[Matt]

Dates: February 14-18, 2020 Destination: Coquihalla Pass summits – Zoa, Zupjok, Llama, Alpaca, Flatiron People: Carla, Suzanne, Barry, Barb, Elle, Matt Dogs: Cooper, Isabel This trip was inspired by trip reports that Steph Abegg posted last year of snowshoe trips around Coquihalla Pass in British Columbia. We rented an Airbnb house in Hope so that we could do multiple day trips at the pass and then relax together in the evenings. Our itinerary ended up looking like this: Day Destination Weather Dinner Movie Friday Drive up Pesto pasta Sideways Saturday Zoa Mostly cloudy Chicken fajitas Minority Report Sunday Flatiron attempt Cloudy & windy Shrimp stir fry Into the Wild Monday Zupjok, Llama, Alpaca Party sunny Broccoli casserole Apollo 13 Tuesday Flatiron Sunny Leftovers Forgetting Sarah Marshall Wednesday Drive home

Coquihalla GPS track

Coquihalla Pass peaks, viewed en route to Flatiron

one of our dinners

Friday The Airbnb had a well equipped kitchen, plus two binders full of movie DVDs, so every evening included a delicious meal followed by a movie. Dinner the first night was pesto pasta prepared by Suzanne & Barry. Dessert was a pastel unicorn birthday cake for Carla, because that matches her personality so well. Friday's move was the first half of Sideways. I mostly wondered how the oenophilic characters could stay conscious after tasting so much wine all day. There may have been a fair amount of wine consumed by the people watching it also. Saturday: Zoa Peak We started from the Falls Lake road, covered with many previous snowshoe and ski tracks. After 0.6 miles, we turned uphill on a wide cleared swath the some called "the pipleline." Maybe there's a pipeline buried under there? At 4900 feet, we escaped the traffic by turning into the woods where the Zoa Peak trail departs the pipeline. At 5500 feet we reached the ridge crest and followed it westward toward the summer. The ridge seemed like it would be quite enjoyable in clear weather, roaming up a wide crest through a mix of meadows and trees.

Gathered on the Falls Lake road.

Hiking up the trail

A somewhat snowy lunch break

In thickening clouds, we reached the 5970-foot false summit, and discovered that the true summit was still a third-mile away with a drop in between. I started off downhill, and halfway down realized that no one else was following. Having gone that far, I went ahead and finished the summit. The open slope was ski-tracked, but drifting snow had covered over all signs of people on the summit itself.

Approaching the false summit

Brief sunlight looking across to the true summit

Zoa round trip: 6.0 miles, 2430 gain, 6:00 hours Saturday's dinner was chicken fajitas prepared by Barb. Saturday's movies were the second half of Sideways followed by Minority Report. The plot raised a few interesting questions about intent and guilt. Mostly Tom Cruise ran around a lot, a not uncommon feature of his movies. Sunday: Flatiron Attempt The Flatiron route begins from the Zopkios Rest Area, but there was no sign marking the turnoff eastbound, so we overshot it and came back. To get on the Flatiron trail, we went through the access road tunnel under the highway, went west alongside the highway for 0.2 miles, then found multiple ski and snowshoe tracks going uphill approximately on the path of the Flatiron Peak trail. When we reached an intermediate high point at 5580 feet, views were still cloudy and cold wind was blasting across the exposed crest. We decided to stop there and return on a more hospitable day. On the last part of the descent, we just made out own line down through the trees, since the powdery snow let the snowshoes float easily downhill.

Windblown crest of Point 5860, as shown by the cornices and asymmetrical trees.

Jogging downhill through the powdery forest

Stats: 5.2 miles, 2040 gain, 4:30 hours Sunday's dinner was shrimp stir fry cooked by Carla and Matt. It was lucky we had returned to town early, since I used up time at the grocery store making multiple calls for advice on ingredients I didn't recognize. Sunday's movie was Into the Wild. I mostly dislike Chris McCandless, but I liked the movie. I find it selfish, not noble, that he went off into a wilderness unprepared. On the other hand, his journey there was an interesting story of someone who just didn't fit into modern mainstream society, and especially a good story about other people he met the way, many of whom also didn't fit into mainstream society, but found their own ways to arrange their lives. Monday: Zupjok, Llama, Alpaca The wait for better weather paid off today. It was only partly sunny, but that made for even more dramatic reveals of the rime-covered crests. Zupjok, Llama, and Alpaca are successively higher peaks on a ridge running north, and beyond them are the even more dramatic summits of Vicuna and Guanaco. Most of the peaks in this area are named after alpine ruminants.

the ruminant peaks, photographed from Flatiron

The trip started from the Zopkios Rest Area again, this time staying on the north side of the highway. First follow the Ottomite road/trail west for 1.5 miles, then just head westward uphill on approximately the Zupjok trail, reaching the south ridge of Zupjok at 4800 feet. As we ascended, the trip just kept getting better and better. More sunlight, more blue sky, more snowy trees, more powdery meadows meadows, more sculptures of rime, more dramatic views. We hiked uphill through powdery meadows and snow-gilded trees. It just felt great to be walking uphill through it all.

hiking up the snowy forest

hey, there' s even me at the back of the line

The crest of peak was a Stonehenge of magic rime.

Barb in the rime Stonehenge

this tree seems particularly excited

Footprints on the crest

Finally we could see what was hidden on the far side – ridge of rimed and corniced peaks rising to higher and higher summits, dramatically lit in brilliant white between dark shadows.

The ridge ahead

Vicuna and Guanaco

Point 5840 (about halfway to Llama) had the brightest sunlight, so most of the party decided to continue at least that far. As we descended from Zupjok, the warm sunlight morphed into cold clouds and snow, so everyone else decided to turn back. This time, however, I had prepared by driving my own car to the pass, so I could continue onward without holding up anyone else. We had seen one party of two out ahead, so I knew also someone else was on the ridge.

Descending from Zupjok

thickening clouds above the rime sentinels

companions turning back

Llama was socked in when I arrived, and I continued on to Alpaca, with the clouds and light making a shifting curtain around me.

First view of Alpaca, which had been hidden in clouds all day till now

The ridge back to Zupjok (Llama is out of frame to the right)

Gemse catches some light

Zupjok at left, Llama at right, maybe Iago in middle distance

Sunny view of the final slope up Alpaca

Alpaca's summit was wide, wind-carved, and windy. It wasn't really comfortable, but I had come all this way, so I put on all my layers and had a cup of tea.

Cloudy view off the big summit cornices

View westward to Steinbok, Chamois, Anderson River, etc

Frosty self-portrait

Dancing rime trees

Now I needed to hurry back, since sunset was only two hours away.

Tracks back to Point 5840 and Zupjok

Faint light on the rime sentinels of Zupjok

Last color descending off Zupjok

As I descended from Zupjok, I could see the headlights of cars ascending the pass 3000 feet below. It was a lonely feeling descending through the darkening gray, but at least I had a clear snowshoe trench to follow. I made it almost down to the to the road before I had to turn on my headlamp. As I hiked the last mile, the trees were silhouetted against an orange glow from the lights of the rest area ahead and scattered stars showing through black gaps in the clouds above.

Lights on the highway far below.

Impressionist image of the hike back to the rest area.

Alpaca round trip: 12.1 miles, 4340 gain, 10:15 hours Monday's dinner was a combination of leftovers and a broccoli rice casserole that I had made earlier, based on the venerable and eponymous Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook. Monday's movie was Apollo 13, a solid drama from the space program that enthralled me as a child. Tuesday: Return to The Flatiron This was the bonus day. We originally were supposed to head back to Seattle today, but the B&B hostess allowed us to add an extra day so that we could catch the best weather. We went back to finish the Flatiron trip, and finally got to see the Coquihalla area in bright sunshine.

Hiking alongside the highway. On the opposite side is our hike through the forest to Zopjuk and ascent up the ridge that runs down on the left.

Icicles sparkling in the sun as snow melts on the trees

Hiking up the ridge towad Flatiron, with Yak and Nak behind

Higher up the ridge

From our previous stopping point, we south to about 5860 feet on Needle Peak's shoulder, then turned west to cross the col to Flatiron.

Preparing to drop down and cross to The Flatiron

Needle Peak above us

Me along the way

Barb taking photos and Carla switchbacking out ahead

Needle dominating the view

Lunch break at The Flatiron summit repeater

Wind picked up as we neared the summit, but then calmed and so that we could enjoy a warm lunch break. For such a popular area, we were the only ones here today, except for one pair of skiers who arrived just as we finished lunch. For dessert we hiked a quarter mile across the flat expanse of the flatiron. All around us was an enthralling trapestry of wind-carved snow: fins and waves of snow, ripples and stacks of carved crust, rimed sculptures of trees.

Trekking out across the expanse of The Flatiron

wind-carved snow terrain

Rime Sculpture

wider view of the area

I'd like to return in summer and see this same landscape again, when I expect it will be slabs and tarns and flowers. We descended a snow rib down to the basin below, then followed our route back along ridge crests to the car, enjoying more bright sunny views all along the way.

Descending from the flatiron

Hiking back toward the saddle

Me too

Barb hiding in a rime grove

Wind-etched ghosts of previous snowshoe tracks

Flatiron round trip: 7.5 miles, 2900 gain, 7:00 hours Tuesday's dinner was plenty of leftovers, from the generous portions we had cooked earlier. Tuesday's movie was Forgetting Sarah Marshall. This was a thoroughly fun rom-com, all of the characters were interesting. Wednesday Our return trip included an extended stop at the border crossing. The reader board on the highway said it was a 7-minute wait at Sumas, but it actually took 45 minutes, because they only had two stations open. Then we admitted that we had a bell pepper and some oranges in our car, and we were sent aside for inspection, even though the oranges had come with us from the US. Inside we waited again, trying to appear suitably impressed by all the border officers in their intimidating black uniforms covered with various tactical gear. While we waited for an agricultural officer, we watched our country safeguarded by officers inspecting the gear of four snowboarders in endless detail and taking an older Asian man away in handcuffs. We were released after a brief lecture on agricultural contamination, happy to be white and middle aged and prosperous so that we didn't need any extra scrutiny. Driving away, I noticed there was still an orange sitting in plain sight in the door pocket of my car. Conclusions This trip left me already anticipating future visits. More summits I could visit on snowshoes would include Thar, Nak, Yak, and Iago. Summer would allow trips up Vicuna and Guanaco, and maybe Coquilla Mtn itself. And The Flatiron could be a summer camp to see the tarns and flowers, with trips to Needle and Portia. Coquihalla was beautiful, but what really made this trip special was the company of good friends. Usually I'm picking up my home and food and carrying it on my back every day. For this trip, the evenings sharing dinner and movies were an exceptionally relaxing and comfortable time together.

[BarbE]

Thanks Matt for planing the itinerary to this amazing place. Especially enjoyed your pictures of Alpaca and the stunning scenery beyond. Great food, scenery and company! A few of my shots.

Heading up to Zoa

Steep ascent towards Zupjok

Nearing Zupjok

Matt, Carla & Suzanne admiring snow sculptures

Zupjok summit

Leaving with highway below

Ridge toward Flatiron

Matt nearing ridge below Needle Peak

Skier arrives on Flatiron

Flatiron summit views

Flatiron summit repeater

Snow formations wonderland

Dropping off Flatiron

Back up to the saddle below The Needle

Tree decoration

Last look at Yak & Nak before dropping down to the highway

[Jonny V]

Amazing photos, especially the snow ghosts. Really nice light! Great report. Always wanted to climb some of those.

[Nancyann]

What a delightful trip report to read through! Enjoying life to the fullest spending quality time with good friends in a spectacular setting. It doesn’t get much better than that!

[carlb328]

I think that's really a big bottle of Heineken with solar panels added for a disguise.