Mt. Service (C3)

Originally published at: Mt. Service (C3) – Alpine Club of Canada Vancouver Island Section

NOTE: This trip is being offered in lieu of Knut’s El Capitan trip on May 1

To sign up please contact Knut at kvsalzen@uvic.ca

Description: The objective for this trip is to climb Mt Service and traverse the adjacent open ridge that ends at the col between Mt Service and El Capitan (note that the original trip plan posted here for El Capitan for May 1 has been adjusted to match the current snow and ice conditions). The Mt Service ridge does not require any technical climbing and is suitable for experienced hikers and mountaineers that are familiar with steep snow terrain. Snowshoes, gaiters, and ice axe are needed for the traverse, in addition to appropriate winter clothing for sub-freezing temperatures, and 10 essentials. Furthermore, winter camping gear and skills are needed. The plan is to hike in on the gravel road that runs parallel to Cottonwood creek (about 6 km) and camp near the Cottonwood creek crossing for one night. The next day we will continue to continue hiking on gravel roads until we reach the bushy start of the ridge at the end of the Cottonwood valley. Much of the ridge will be under deep snow, likely including the col between Mt Service and El Capitan, which marks the end of the ridge and start of the hike back to the camp (approx. 12-14 km for the round trip from/to the camp), followed by hiking back to the trail head.