Hiking Anif Peak near Squamish
Contents
Anif Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 14Km
Elevation Gain: 1,100m
Highest Elevation: 1,645m
Average Gradient: 15.70%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 6 – 8 Hours
– Moderate: 5 – 6 Hours
– Fast: 4 – 5 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round (Winter Preferred)
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No – But it would make it easier
Scrambling / Exposure: Very steep final push required kick-stepping up the hill, but no exposure.
Anif Peak Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°42’50.9″N 123°04’02.4″W
Note: The above coordinates direct you to the beginning of the spur road. A high clearance vehicle can drive up this spur road as high as possible to shorten the hike. A 2WD will have to park at the base of the spur road.
Disclaimer: Winter hiking (snowshoeing) involves significantly more risk than summer hiking. Hikers should be prepared with appropriate education, training and equipment for all possibilities, including but not limited to avalanches. A mistake such as going off trail, getting lost or injured can be far more dangerous in winter than summer. You are responsible for your own safety, and while I am happy to give my opinion on this website as to the avalanche risk of a specific hike, do not take this as fact and please do your own research. Everybody has different risk tolerances and mine might be different to yours.
Anif Peak Overview
Anif Peak is one of the many summits just off the Mamquam Forest Service road near Squamish, and makes for an excellent, albeit challenging, winter objective. Many peak baggers consider Anif Peak as just an extension of the nearby Mount Mulligan, even though it’s over 100m higher than its northern neighbor. Due to this the views from Anif Peak are better than those of Mount Mulligan and for that reason Anif Peak is the preferred objective.
It is, of course, possible to tackle both Anif Peak and Mount Mulligan in one trip, and in fact this was my intention when I set off on this hike. However, due to relatively poor weather, the surprisingly draining ascent up Anif Peak and the fact I knew Mount Mulligan was a largely forested summit, I decided to “save” Mount Mulligan for another day (most likely another winter season altogether).
The Mamquam FSR area generally sees very little attention from the hiking/snowshoeing community, only attracting the most fervent of outdoor enthusiasts. Many ski tourers frequent this region though and I see no reason why it’s not more popular in the snowshoeing community. Unsurprisingly I didn’t see a soul anywhere near Anif Peak, though I did bump into a few ski tourers on the FSR up the mountain, most likely going up for a few runs on Mount Mulligan.
The views from the summit of Anif Peak are well worth the effort, and despite generally poor weather throughout the day I still managed to bag some great photos from the top once the clouds lifted. This has to be one of the best locations for views of Sky Pilot Mountain, Mount Habrich and Ledge Mountain, as well as amazing views of Atwell Peak, Alpen Mountain and the Garibaldi range.
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Is Anif Peak worthwhile?
As a winter objective Anif Peak is certainly a great hike. While much of the hike is on FSR with limited views (seems to be the general theme for many winter objectives), the views from the summit are easily good enough to warrant all that effort.
In the summer you will probably want to give this one a miss though. I have no doubt the trail will be an overgrown mess and there were clear signs of alder throughout the trail which would probably mean a significant amount of bushwhacking.
How difficult is the hike to Anif Peak?
The first 5km or so (depending on where you park) of this hike is on a FSR that is frequently traveled by ski tourers, making this a smooth and easy to navigate trail. Once you leave the FSR and start making your own way up Anif Peak, chances are you will be breaking trail and navigating yourself to the summit. This part is steep the whole way, and incredibly steep in certain sections. At almost 16% average gradient this is one of the steepest winter ascents I’ve done at the time of writing.
Technically speaking the FSR section is easy and quick, even in snow, thanks to the well groomed trail. Obviously this depends on the snowpack though. Once you’re off the FSR it’s really dependent on how the snow is as to how hard you will find it. For me the snow was great, a firm icy crust above a consolidated snow, making for sturdy footing. If you encounter deep powder this is going to be very difficult. It did get so steep in sections that I had to take off my snowshoes and kick-step up the steep hillside, ice axe in hand in case I fell. If the conditions are particularly icy you may even need to bring crampons. That being said, at no point was I ever exposed to any significant fall on this hike. Had I fell on the steep section I’d have merely slid a good distance down the snowy hill before stopping (or hitting a tree).
Anif Peak Route Information
The start of the hike to Anif Peak is dependent on where you are able to drive your vehicle to. The stats of this hike are from where I left my Jeep at about 660m elevation, which is where the snow line was at the time. This would require a high clearance vehicle for sure, preferably a 4×4 but a high clearance AWD might be okay too. If you have a 2WD you are able to leave your vehicle on Mamquam FSR where the spur road begins (see coordinates). This would add an additional 4.25km and 260m elevation to the hike, or around about an hour at a moderate pace. Mamquam FSR itself is a pretty rough road too, covered in deep potholes, but is manageable in a 2WD if you drive carefully.
For the purposes of this guide I’m going to start the hike from where I parked, and where the GPX file begins, at 660m elevation. If you park further down, hike up to that point, it’s all on the same FSR.
The first 3.5km or so of this hike are nothing but a logging road plod at a moderately steep gradient, typical of winter approaches in BC. There’s not a lot to see or do except chug along. At least it’s easy and you’ll probably keep a good pace as the trail will be packed down from the ski tourers. I used microspikes the entire time as snowshoes would only slow you down at this point.
At around 1,150m elevation the trail opens up and you start to get some views. Behind you you should be able to see Atwell Peak poking through pretty soon, and in a couple of hundred meters more you’ll reach a ridge where all of the trees to the south will have been logged and you’ll get some expansive views of the Tantalus range. You’ll even see the Chief from here, which will look laughably small compared to everything else.
As you continue forward you’ll notice a large, looming cliffside to your right, and a tree lined hill to your left. Anif Peak will be to the right, though hidden behind this cliffside (and much higher). To your left will be Mount Mulligan, though you can’t see the summit from where you are. You’ll be continuing forward, to a col between these two summits.
Continuing on, the trail now flattens out for a little while, allowing you to catch your breath for the steep climb you’re about to hit. At around the 4.5km mark you will have reached the end of the logging road and from here on out you will be going it alone. I had to strap on snowshoes at this point as the trail was no longer packed by ski tourers, but if you’re lucky you might have ski tracks to follow.
The general direction is pretty clear as it’s the only safe way to go, towards the col between the two steep hillsides. Around 1km further along, at the 5.5km mark, you’ll reach the first steep section of this hike, but not the steepest part. This section will bring you to the col between Anif Peak and Mount Mulligan.
It’s probably time to get your map out to make sure you’re going in the right direction, but here on out you need to decide which way is safest. For me this meant a bit of zig zagging up the steep hill, avoiding the steepest sections and any tree wells where possible. Honestly it’s common sense when you’re out there so don’t let it concern you as to the exact route to take, the general direction is all that matters.
This first steep section will cover about 500m and 150m elevation gain. Nothing drastic but still, a 30% gradient is pretty challenging in snowshoes, depending on the conditions, and I was certainly tired by the time I reached the col. You won’t really have many views during this part of the hike as it’s all in the treeline still, but they’re not too far away now.
Unfortunately that was the easy part of the steep section. Once you’re at the col, check your map again and you’ll see you can either go right up Anif Peak or left up Mount Mulligan. Since this is covering Anif Peak I’ll assume you go right.
You’re now only 700m from the summit, which might not sound far but it’s covering about 230m elevation for an average gradient of 33%. In no time you will be grinding up a very steep section that is over 40% gradient. This was pushing my Lightning Ascents to their absolute limit so I hope you have a decent pair of snowshoes as anything but will not cope very well.
As I was climbing up this final ascent, a thick cloud decided to swoop in and I was pretty close to just stopping. I literally couldn’t see 10m ahead of me and route finding became almost impossible with the soft white snow indistinguishable from the dense cloud. It was the true definition of a complete whiteout, and combined with the steep gradient and potential for no views at the top I questioned what was the point. Anyway, I had made it this far so why stop now?
As you near the summit the gradient keeps getting more severe. Around 50 vertical meters from the summit I hit a section that looked almost impassable. It was too steep for my snowshoes so I took them off, whipped out my ice axe and ended up kick-stepping up the side of the hill. If I had to guess the angle of the slope I’d assume it was over 60 degrees so I was very thankful for my axe at this stage. Had the snow been a deep powder I honestly don’t know how I’d have gotten up as every step would have just ended up sliding all the way back down the mountain. I still don’t really know how to ascend something that steep in deep powdery snow, so if you know, pray tell.
Thankfully this steep section is fairly brief, maybe 20 vertical meters, and the rest of the hike continues to be steep but not unfathomably so. Mercifully the moment I reached the summit the clouds began clearing. I was in no mood for photos or enjoying the moment just yet, so I sat down and tucked into a sandwich. Another stroke of luck was that there wasn’t as much as a breeze on the summit, so I could comfortably hang around for a while until the clouds left.
After a rest I wandered around. A little bit beyond the supposed summit of Anif Peak (according to the map), seemed to be an even higher section. However, this higher summit was along a pretty sketchy ridgeline that had evidence of avalanches, so being alone I was in no doubt that I would not be traversing this ridge. The views were quite alright just where I was and if the map says I made the summit, I’ll believe it!
The views now were staggering. The clouds kept coming and going, but for the next 45 minutes or so I just waited for the windows where Sky Pilot and Mount Habrich were on full display, then quickly took a bunch of photos. The north was largely clouded over but I did get some glimpses of the Garibaldi range and Atwell Peak.
After sticking around for an hour or so total, I decided it was time to head down. My intention was to summit Mount Mulligan as well but the steep ascent had taken it out of me and the clouds seemed to have settled in the area now.
Returning down the steep hill was a good chance to practice some glissading and I decided to use crampons for the steep descent as I wanted decent grip on the steep icy snow. I did end up post-holing a bit, but it was fast and furious and got the job done well. It took no time to reach the col between Anif and Mulligan, where I strapped on the snowshoes and quickly returned to the car the same way I came. All in all it ended up being a pretty quick trip, though certainly an exhausting one.
When should I hike Anif Peak?
Anif Peak is primarily a winter objective, in fact I have not seen anybody hiking this without snow so take from that what you will. With that in mind I’d aim to do this in the winter, probably sometime between November and May when much of the hike will still be snowed over. Any later and the snow will have receded too much.
Top Tip
It would be good to have an idea as to what the snow is like on the day you are going. Deep powder will make this pretty rough, and hard ice will mean you probably need to take crampons and an ice axe. Either way I recommend the ice axe for the steep section at the end, crampons are perhaps overkill though I did enjoy using them for the first time here.
You will definitely be passing through avalanche terrain towards the end of this hike so make sure to check the avalanche conditions. When I went it was moderate / low / low, I probably wouldn’t risk this if conditions were considerable or higher.
If you want to also summit Mount Mulligan it is pretty straightforward. Once you descend back into the col between Anif Peak and Mount Mulligan, you simply navigate yourself up the other side of the col to Mount Mulligan. I believe this is much easier than the ascent up Anif Peak.
As always, bring an offline map as you will be route finding the end of this one.
