down the first, fun section of moderate scrambling. The line cruises through the cliff band, keeping to the left of the waterfall. Hector Lake can be seen in the background.Once above the water fall, we trended to the right side of the valley, soon picking up a faint trail. The trail continues on to the bowl ahead, keeping to climber’s right in the valley.The cliffs at the head of the bowl eased as we got closer, and we easily followed the trail up into the middle of this photo. Once above the cliff, we turned right and trudged our way up a rocky slope.Reaching the top of the slope, Mount Hector (center) and Little Hector (right) come into view. The final push to the top can be broken into two parts. We will first trend right up easy scree toward the ridge, before trending left toward the peak. The transition between these two parts is the second, short section of moderate scrambling. Before starting up, we paused to put on our helmets and let a descending group pass.Looking down as Dan makes his way up the first slope. Mount Andromache stands opposite, with its peak at the left.The final few moves to the ridge are steep, loose, and terrible quality. Even with helmets, we left plenty of space and stayed out of each other’s line of fire. There was no obvious “best” line up.Once above the second section of moderate scrambling, the terrain improved and we easily picked our way up to the summit. This photo looks down at Dan, and out across the valley to Bow Peak (left).Dan joined me at the peak of Little Hector, with its dazzling view of Mount Hector (center). We reached the top in just under four hours.Another shot of the Hector Glacier: looking a little thin these days, but still a worthy sight to behold!Gazing east to the seemingly endless sea of peaks, including the prominent triangle that is Molar Mountain (center).We returned the way we came, back down the steep, loose moderate section. Aside from this short section, the scree was ideal to descend with a plunge-step and we made excellent time.We passed the waterfall again on our hike out, a little closer to it than the way in thanks to significant braiding.
We made it back to the road in 6 hrs 5 min. Feeling content with the short day, we made our way to our campsite and enjoyed the early autumn sunset from our cozy sleeping bags.
Peak Bliss 
That step portion near the top was brutal on the way up and down- Views are worth it.
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