Mount Severide

Mount Severide (2571 metres) is the second highest peak in the Pinnacle Hiking area in the southern Monashee Mountains. Mount Severide has retained the remnants of a glacier on its north-face. In the last 4 years, the glacier has rapidly melted. There are many options to ascend Mount Severide. Beginning at Monashee Lake, you can ascend via the east ridge. Beginning at Monashee Lake, you can ascend the east ridge then drop down into the bowl in front of the north-face. Then, you can ascend the glacier to the summit. This route is best in the early season when the snow is plentiful and there is an overnight freeze. Beginning at Twin Lakes, you can reach it via the Mark Berger Traverse. For specifics, see my post about the Mark Berger Traverse. Then, you can ascend along the northwest ridge.

Having completed all of these routes on Mount Severide, I believe combining the Mark Berger Traverse with the northwest ridge is the most enjoyable way to scramble Mount Severide. The east ridge is short easy scrambling and you don't get to see the beauty of the north side of Mount Severide. In recent years, the glacier route is becoming increasingly unstable with a high risk of rockfall.

The Hike

To reach Mount Severide, you can follow the Mark Berger Traverse. For specifics, see my post about the Mark Berger Traverse.

The Scramble

To begin you'll want to follow the route for the Mark Berger Traverse to the lake in the bowl below the north-face of Mount Severide (see photo below).

To reach the northwest ridge, from the lake, you can traverse to the right toward the ridge in the photo below.

Once on the ridge, you'll want to cross the boulder-field toward the bump in the photo below.

After reaching roughly the left side of this bump, you'll need to hike toward some large blocks of rock. You'll need to scramble these blocks. There are a few short class 3 moves to reach the top. Alternatively, you can circumvent these blocks on loose scree.

Once at the top of these blocks, follow the ridge toward the three gendarmes that guard the ridge. In the photo below, you can see the gendarmes. This photo was taken after scrambling over the three gendarmes. If you stick to the crest of the ridge, the rock is quite solid and safe. It's enjoyable scrambling over class 3 terrain. To increase the difficulty, there are a few opportunities to scramble onto very exposed rock overlooking the glacier.

The picture below provides an overview of the route. You can see the start of the northwest ridge including the boulder-field. You can see the short section of large blocky terrain followed by the long ridge leading to the gendarmes. You can see the three gendarmes with the remnants of the glacier below the last one.

From the last gendarme, it's an easy hike to the summit across scree and boulders.

Along the way, there are more remnants of the glacier.

The summit of Mount Severide.

From the summit, you can see the North Pinnacle (left), Middle Pinnacle (centre) and South Pinnacle (right) in the background.

Final Thoughts

By combining the Mark Berger Traverse with the northwest ridge of Mount Severide, you can experience scrambling in a beautiful relatively remote area of the southern monashee mountains. Along the way, you may encounter grizzlies and mountain goats too!