Coquihalla Mountain Traverse

Coquihalla Mountain (2157 metres) is an extinct stratovolcano nearby the Coquihalla Recreation Area. Coquihalla Mountain sits prominently above the surrounding mountains. It is visible from many directions (e.g., Coquihalla highway, nearby mountains and peaks). In the not so distant past, Coquihalla Mountain harboured a permanent snow field on it's north side. Unlike the nearby solid granite spires of Yak Peak, Vicuna Peak and others, the rock found on Coquihalla Mountain is blocky and loose. The traverse from the north east ridge, across the east, central and west summits to the southwest ridge provides an appealing adventure.

The Hike

To reach Coquihalla Mountain, while travelling on the Coquihalla Highway, you'll want to take the Britton Creek exit to access the Tulameen Forest Service Road. Driving approximately 20km along the dirt road, you'll arrive at a bridge that crosses a creek. There is a parking area on the left side of the road.

From the parking area, you'll follow an overgrown logging road. Once you reach the end of this road, you'll follow an overgrown hiking trail. Once emerging from the trail, you'll cross a small creek. From here, the hiking is pleasant. You'll follow a well-established trail through forest into the sub-alpine. Eventually, you'll reach beautiful alpine meadows. There are nearby peaks to hike. You can hike (class 2) Jim Kelly Peak, Illal mountain, Spiral Mountain and others. All of these peaks are visible from meadows. For those who want to venture beyond the meadows, Carey peak offers a class 2+ route on the south side of Coquihalla Mountain.

For Coquihalla Mountain, you'll continue past Jim Kelly Peak and the lake below it. At this point, you should be able to see the east summit/north ridge of Coquihalla Mountain. Follow the trail leading toward it.

The Scramble

Looking toward the northeast ridge, you can following the treeline to the right to the base of the rock.

As you reach the base of the rock, you can traverse to the left to reach a short class 3 scramble (pictured below).

From the top of this scramble, there is a pleasant ridge walk to the top of the east summit (pictured below). Along the way, there are a few rocky exposed steps but they are very easy.

From the east summit, the route to the central and west summit (furthest in the background) is obvious. Most of the traverse, you'll want to stick to the crest of the ridge for the most solid rock.

After a few short sections of easy scrambling, you'll arrive at the down-climb pictured below. If you imagine standing at the top of the photo below, you'll need to down-climb from here. Holds are plentiful and it feels quite safe.

From the bottom of this down-climb, you'll make your way to the top of the blocky ridge in the photo below.

From this point, you'll traverse a knife edge ridge. By attentively picking your hand and footholds, the rock is solid and safe. However, it can feel quite exposed.

Once at the end of the knife edge ridge, you can scramble easy terrain to the top. From here, you have a few options. You can continue along the ridge to down-climb some class 3+ or you can drop down the notch (pictured below) to traverse around this section. Both options will end up in the same location.

From this point, for the most solid rock, you'll likely want to stick to the crest of the ridge leading to the west summit (right side of the picture - following the sky line).

At the west summit, you can reverse the route or hike down the southwest ridge.

The southwest ridge is pictured below. You'll drop down the ridge then turn left to follow flagging tape back across some boulder-fields. The route reconnects to the start of the northeast ridge.

Final Thoughts

The Coquihalla Mountain Traverse is, in my opinion, the best scramble in the Coquihalla area. It offers sustained lengthy class 3 scrambling in a picturesque setting. I highly recommend picking a clear day so that you can enjoy the views and take in the exposure. Surprisingly, the rock is solid and safe throughout most of the scramble. For someone who is moving from class 2 to class 3 this is an excellent option.