Hiking Mount Corriveau near Chilliwack
Contents
Mount Corriveau Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 13.00Km
Elevation Gain: 1,275m
Highest Elevation: 1,977m
Average Gradient: 19.60%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 8 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 7 – 8 Hours
– Fast: 6 – 7 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~April to October
4×4 / High Clearance Required? Yes
Scrambling / Exposure: Steep forest travel
Mount Corriveau Trail
Below coordinates lead to beginning of Centre 4300 FSR, which you need to follow briefly before turning right onto CT1110.
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°05’59.1″N 121°31’59.5″W
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.
Mount Corriveau Overview
Mount Corriveau is a summit located in the Chilliwack River Valley, slightly west of Chilliwack Lake and east of Mount Rexford. At 1,977m elevation it is one of the lower peaks in the region, however the views from the top are very rewarding given this summit is surrounded by some stunners, namely Rexford, MacDonald, Williams, Slesse, Lindeman, Welch and Foley.
There are a variety of ways up Mount Corriveau, with some parties approaching from Centre Creek FSR to the west via an extremely steep (but short) climb through the forest, while others (like us) approach via the north ridge from a spur road. A lesser common route is approaching from the east via the Radium Lake trail. Whichever route you choose, there is no trail of any kind and you will be self navigating to the summit. Due to this, most parties ascend in the spring when a snowpack covers the brush, however a summer ascent is often fine as well as most of the forest here is old growth.
Accessing the north ridge requires driving up the CT1110 spur off of Centre FSR. This spur is very steep, loose and covered in deep cross ditches, so a 4×4 high clearance vehicle is required. Parties without this vehicle could feasibly park at the junction at around 500m elevation where CT1110 begins, knowing this will add ~250m of gain and perhaps another 4km to the day.
In terms of seasonality, spring is the ideal time to go when you are still able to drive high up the FSR but benefit from a snowpack to cover the bush on the forested climb. That being said, the bush likely isn’t too bad and a summer ascent is likely fine as well.
Dogs are welcome on the route, but of course they would need to be well versed in rugged, off trail forest travel.
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Is Mount Corriveau worthwhile?
Mount Corriveau offers very nice views once you reach the ridge, likely some of the best views of Mount Rexford given its close proximity. While some of the approach is a bit ugly, the reward is well worth it and Corriveau is certainly a worthwhile, fairly non-technical option in the area.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Corriveau?
This is a largely non-technical outing with no real scrambling of note. The biggest challenge of this hike is the forest lower down. There are a number of bluffs you have to navigate around lower in the forest, and the route is very steep at times. The footbed is also often loose, with moss and pine needles blanketing the ground, leading to uncertain footing. We had a thin layer of snow on top of this, which resulted in plenty of slips and spills along the way.
Navigation can be tricky thanks to the numerous bluffs, but if you’re lucky there should be flagging to guide the way. If in doubt the GPX linked here works its way through the bluffs quite well. Once you’re on the ridge the route is obvious and largely straightforward.
Mount Corriveau Route Information
The trailhead for the north ridge route to Mount Corriveau as described here is from the CT1110 spur road off of Centre FSR. While Centre FSR is fine to drive in any vehicle, this spur is very rough and only suitable to 4×4 HC vehicles at the time of writing. With the right vehicle you can drive up to ~750m before the road becomes overgrown with alder. As noted, you could park at the start of the spur and hike from there, which would add ~250m and perhaps 4km, which is only an extra hour or so of hiking.
The trail begins by continuing to hike along this spur road to the end of the road at around 970m elevation. From here you will now be self navigating the rest of the way to the summit. You’ll now have to ascend through a steep and rough cutblock, which for us was very slippery and damp due to morning dew. The cutblock climbs around 100m before reaching the safety of the forest.
Once in the forest you will hopefully be able to pick up some flagging tape, but if not the general route is to continue climbing straight up. While the forest is fairly open with minimal bush, it is very steep, likely with some blowdown to navigate and slick moss/pine underfoot. The section between 1,050 – 1,250m is the steepest, with a couple of spots where you wouldn’t want to slip.
At 1,250m you’ll have gained the north ridge, though for now you’re still well and truly battling the forest. The climb will continue for a few hundred meters more until the forest begins to thin out around 1,500 – 1,600m and the views finally start to open up, notably of the impressive Mount Rexford and Nesakwatch Spires.
As you follow the ridge along you’ll reach a nice spot for a break with a clear view of the final bluff you’ll need to work up further ahead, now out of the forest. It looks a little tricky from afar but once you get there it’s pretty simple. You’ll drop down ever so slightly before beginning the climb up this bluff, with some micro terrain to work around the bluff. It’s never exposed or even that steep.
Once on the top of this you should be able to see the “peak” further ahead. The peak itself is not much of a peak given the undulating nature of this ridge. Indeed, the last kilometer of this route to the summit is almost flat, and the peak itself is mere meters higher than other parts of the ridge. Don’t let that dissuade you though as the views for the entire ridge are exceptional, with Webb, MacDonald, Redoubt and Lindeman now in full view to the southeast, as well the domineering Rexford. Behind you you’ll see Williams, Welch and Foley in the distance, and the top of Slesse will also be visible.
Once at the summit there are a couple of conveniently situated natural platforms for resting on, right in front of Rexford. While there are a couple of trees scattered around on the summit, the views are still 360 degrees and pretty impressive given this relatively low summit for the area.
After resting on the summit it’s now just a matter of retracing your steps back to the car. The ridge will be easy enough but once you’re back in the forest it can be a bit grim. The steep and loose nature of the route makes for some tricky descending at times, so much so that we kept our snowshoes and microspikes on much longer than necessary just for the added traction. Reaching the FSR will be a welcome moment, at which point the return is simple.
When should I hike Mount Corriveau?
This could really go either way and I do think this peak will be fine in summer if you don’t mind a bit of light bushwhacking. The thin snow layer actually made travel difficult on the steep, mossy forest, so that part would probably be better if it were snow free. There’s no doubt the snow helps higher up along the ridge though, so that’s one benefit of going in the spring.
The middle of winter is likely not ideal, especially if it means you’re unable to drive to the roads end. Deep and powdery snow will make this unnecessarily difficult as well.
Top Tip
Most parties will be fine without an ice axe or crampons, but some may want to bring them for the steep forest if conditions are expected to be icy lower down. It is very steep in the forest. Once on the ridge you likely won’t need them.
We found using traction on the descent was helpful even when the snow was gone. As such, bringing microspikes might be a nice idea just in case, regardless of when you go.
