Cartmell Peak

Date: November 23, 2024

Distance: 7.07km

Elevation gain: 458m

Cartmell Peak is one of four peaks (Cartmell, Klaudt, Keenan, and Davies) surrounding Sasquatch Mountain Resort. Of the four, it offers the shortest hike and the best views, with a viewpoint of Harrison Lake at the summit. It’s usually done in the winter or spring to avoid bushwhacking. We didn’t know this at the time, but Sasquatch Mountain Resort has recently marked a trail to the summit, making routefinding easier. A day pass is required for snowshoeing when the resort is operating. 

Cartmell can be combined with Mount Klaudt, Mount Keenan, and/or Mount Davies for a longer adventure. All three are longer slogs with fewer significant views, but they would be pleasant enough as snowshoeing trips with a solid snowpack.

Dad and I woke up early to take advantage of a short weather window. We drove up the gravel road to Hemlock Valley, parked in the main parking lot (P1), then snowshoed up a road paralleling the Sasquatch Triple chairlift, which headed northeast, then switchbacked at 1200m. At this point we left the main road and headed north along another road. From here on, we had to break trail through crusty snow.

After about 500 metres, we left the trail, following some large orange markers through an open area with plenty of small trees. These markers took us into the treeline, and we soon reached the col between Cartmell and another small bump. There is a sign here.

From there, we followed green markers towards the summit. These are the same colour as the foliage, so they were difficult to spot in places. The route follows the ridge, passing over a couple small bumps. There was one steep section right before the summit.

The peak is partly treed, but offers good views of Harrison Lake, the Old Settler, Slollicum Peak, and more to the north and east. Unfortunately, these were clouded over for most of our visit. We stayed on the summit for a while, walking to the east at one point, but there were always clouds present. 

After lunch, we retraced our steps to the car. This went by quickly, and soon we were on our way to the historic Kilby Farm and Mount Woodside.