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, I took the Britton Creek exit to access the Tulameen Forest Service Road. Driving approximately 20km along the dirt road, I arrived at a bridge that crosses a creek. There is a parking area on the left side of the road.

From the parking area, I followed an overgrown logging road. Once I was at the end of this road, I followed an overgrown hiking trail. Once emerging from the trail, I crossed a small creek. From here, the hiking is pleasant. I followed a well-established trail through forest into the sub-alpine. Eventually, I emerged at a beautiful alpine meadow. There are nearby peaks to hike. There are hikes of 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, I continued past Jim Kelly Peak and the lake below it. At this point, I could see the east summit/north ridge of Coquihalla Mountain. I followed the trail leading toward it.

The Scramble

Looking toward the northeast ridge, I followed the treeline to the right to the base of the rock.

As I arrived at the base of the rock, I traversed to the left to reach a short class 3 scramble (pictured below).

From the top of this scramble, I had 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, I stuck to the crest of the ridge for the most solid rock.

After a few short sections of easy scrambling, I arrived at the down-climb in the picture below. I found that holds are plentiful and it felt quite safe.

From the bottom of this down-climb, I made my way to the top of the blocky ridge in the photo below.

From this point, I traversed a knife edge ridge. By attentively picking my hand and footholds, I found the rock felt solid and safe.

Once at the end of the knife edge ridge, I scrambled easy terrain to the top. From here, I dropped down the notch (pictured below).

From this point, I stuck to the crest of the ridge leading to the west summit (right side of the picture - following the sky line).

At the west summit, I hiked down the southwest ridge.

The southwest ridge is pictured below. I dropped down the ridge then turned 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.