Coquitlam Mountain
Nestled in the mountains north of Coquitlam is an impressive, difficult-to-access 1583m peak named Coquitlam Mountain. It is visible from across the lower mainland, and is an imposing figure in parts of Coquitlam that it can be seen from. Having spent most of my early hiking days exploring Burke Ridge and Eagle Ridge, which both run adjacent to Coquitlam Mountain, I have spent a lot of time looking up at its unique build wondering when I might get to the top of it.
My Winter 2018 university semester was a tough grind, and by the end of it I was looking forward to some quality time outdoors; I was thinking a Coquitlam Mountain ascent would be a spectacular way to kick off the summer. I contacted Steven S., who is a well-known south coast peak bagger with numerous respectable summits to his name. He is very adept at climbing and route-finding, and had yet to climb Coquitlam Mountain so I thought he'd be a great partner. Lucky enough, he was interested, and was in town. In early May, a few days after I had arrived home from school, a perfect weather window came upon us, and snow conditions appeared to be favourable. Steven and I got in contact and did a bit of route planning.
The standard route to Coquitlam Mountain goes over Burke Ridge, and requires a large elevation loss and regain to get across the Or Valley, which sits between Burke Ridge and Coquitlam Mountain; 14-16 hours is the norm for this route. A few years earlier, I had done a reconnaissance on a route that skirts around the west side of Burke Ridge through some mature forest and ramps up into the Or Valley with minimal elevation loss. I was confident this would be the most efficient route to Coquitlam Mountain, and Steven agreed.
On May 3rd, I met Steven at the park gate by the Burke Mountain gun club at 5:15am. We headed up some of the old logging roads on Burke Mountain in the dark, and followed the Coquitlam Lakeview route. After crossing Coho Creek, we continued along the old logging road spur instead of veering left uphill along the Coquitlam Lakeview route. The old logging spur is fairly flat and easy to follow, although it eventually dead ends at a small boulder field. After a bit of boulder hopping, we side-hilled on a slight decline until we hit an impressive waterfall and had to drop down about 50m to a place where we could safely cross.
We continued on a slight decline for a while, and the terrain gradually flattened out. We used our GPS's to connect to an old logging spur that branches off of the Or Creek mainline road. We weaved through some moderately thick bush along this overgrown road, and felt relieved when we popped out onto the open, well-maintained Or Creek mainline service road.
We began the gradual ascent of the service road, which ramps up the Or Valley adjacent to Or Creek. There was a point when we were taking a break where we thought we heard a vehicle coming up the road from lower in the valley. We quickly scrambled up a bank into the bushes, and after a few minutes of silence we figured out that the engine noise was an overhead airplane echoing through the valley and the tire-knocking-rock noise was the turbulently flowing Or Creek below us. Nevertheless we weren't taking any chances along a restricted road - a vehicle encounter on the way up might end our ascent plans.
We eventually hit a point where boulders and logs had been placed where the road was decommissioned and no longer drivable, and we breathed a sigh of relief knowing we would no longer need to stress about vehicle encounters. After this point, the road appeared to have been recently re-sloped. It was bush-free and barren, and had a narrow pathway in the middle that was perfect for hiking. We continued up the valley on the old road, and soon got a view of our objective, which towers well above the valley floor.
We reached a point where continuous bare ground suddenly turned to continuous snow - likely due to the large shadow Burke Ridge casts over the north part of the valley. Near the upper Or Valley, the old service road crosses Or Creek. When the road was active, there would have been a bridge across Or Creek. However, it was removed when the road was decommissioned, so we would need to wade across the creek. Fortunately, we were prepared with sandals to wear for the crossing. The water was only knee high, so it was no problem crossing.
Our maps showed that the route up the road past the crossing should have been smooth sailing. However, the meter deep snow combined with numerous deep stream crossings slowed our progress. At nearly all of the crossings, the snow was melted and there was a large ditch that we had to carefully drop into and climb out of. The bare ditches also meant that we couldn't use our snowshoes on the snow sections unless we took them off at each ditch. The snow was soft, and we would have benefited with better floatation, but it was quicker to not use snowshoes at all. We counted about 40 of these tricky snow gaps along the road.
The road started to get more scenic as we reached the end of the bowl bounded by the rugged ridge connecting Widgeon Peak and Coquitlam mountain.
Once we reached the end of the road, Steven took lead. He has done many ascents just like this before and had studied the map beforehand. The cutblock at the end of the old road was fully covered in 1-3 feet of snow that covered all bush. With no snow you'd want to get into the old growth before gaining much elevation. However with the snow in our favour we were able to cut straight up the cutblock and head directly towards the summit. We climbed some steep snow pitches, and were able make some quick elevation gains.
We worked our way up the the north side of the southeast ridge leading up towards the summit, following a steady incline. The trees thinned out and the snow got softer, so we put on our snowshoes. We were rewarded with some flat spots, and views of the surrounding mountains and our objective, which was beginning to seem within reach.
We contoured around the top bowl of the gully between Coquitlam mountain and the southeast sub-peak without losing any elevation. This required a minor traverse on steep snow.
The final climb is a steep pitch interspersed with small trees, and would likely be very bushy with no snow. It was a steep incline, and the snow wasn't too soft, so we ditched our snowshoes. We tackled the final section head-on, and slowly crested to the summit.
And finally we could go no higher, 7 hours into the trip. Steven inspected for cornices on the north end of the summit and eventually we settled and took in the views.
We spent about an hour on the summit taking in views and eating a bit. We soon started heading down. Heel plunging down the south face of the summit with a great view of Burke Ridge and the Or Valley below us was a lot of fun.
There was a point where we heard a loud 'crack' echo out of the Or Valley, and we observed a small avalanche sail off the lower west rock face of Widgeon Peak. The snow appeared to have broken off of a steep rock face. After the short traverse across the sub-peak we continued back down to the road with some more heel plunging and some super fun controlled butt sliding in the soft snow and warm sunshine. It took about 40 minutes to get from the summit back down to the road, where we followed our footsteps back to Or Creek for a refreshing crossing.
We headed back down the road at a relaxed pace and took a few nice breaks. We entered the bush where we had come out and Steven led the way as we retraced our bushwack our through the forest. The last sidehill climb was a gruelling sufferfest and in cycling terms we were both super 'cracked' on the final stretch up to the end of the old logging road. Passing the giant waterfall provided a nice chilly break. Once we got to the flat logging road we laid down by a creek and refuelled a bit before quickly making the final descent back to the gun club. We were exhausted, but successfully summiting one of the most prominent, difficult-to-access peaks in the lower mainland was well worthwhile. The total trip was about 13.5 hours, which was pretty efficient considering we sat on the summit for an hour. Overall, I think the experimental route saved us some time, but it's fair to say there's no easy way to the top of Coquitlam Mountain. I have to thank Steven for joining me for this trip and showing me some of his climbing expertise.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1548339170
Coquitlam Mountain from Burke Ridge (April 2017).
My friend Colin pointing at Coquitlam Mountain from Eagle Ridge (July 2015).
Dawn from Eagle Ridge; Coquitlam Mountain is on the far right (July 2015).
My Winter 2018 university semester was a tough grind, and by the end of it I was looking forward to some quality time outdoors; I was thinking a Coquitlam Mountain ascent would be a spectacular way to kick off the summer. I contacted Steven S., who is a well-known south coast peak bagger with numerous respectable summits to his name. He is very adept at climbing and route-finding, and had yet to climb Coquitlam Mountain so I thought he'd be a great partner. Lucky enough, he was interested, and was in town. In early May, a few days after I had arrived home from school, a perfect weather window came upon us, and snow conditions appeared to be favourable. Steven and I got in contact and did a bit of route planning.
The standard route to Coquitlam Mountain goes over Burke Ridge, and requires a large elevation loss and regain to get across the Or Valley, which sits between Burke Ridge and Coquitlam Mountain; 14-16 hours is the norm for this route. A few years earlier, I had done a reconnaissance on a route that skirts around the west side of Burke Ridge through some mature forest and ramps up into the Or Valley with minimal elevation loss. I was confident this would be the most efficient route to Coquitlam Mountain, and Steven agreed.
Coquitlam Mountain via Or Valley.
Me finessing some boulders with my snowshoe-laden pack.
An impressive waterfall we had to carefully cross.
We continued on a slight decline for a while, and the terrain gradually flattened out. We used our GPS's to connect to an old logging spur that branches off of the Or Creek mainline road. We weaved through some moderately thick bush along this overgrown road, and felt relieved when we popped out onto the open, well-maintained Or Creek mainline service road.
We began the gradual ascent of the service road, which ramps up the Or Valley adjacent to Or Creek. There was a point when we were taking a break where we thought we heard a vehicle coming up the road from lower in the valley. We quickly scrambled up a bank into the bushes, and after a few minutes of silence we figured out that the engine noise was an overhead airplane echoing through the valley and the tire-knocking-rock noise was the turbulently flowing Or Creek below us. Nevertheless we weren't taking any chances along a restricted road - a vehicle encounter on the way up might end our ascent plans.
We eventually hit a point where boulders and logs had been placed where the road was decommissioned and no longer drivable, and we breathed a sigh of relief knowing we would no longer need to stress about vehicle encounters. After this point, the road appeared to have been recently re-sloped. It was bush-free and barren, and had a narrow pathway in the middle that was perfect for hiking. We continued up the valley on the old road, and soon got a view of our objective, which towers well above the valley floor.
Coquitlam Mountain from decommissioned Or Branch.
A zoom-in of Coquitlam Mountain summit from the Or Valley.
We reached a point where continuous bare ground suddenly turned to continuous snow - likely due to the large shadow Burke Ridge casts over the north part of the valley. Near the upper Or Valley, the old service road crosses Or Creek. When the road was active, there would have been a bridge across Or Creek. However, it was removed when the road was decommissioned, so we would need to wade across the creek. Fortunately, we were prepared with sandals to wear for the crossing. The water was only knee high, so it was no problem crossing.
Or Creek, which is basically the upper Coquitlam River.
Me shouldering all sorts of hiking gear across knee-deep water on Or Creek.
Our maps showed that the route up the road past the crossing should have been smooth sailing. However, the meter deep snow combined with numerous deep stream crossings slowed our progress. At nearly all of the crossings, the snow was melted and there was a large ditch that we had to carefully drop into and climb out of. The bare ditches also meant that we couldn't use our snowshoes on the snow sections unless we took them off at each ditch. The snow was soft, and we would have benefited with better floatation, but it was quicker to not use snowshoes at all. We counted about 40 of these tricky snow gaps along the road.
One of many ditches we had to struggle down and then out of.
The road started to get more scenic as we reached the end of the bowl bounded by the rugged ridge connecting Widgeon Peak and Coquitlam mountain.
Steven near the end of the Or Valley, on a re-sloped section of the snowy road.
Once we reached the end of the road, Steven took lead. He has done many ascents just like this before and had studied the map beforehand. The cutblock at the end of the old road was fully covered in 1-3 feet of snow that covered all bush. With no snow you'd want to get into the old growth before gaining much elevation. However with the snow in our favour we were able to cut straight up the cutblock and head directly towards the summit. We climbed some steep snow pitches, and were able make some quick elevation gains.
Me burning lots of matches gunting up a long steep section.
The slope angle was up to 45 degrees on some sections.
Steven leading the way, kick stepping up the steep slope.
We worked our way up the the north side of the southeast ridge leading up towards the summit, following a steady incline. The trees thinned out and the snow got softer, so we put on our snowshoes. We were rewarded with some flat spots, and views of the surrounding mountains and our objective, which was beginning to seem within reach.
The trees thinned, and we were rewarded with some flatter bits.
Me snowshoeing up an open slope with Widgeon Peak behind me.
Steven keeping the pace steady ahead of me.
We contoured around the top bowl of the gully between Coquitlam mountain and the southeast sub-peak without losing any elevation. This required a minor traverse on steep snow.
Me carefully following Steven's footsteps on the steep traverse.
The final climb is a steep pitch interspersed with small trees, and would likely be very bushy with no snow. It was a steep incline, and the snow wasn't too soft, so we ditched our snowshoes. We tackled the final section head-on, and slowly crested to the summit.
Steven making his final push through the trees.
The final moments before reaching the summit.
And finally we could go no higher, 7 hours into the trip. Steven inspected for cornices on the north end of the summit and eventually we settled and took in the views.
Gabbro Peak and numerous remote peaks in the distance to the northeast.
Coquitlam Lake below with Eagle and Seymour ridges to the west.
The Five Fingers region to the north.
A closer shot of Gabbro Peak to the northeast.
Widgeon Peak to the east with Golden Ears, Edge Peak, and Blanshard Needle behind.
Burke Ridge to the south.
Burke North Summit with the hazy Fraser Valley and Mt Baker in the distance.
Looking towards several distant peaks to the northwest.
Looking towards Mt Bishop and Cathedral Mtn to the northwest.
Looking down towards the city.
A shot of Steven at the high point of the summit.
Steven and myself on the summit of Coquitlam Mountain.
The sub-summit and Burke ridge provided a nice backdrop for the descent.
A shot of our mini traverse across the sub-summit.
Steven ahead of me on the traverse section.
The water was cold but the sun was out so it felt good.
We headed back down the road at a relaxed pace and took a few nice breaks. We entered the bush where we had come out and Steven led the way as we retraced our bushwack our through the forest. The last sidehill climb was a gruelling sufferfest and in cycling terms we were both super 'cracked' on the final stretch up to the end of the old logging road. Passing the giant waterfall provided a nice chilly break. Once we got to the flat logging road we laid down by a creek and refuelled a bit before quickly making the final descent back to the gun club. We were exhausted, but successfully summiting one of the most prominent, difficult-to-access peaks in the lower mainland was well worthwhile. The total trip was about 13.5 hours, which was pretty efficient considering we sat on the summit for an hour. Overall, I think the experimental route saved us some time, but it's fair to say there's no easy way to the top of Coquitlam Mountain. I have to thank Steven for joining me for this trip and showing me some of his climbing expertise.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1548339170
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