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An alpine ridge tour de force. All-day on a summit. Miles of ridge-walking, with some short technical sections and some sections of loose/rotten rock. Some parties may want to bring a rope and light rack for short sections.
Note: Exiting the Snooka Lakes bowl depends on snowpack levels; in low snow conditions, start from the upper of the three Snooka lakes (https://bellacoolatrails.ca/content/snooka-lakes), head to the south end of the lake, then up not-so-pleasant looking dirt and scree slopes until gaining a south-trending series of clean granite ramps. The dirt slopes are not as bad as they look, and the granite ramps are excellent and make for fast travel. Continue up the ramps until the ridge.
Continue on this ridge more or less the rest of the way, over several intermediate peaks, to Snootli peak itself.
A complex approach up and through a series of timber ribs, slides and talus fields, leading to an incredible alpine bowl with 3 breathtaking turquoise lakes.
A great basecamp within striking distance of other objectives; ridge walking, alpine climbing, goat viewing... and just generally exploring!
Trail is currently in rough condition. Some flagging, better towards the bottom.
Alpine tour de force, an incredible circuit linking Nuxalk ridge and the Snootli descent trail with the Snooka lakes.
Nuxalk Mtn is more technical from the North, so climbing up from Nuxalk Ridge and descending via Snooka lakes is recommended. Technical difficulty will vary with conditions, there are a couple brief sections of 4th class scrambling between the North and South Nuxalk summits, where some parties may wish to use a rope. The descent via Snooka lakes trail involves some route-finding and can be a bit rough/bushy in places. Allow 16 hours for the complete circuit.
