From
Malakwa, drive across the train track and turn left on Summerville Husted Road. At the Mizon Road intersection, go straight on
Queest Mountain FSR and park shortly thereafter. Follow the service
road; at 726466 go straight, at 719470 go left, at 709485 go straight
(left), at 708487 go straight (right); this leads to the long traverse
and saddle between Queest and North Queest, 694509. From the saddle, veer left (west)
and follow the ridge to the summit. The Queest cabin is located at 679499, 800
meters due west from the summit.
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I don't have any pictures as I had planned to
take them on my descent. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I returned
in the dark. I've included a couple of trail maps to illustrate the
route.
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Snowshoe
trip: RT 17.0; 9.0 up. In the winter, this summit is easily accessed
with a snowmobile. There's
a cozy cabin with a wood stove at the end of the groomed trail that
begins in
Sicamous. For people that are self-propelled, the
nearly 30-kilometer long trail (one way) is disheartening to
say the least. Fortunately, there's a different way up from Malakwa
which shaves off a third of the distance. When I planned my outing, I
intended to stay overnight at the cabin so I left my tent and sleeping
pad behind. The hike started
well and I made good progress on the packed forestry road. The moment I
veered off Queest Mountain FSR onto less travelled roads, I sank 20-30
cm in fresh snow. When I
began to handrail the ridge that runs north-west/south-east, I
questioned whether I would reach my destination. The snow got deeper,
the trail traversed several open slopes and I lost cell reception.
These factors are to be considered for anyone thinking of using this
route. When I
reached the end of the traverse onto Queest's saddle, daylight
had run out. I put on my headlamp; to my surprise, it died after a few
minutes. No worries, I brought another headlamp! That headlamp lasted
about 10 minutes, ...like really? In disbelief, I pulled out my spare
batteries and proceeded amongst the silhouettes of heavily rimmed
trees.
At 7 pm I was at the top circling around the telemetry trying to find
the cabin.
On a previous trip, a group of snowmobilers had informed me there was a
cabin here, by the cell towers. As I'm writing this, I feel stupid
for omitting to confirm the cabin's location. I looked for the shelter
for about an hour before
deciding to backtrack. I reached the truck well after midnight, feeling
very depleted and disappointed with my complacency; I should know
better...
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Trail Map. In the winter the trailheads are at valley bottom.
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