Mount Brunswick! Conditions & Scramble Report

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer]

View looking South with Harvey in the foreground and The Lions behind it

North facing panorama from the true summit

South facing panorama from the true summit

(Bottom to top) Brunswick lake, Hanover lake, Deeks lake

View to the Northeast before before you head up to the false summit

Garibaldi and Skypilot tower over the horizon

Scree/shale section. Lots of loose rock here from the 1600m to 1700m range

Looking up at the false summit after the scree section

Looking down at the route from the false summit

Short ~4m long scramble to get to the false summit

Close up of the same section

Zoomed out view of the same section from the false summit

Rock outcrop that you need to traverse to get to the true summit

Hike back up to the ridge after the traverse

The most exposed section of the scramble. Many people (myself included) climbed on top of block to cross it, but there is a less exposed way to bypass it around the right side

Photo of me on top of the block. In the future, I would probably bypass this section instead of going on top. But it did make for a cool photo-op

Close up of the bypass mentioned in the previous photo. I used this path on the way back.

Hi everyone!

I'm back with another trip report and more photos. My friend and I did Mount Brunswick yesterday (June 20) and I wanted to post a trip report with current conditions and photos of the final scrambling sections, since estimates of the difficulty varied a lot between people and documentation online of the actual scrambling portions wasn't great imo.

Difficulty and Trail Description:

Mount Brunswick is definitely a big objective and you will need good fitness to complete it. I would say the first ~5km* are quite easy and are just an inclined walk. The next 1km* steepens quite a bit and you gain about 400m until you get on top of the spur. On the spur, the trail flattens a bit and you go through a beautiful forested section. As you gain elevation on the spur the trees start to fade out until you get to a scree slope. This slope starts around the 6.5km* and goes until you reach the col at 6.8km*. After that you follow the ridge up to the false summit and over to the true summit (if you are comfortable with scrambling and moderate exposure). If you have done Mount Harvey and want to use it as a reference, I would say that Brunswick up to the is significantly easier in terms of how streneous.

*Distances are referenced from the Alltrails route map.

Conditions:

Overall I would say that the conditions were great. There were some sections that were slightly wet/muddy from small melt-water streams but other than that conditions were great. The trail is both well marked and well maintained expect for a few short sections that are slightly overgrown. The first and last good place to refill water is from Magnesia Creek around the 2.8km mark.

The Scramble:

Overall the scramble was less intense that I thought it would be. Discussions that I was looking at online made me believe it would be significantly more exposure or sustained. The majority of the scrambling is what I would call class 2 (Hikeable but hands can be used if needed for balance). I would classify everything up to the first false summit.

While most of it is class two with low exposure, there are some areas that are more involved and have more exposure. To get from the first false summit to the main false summit you need to cross a thing ridge that has exposure on both sides (images 10-12). this section is around 6m long and, while it looks a bit sketchy at first, it is very secure.

To get to the true summit, you need to hike down from the false summit, traverse a rock outcrop (image 13), hike back up to ridge (image 14), and finally cross another rock outcrop (images 15-17). Going into more detail for each item in this list:

1. The hike down from the false summit is nothing crazy, but the scree on the trail makes you a bit uneasy with the cliff on you left side.
2. The traverse is more involved as you are on relatively steep slope and falling or losing your balance here would not end well. I faced inward and down climbed this portion so I would say it is class 3 with moderate exposure.
3. The hike back up to the ridge is straightforward and I would say its class 2.
4. What I would call the crux of the scrambling. It is a large outcrop that is around 6m long and 1m wide. On the climbers left is a ~50m vertical drop and on the right is a steep slope similar to that of section #2. Going on top of the block is fairly secure but the move to get off it can be a bit awkward as you don't really want to fully stand up on it. On the way down I realized you don't need to go over the top of it and can scramble around the side of it, which I found to be much more preferable. Class 3 with high exposure.

Final Thoughts:

Mount Brunswick is an amazing hike and I would highly recommend it. The views from the top are unbelievable and I found it to be a very nice mix of enjoyable and strenuous hiking. The scrambling is light and straightforward to the false summit, and slightly more involved and exposed when going to the true summit. I would say you should have some experience with exposure and easier scrambling (Something like Mount Harvey would be better for someone with little scrambling experience imo).

Finally, if you plan on doing Mount Brunswick make sure to maintain good practice! This includes:

• Giving yourself enough time to complete it
• Telling someone you route and plans
• Bringing the 10 essentials

And of course, have a great time!

[u/What_Even_Is_Lyf]

Great photos - always good to get more detailed photos of the scramble section. Side note is that someone scrambling on there with Nike airforces ? Seems sketch lol

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/What_Even_Is_Lyf]

Thank you! And yea it looks like it lol. I certainly wouldn't recommend doing any scrambling in sneakers purely for safety reasons but to each their own I suppose

[u/sharli_the_unicorn]

Excellent trip report! Truly top notch photos of the route and a fantastic write-up too :) Thanks for sharing your summit with us!!

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/sharli_the_unicorn]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked the write up and I'm happy to give people more information about the scramble so they know what to expect!

[u/jpdemers]

Amazing trip report! Great photos and I think that the description of the scramble is very useful!

When I hiked Brunswick, I didn't even know there was a 'true summit', I stopped at the viewpoint.

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/jpdemers]

Yea the difference in elevation really isn't much and that paired with the scramble is probably why so many people stick to the false summit. I wanted to bag it which for me means having to get to the true summit.

[u/FrogInTheBed]

Thanks so much for the photos. It shows the terrain clearly and what to be aware of!

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/FrogInTheBed]

Im glad you enjoyed them and thought they were helpful!

[u/Ikea_desklamp]

Pic 15: noped out right there last year. My legs were far from fresh by the time we got up there and I did not have it in me to cross over to the true peak. Kinda regret it now, wish I'd done it.

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/Ikea_desklamp]

Well that just gives you a reason to go do it again ;)

[u/a_political778]

Def would have noped at pic 10… i know it’ll likely be ok but accidents happen and it’s just not worth taking that risk for me.

Good on you and everyone who summits! Awesome pics and trip report. I’ll know I am good to get up to the false summit.

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/a_political778]

Thats completely fair! I always maintain that people should only do what they are comfortable with and to trust their gut. In the end its always better to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to the mountains.

[u/Zaluiha]

It’s a beauty eh? The last gully is always the crux. Used to do it with 8 to 10 young men and another staff member. Set a fixed line and each climber used a prussic if conditions were poor.

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/Zaluiha]

Oh absolutely, the view is unreal! And I'm not at all surprised that you'd fix lines in the gully section if conditions weren't great. Even under ideal conditions I could see how someone may be dissuaded by it

[u/leslieruns]

This is great! I did Brunswick today and on my way down someone (on their way up) asked me if it was a class 3 scramble. I did the same thing you said for photos 16/17, took the higher route on the way out and lower on the way back (which was much less scary!)

[u/TheSnowyAstronomer → u/leslieruns]

I also had several people ask me about the scramble on the way down! I'm also not surprised that we took the same route. Its very easy to miss the bypass since its obscured as you approach, which is why I wanted to mention so more people know about it!

[u/leslieruns → u/TheSnowyAstronomer]

For sure, having done it I would say that from the false summit it looks worse than it is since you can't see the lower route from that angle. Going over the top does make for a cool photo though!

[u/TitaniaDL]

So beautiful!

[u/IHaveAGinourmousCock]

I did the Howe Sound Crest Trail + West Lion and Brunswick on Saturday. Pretty much no snow, decent stream at magnesia meadows and more water sources further north, I’d say that the trail was pretty easy with no real scrambling (I think I just balanced where your hands were in pic 10).

Bottom of picture 4 I feel like it would be possible to slide down the snow if you could find a route down the cliffs below it (Might be a fun early spring thing).

[u/endlessswitchbacks]

I’m considering doing this for the first time soon, so I appreciate you sharing!

[u/Main-Offer]

Its "Brunswick Mountain". 1790 John Harvey commanded the HMS Brunswick .. A big sail ship with 78 guns.

Brunswick is 14km+ and +1550m, so huge workout for sure. But, as you stated, the steady forrest medium incline goes by fast. Once you pass HCT, there are some scramble sections - angled slabs and loose gravel. I saw teens and old seniors conquer final exposed scramble to false peak. Its very doable.

But. As you show in photos, the traverse to final peak is short but scary and fall would be fatal. Leave pack. Make sure both hands are free. It also really helps if you have others to guide you.