Hiking Mount Ronayne near Pemberton
Contents
Mount Ronayne Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 23.8Km
Elevation Gain: 1,566m
Highest Elevation: 2,290m
Average Gradient: 14.67%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / Very High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 8 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 7 – 8 Hours
– Fast: 6 – 7 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round (Winter Preferred)
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No – But it would make it easier
Scrambling / Exposure: None
Mount Ronayne Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°30’51.6″N 122°44’18.0″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 Ronayne Overview
Mount Ronayne is a spectacular summit situated north of Pemberton and east of Birkenhead Lake. There are a number of different routes to summit Ronayne but the most popular route approaches from Birkenhead Lake FSR from the northeast, before looping around the western side of the mountain and ascending the steep southern slope to the summit.
Timing your hike for Ronayne can be a little finicky. In the winter the snowline will generally be too low to access the trail, with most hikers choosing to summit in late spring. Spring provides the benefit of a deep snowpack to cover the otherwise bushy terrain, but the drawback is that you cannot drive as high up the FSR as you otherwise might in the summer, as the snowline remains low. A summer approach will be much shorter than the stats above, potentially half as much, but will likely result in some bushwhacking at lower elevations especially. With all this said the difficulty of your hike will depend entirely on when you go and how high up the FSR you can drive. You can feasibly drive a significant portion of the trail if there is no snowpack to stop you. Having an understanding of where the snowline is would therefore help considerably before going.
In terms of accessibility, this route to Mount Ronayne is accessed from a spur off of Birkenhead Lake FSR off of Pemberton Portage Road. Birkenhead Lake FSR is a well groomed, spacious FSR suitable for any vehicle, but once you turn onto the spur road leading to Mount Ronayne the FSR deteriorates somewhat, but is still manageable for SUV’s. You can drive a significant portion or this spur road if the snowpack is high enough, reducing the hike stats considerably. Do keep in mind that the FSR can be overgrown though, with alder crossing the road in parts, likely resulting in pinstriping on your vehicle. If you want to avoid this you will have to park lower down the FSR before the overgrown sections.
Mount Ronayne is a stunning summit in a beautiful area. The hike will pass below the dramatic north face offering jaw dropping views, before looping around the back to provide a steep but technically straightforward ascent. Most people manage to summit Mount Ronayne without the need for any technical gear like an ice axe or mountaineering crampons as the terrain isn’t that complex. At no point is there any exposure on this hike. The final climb up the southern slope is steep though. If you are hiking in the spring it’s important to be aware of cornices as the entire ridge and the summit itself could very well be heavily corniced, so caution needs to be given.
Mount Ronayne is dog friendly, and if you are a fan of overnights you can also camp anywhere in the area, including the summit.
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Is Mount Ronayne worthwhile?
Mount Ronayne is a prominent and dramatic peak in a beautiful region of SWBC. The majority of the hike offers fantastic views, even when you are simply following the logging road at the start. The stats for this hike might seem challenging, but they are generally a worst case scenario of parking at the start of the spur road. Most people will be able to drive a good portion of the FSR if they time it right and have the appropriate vehicle, reducing the difficulty of the hike considerably. Overall, Mount Ronayne is a fantastic hike, especially in late spring but also likely in the summer.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Ronayne?
As noted the difficulty of this hike is largely dependent on when you decide to go. In spring you will have to park further down the FSR due to snow stopping you from being able to drive up the road. The stats for this hike assume you do not drive any of the spur road and should be treated as a worst case scenario. If this is the case – or if you can only drive a small part of the spur – you can expect a fairly long and tiring day.
If you opt to go in summer & have the appropriate vehicle (that you don’t mind potentially getting pinstripes on) you very well drive much of the trail and probably reduce the hike stats by half, if not more. This would obviously make for a much easier day, but you may have to contend with an overgrown trail.
Technically speaking Mount Ronayne is a fairly straightforward hike. Most of it is an FSR plod, then a short section through the forest (usually flagged), before reaching the alpine where the terrain steepens. At no point should you face any exposure, nor should you ever need to use your hands. Most people summit Ronayne without the need for an ice axe or mountaineering crampons, though carrying them wouldn’t do any harm just in case. While the route itself is low risk for avalanches as it rarely hits the gradient needed for one, you do pass below some overhead hazards when you traverse the base of the mountain and on the west side of the peak. Cornices will often also be a concern in spring when you are approaching the summit ridge.
Mount Ronayne Route Information
As noted the trailhead for Mount Ronayne is from a spur road off of Birkenhead Lake Forest Service Road. You can likely reach the spur in any vehicle as Birkenhead Lake FSR is pretty well groomed. Once you turn onto the spur road it deteriorates somewhat, with some smaller cross ditches, an increased gradient and a narrowing road. An SUV with reasonable clearance should manage fine for the most part though. The further along the spur road you get, the more overgrown it can become. If you are wanting to avoid pinstriping just go as far as you are comfortable before finding somewhere to pull over and leave the car.
Wherever you manage to park everybody now faces the same hike, you’ll either have a long hike along the FSR or a short one.
The FSR section of the hike is very straightforward, it’s just your typical FSR plod at a moderate gradient. You should be able to make pretty light work of this section of the hike, which is good as it accounts for a lot of the elevation gain. It’s also not your average FSR plod as you actually have pretty stunning views throughout much of it, especially of Mount Ronayne itself, but also of Sun God and Seven O’Clock Mountain on the other side of the valley.
The FSR continues for quite a while, around 7.5km from the Birkenhead Lake FSR junction, so the more you can drive of this the better. Once you reach around 1,435m elevation the FSR ceases and you should note a small trail leading into the trees. For us it had been fairly well flagged, though this can’t be guaranteed as this is not a maintained trail, so make sure to bring an offline map with you.
You’ll now weave through the forest for the next 600m, keeping an eye out for any flagging but if not, keeping an eye on your map. The forest doesn’t last long and is largely flat, you’ll have to cross a few creeks but in no time you will find yourself directly beneath the staggering north face of Mount Ronayne. There are multiple jagged peaks to this mountain and it’s difficult to tell which one is the summit from down here, but it’s nothing to be concerned about.
The route now traverses west beneath the jagged peaks, crossing a few more creeks in the process. You’ll want to stay well away from the cliffs as there is an overhead hazard of collapsing cornices potentially triggering an avalanche, and you’ll likely see some debris from this if you go in spring.
As you continue to traverse beneath the mountain’s north face you’ll note a treeline leading up through a basin between Mount Ronayne and some unnamed peaks on the opposite side. Here is where you will begin to loop around to the south side of the mountain. You’ll now climb steeply, adjacent to the treeline, leading into this basin. Once in the basin you’ll simply follow it, staying low so as to avoid any avalanches or cornice collapses from the cliffs on either side of you.
The ascent will mellow out briefly as you pass through the basin, but will pick up again on the other side. Once you reach the far end of the basin you’ll want to keep climbers left as you approach the southern aspect of Mount Ronayne. The gradient will pick up a little here but should still remain manageable, albeit tiring.
The route will continue to loop around to the southern side of Mount Ronayne where all that is left to do is climb up to the summit. This is by far the steepest section of the hike and by now you might be pretty exhausted (especially if you parked low down), so just grind it out. While steep and slow going you will never be exposed to any real fall and you shouldn’t really need to bring an ice axe, though you may want one for comfort or if you’re expecting particularly icy conditions.
As you approach the summit ridge take a moment to review whether there are any obvious cornices. You should have a good idea by now as you can see all the peaks in the region. Take care around the ridge not to go too close if you cannot see if there is a cornice. The true summit itself may or may not be corniced and if you can’t see it’s better to play it safe. Unfortunately for us we were unable to see whether the summit was corniced and as such we had to remain a few meters below. Not a huge deal, the views are still staggering.
From the summit of Mount Ronayne you’ll have a symphony of peaks to savor, with the nearby Sun God & Seven O Clock Mountain on full display, as well as Birkenhead Peak, Mount Marriott, Cayoosh Mountain and countless more. We could even see the Black Tusk way off in the distance.
After resting up and soaking in the views you simply head back down the way you came. If conditions permit you might get a little bit of glissading in along the way, but for the most part it’s not really steep enough for any meaningful glissade, especially in heavy spring snow. Unfortunately the mellow FSR plod that you likely appreciated on the way in is now a tedious and boring trudge on the way out.
When should I hike Mount Ronayne?
Most people choose to hike Mount Ronayne in spring once the snowline has risen high enough to allow access to the region, but not so high as to make the hike overgrown and bushy. The best time is likely May & June for these conditions.
If you prefer to hike when there isn’t much snow around you’ll probably want to time it for July – September. October might be fine as well depending on the year’s weather at these elevations. Not many people will hike Mount Ronayne in the winter as you’ll likely need a sled to access the hike.
Top Tip
Timing this hike well is key if you want to benefit from being able to drive high up the FSR while still benefiting from a healthy snowpack. Usually this will be mid-May to late June, but every year varies. It’d be ideal if you can find out where the snowline is in Pemberton before heading out. Even if you can shave off a few kilometers each way it will help make the day a lot easier.
If going in snow you will want to start early to avoid solar affected snow. The later in the day you start hiking, the softer/wetter the snow will be and the harder it will be for you to break trail. It’s much easier to do this hike (or any spring hike) when the snow is still frozen, which means an early start.
If you like overnight adventures you could go to this region in the summer and hike Mount Ronayne, camp somewhere and the next day hike Sun God & Seven O Clock Mountain on the other side of the valley. This would be a great two or three day outing.
Try to find someone who does not mind getting pinstripes on their vehicle if you intend to drive far up the FSR. If you have a vehicle that you don’t want to get scratched, you will likely have to park much further down the spur road than you might have planned for.
