Hiking Red Mountain in Manning Park
Contents
Red Mountain Hike Information
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 11.00Km
Elevation Gain: 825m
Highest Elevation: 2,025m
Average Gradient: 15.00%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Moderate / High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 7 – 8 Hours
– Moderate: 6 – 7 Hours
– Fast: 5 – 6 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: ~Jan – Apr & Jul – Oct
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: Short steep snow climb / Class 2 scramble.
Red Mountain Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°04’03.4″N 120°54’59.2″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.
Red Mountain Overview
Red Mountain is a summit located in Manning Park that is often added on to the end of a long hike to Snow Camp and Lone Goat Mountain. Many parties will hike the latter two peaks, but far fewer continue on to Red as by this point most people are tired and have already had excellent views at the prior peaks, so they call it a day there. I was one of these people, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to return for Red.
Thankfully it is possible to summit Red as a standalone hike via the valley between all three peaks, before attaining the NE ridge and following it to the summit. This requires a hearty snowpack to cover the brush, and of course self-navigating for basically the entire hike. That being said, this is a very direct route that is actually a far easier way to summit Red than the traditional summer route. It’s also a good opportunity to explore the region in the winter.
This route to Red Mountain can either start from Strawberry Flats (add ~5km of mostly flat hiking to the stats above if so) or like us, from the Manning Park ski resort. The ski resort route is only possible when the gate at Strawberry Flats is open during the ski season, so if you’re going outside of opening hours of the ski resort you will need to begin from Strawberry Flats.
The majority of the route is self navigated through somewhat disorienting forest, so a GPX is helpful. There’s a couple of creek crossings along the way, though these were straightforward with plenty of deadfall assisting us across. Once on the ridge, there is one very steep roll at the end that might necessitate crampons and an ice axe in firm conditions, and in summer it would likely be a short scramble.
In terms of seasonality, you will certainly want a decent snowpack to go via this route, which generally means the middle of winter to early spring, ideally. January to April is likely the best time, but a month either side will likely be fine as well. A summer ascent is probably feasible but no doubt bushy.
Dogs are welcome in Manning Park and some people may choose to do this as an overnight via the summer route, camping at Mowich Campground if so.
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Is Red Mountain worthwhile?
Red Mountain offers very nice views of the usual nearby summits, especially Hozomeen, Frosty, Castle and Silvertip. In the right conditions this is an excellent, direct route and a fun trip on snowshoes for parties comfortable navigating through forest unaided by trails or markers.
How difficult is the hike to Red Mountain?
At just 11km this is a fairly short outing, though if you have to start at Strawberry Flats that will add another 5km or so. The overall elevation gain is fairly moderate, but of course in snow the difficulty is entirely dependent on the conditions. Firm and supportive snow will make for relatively easy travel, while deep unconsolidated snow will be far more challenging.
Technically speaking most of the hike is simple enough, though steep in spots to gain the ridge and while following it along. By far the most challenging spot is just before the summit where there is one very steep roll. We managed fine in snowshoes as we had deep, fresh snow, but if conditions are firm or icy you will certainly need an ice axe and crampons for this section. In dry conditions it will be a short and relatively straightforward scramble. Other than that, there’s nothing particularly challenging about this hike.
Red Mountain Route Information
The route described here begins from the parking lot of the Manning Park Ski Resort. You will need to hike to the southern end of the parking lot and delve straight into the forest. You’ll now descend quite steeply until you cross the Three Falls Trail. If you’re beginning from Strawberry Flats, you’d follow the Three Falls trail until the same point.
From here, you’ll continue descending towards Nepopekum Creek, at which point you’ll need to find a way across. We had tons of deadfall to pick from to find a way over, so I doubt you will have much of an issue. After crossing the creek you’ll want to keep an eye on your GPX as the rest of the route is through mostly open forest. You’ll climb away from the creek now, navigating through the forest towards Nepopekum Falls.
We weren’t too sure how it would go navigating around Nepopekum Falls, and we ended up on the edge of the cliffs overlooking the frozen falls and the chasm below. Thankfully we just had to follow the cliffs along to the top of the falls where it was simple to cross over the creek, again via deadfall.
Once past the waterfall you continue navigating through the forest towards the NE ridge of Red Mountain. At around the 1,500m mark you’ll be faced with the first steep climb of the day, gaining around 150m to connect with the ridge.
Once on the ridge it’s now simply a matter of following it along to the summit. We were immediately hit with one short, steep roll on the ridge that took some effort to get up due to the deep snow at this point. After that it mellows out a bit, but you continue to climb to around 1,900m where you will be faced with the steepest section of the day.
At first glance this hill looks quite tricky to get up, and we had debated between side hilling around it or directly climbing it. After some discussion the direct route seemed best, and in the end it was simpler than it looked. As noted, if you’re going in firm or icy conditions you will want an ice axe and crampons here as the runout wasn’t the best, but on this day we managed okay in snowshoes.
Once beyond this, there is a short, narrower stretch of ridge that was corniced, but it didn’t pose a problem, and shortly ahead we reached the summit. The views from the top are excellent, with Hozomeen particularly impressive from this nearby vantage. Snow Camp and Lone Goat will be the nearest peaks, with Frosty, Castle, Spickard, Silvertip and Outram all obviously on display.
Once you’ve rested at the top it’s merely a matter of following the same route back. Unfortunately the climb back up to the car from Nepopekum Creek is a bit tiring, but given this route saves around 5km of hiking back to Strawberry Flats it is still preferred.
When should I hike Red Mountain?
The best time to go would be January to April when the snowpack is at its highest. December and May might work out fine as well, but outside of those months you’ll probably be facing bush.
Top Tip
You might as well start from Manning Park ski resort and shave off the extra distance versus Strawberry Flats, assuming you are going during ski operations.
Determined parties can add on Lone Goat and even Snow Camp Mountain if you want a longer day, they are all accessible from the same valley.
