South Pinnacle Traverse

The South Pinnacle is 2544 metre nestled behind the Middle Pinnacle (2515 metre) nearby Monashee Lake located in the southern Monashee Mountains. The South Pinnacle Traverse is located in the Pinnacle Hiking Area within a few hours drive from Vernon, BC.

The Hike

To reach the trail-head, drive toward Cherryville, BC onward to the South Fork Forest Service Road (FSR). In recent years, be aware that the start of the FSR has been rerouted further south. The drive to the trail-head is straightforward; during the weekdays, there may be logging traffic.

Once at the trail-head, the hike to Monashee Lake is pleasant. You'll ascend through some old growth forest then through a tunnel of slide alder followed by hiking up a dry creek bed. If it is your first time in the area, sometimes the density of plants and flowers can obscure the trail to the dry creek bed. However, it is the dry creek bed to your left. Not long after hiking up the dry creek bed, there is a short section of scree with a fixed rope for assistance. Ascending through sub-alpine, you'll arrive at Monashee Lake.

From Monashee Lake (picture above), you'll make your way to the Middle Pinnacle (notable peak to the right in the picture above). To do so, traverse around the left side of the lake then ascend next to the creek that flows into Monashee Lake. You'll reach an area with a small tarn. Traverse to the left of this tarn. You'll soon reach a band of small trees at the base of the ridge that connects to the Middle Pinnacle. You can follow this ridge up to the Middle Pinnacle. You'll reach the base of the Middle Pinnacle.

The Middle Pinnacle is a straight forward scramble. You'll want to traverse below the remnants of a glacier (right side of picture above) toward the bottom of the line of snow in the picture (left side of picture above).

Once below the line of snow, you can scramble toward the summit along the rock on the left side of the picture. There is plenty of loose rock but there is solid rock underneath; pick your path accordingly. The picture below shows the approximate angle of the slope.

The Scramble

Once you reach the rock band, you can scramble straight to the summit of the Middle Pinnacle or you can traverse to the right through an obvious opening in the rock band. From this opening, you can traverse a loose scree section to reach the ridge connecting to the South Pinnacle. You'll arrive a the point in the phone below.

From here, you can follow the obvious ridge to the base of the South Pinnacle. Sometimes you may see mountain goats in this area!

Once at the South Pinnacle, you can choose to stay close to the crest of ridge for class 3 scrambling or traverse to the left for class 4 scrambling.

In the picture above, you can see a chimney on the left that offers class 4 scrambling. This route has plenty of scree and loose rock. You will likely have to sweep the rock with your hands as you scramble to create secure footholds for your feet. At the time of my ascent, there was a very large precariously positioned choke-stone in the chimney. It required a few delicate moves to get around it. Without the choke-stone, the chimney may be easier.

The summit of the South Pinnacle offers beautiful views of the surrounding peaks. You can see the south side of the North Pinnacle in the picture above (right side of the picture). You can see the south side of the Middle Pinnacle (left side of the picture). Once at the top, you'll need to reverse the route back to the trail-head.

Final Thoughts

The South Pinnacle Traverse offers an enjoyable day in the mountains with class 3 or 4 scrambling. Given the loose rock, it is likely best suited to experienced hikers/scramblers.