Yak Peak: Coquihalla Highway BC

Please note when navigating, route finding and standing to look for the trail the aggregate time to go to the summit and come back down is approximately 5 hours at a very easy pace. Total Moving time is just 3 hours over the rocks. GPX File is actual route with all the “mistakes” during route finding. If zoomed in, the route finding becomes a lot easier for Yak Peak.

Total Hiking Time 5 Hours 33 Minutes as per my Garmin Connect.

Moving Time 3 Hours 10 Minutes

Yak Peak is a prominent granite summit situated adjacent to the Coquihalla Highway #5 in British Columbia, just north of Hope. It is part of North Cascades range.

The mountain is less than one kilometer from a highway rest area and is easily visible from a long stretch of the highway south of the summit. The hike itself requires some bushwhacking after turning a sharp left from Highway into the forest. As one enters the forest, on the right hand side there is a Memorial Sign. From this sign, the hike is market up to the boulder field which is very short field before approaching the granite slab.

The hike is renowned for its excellent granite rock climbing routes, particularly Yak Crack. Other peaks in the same group, commonly referred to as the Anderson River Group or the Coquihalla Range, are named after similar animals, such as Thar Peak and Guanaco Peak. I traversed on the granite rock before merging onto the actual unmarked trail. There is one small rope section after this. Other than that there are a few small Couloirs to climb before short hike into the windy Meadows.

IMPORTANT

Pay attention to time of the year and temperature when Hiking/Climbing Yak

The most favourable weather for climbing Yak Peak is from July through September. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean and move eastward toward the Cascade Range, where they are forced upward, causing precipitation in the form of rain or snow.

Consequently, the Cascade Mountains receive high levels of precipitation, especially during the winter months when snowfall is common. Winter temperatures can drop below −20°C, with wind chill factors making it feel colder than −30°C. We started the hike very late in mid September after 2PM and had very little time to Summit. At the meadows, wind chill was strong and I was tired from a 10km run a day prior to the hike and lack of sleep. At this point, I gave myself 45 minutes to Summit and if I did not Summit in 45 minutes or I was very close to Yak North Summit, I would abort the hike and go back down the mountain.

Very soon, we were at the Saddle between South Face of Yak and North Face. If time permitted, I would have gone to the South Face first then climb the North Face. However, considering time in hand, we quickly moved towards the Summit. Just about 10 meters from the Summit, I met the last Climber coming down. The Climb itself isn’t hard at all provided you have appropriate footwear. I would post the pictures of Yak from Needle Peak Summit.

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