“Phelix Peak”

May 21, 2026

2305m

Pemberton / Birkenhead Lake Area, BC

“Phelix Peak” is the unofficial name of the peak that overlooks Phelix Creek and boasts over 500 m prominence. There was however, not a lot of information on the internet. The lower flanks look bushy enough that a summer attempt is probably not the wisest idea, but the access road has to be “melted out enough” for an ascent on snow. This means the ideal window is rather narrow – from the second half of April to the first half of May, depending on the year. To further complicate things Phelix Creek FSR is technically “closed” in this time frame for vehicular traffic for some kind of conservation that I don’t even care about knowing. All I know was that in the past few years the closure was never enforced. There used to be a barrier or some sort at the start of the road but a recent update confirmed that the blockage was not placed in 2026, so I wanted to make sure to get “Phelix Peak” in this season.

Simon had laid out a route utilizing the complicated ridge system over 15 years ago but upon studying the map layers I thought the west-facing valley north of Simon’s route would make the most sense. I always prefer the route to be as direct as possible. The plan was made a few weeks earlier but I ended up doing something else. When another window formed it was a bit on the late side of the spectrum. The most recent satellite images were however from exactly 2 weeks ago so I actually didn’t know the up-to-date conditions. The condition turned out to be very dry with lots of bushwhacking lower down, but the snowshoes were still required. There wasn’t much information regarding the route I planned to take, so two axes, steel crampons and mountaineering boots were brought to be safe. They turned out to be essential. Tanja and I made the plan together but Miranda joined the team at the last minute. To take advantage of the firm conditions in the morning we agreed to leave Squamish at 2 AM. I convinced Miranda to car-camp at the start of Mamquam FSR so that I could at least try to get a bit of sleep. The driving from Squamish to the Birkenhead River FSR was uneventful but took a while. The Phelix Creek FSR was also in a rough shape with many water bars but I was able to drive the stock Subaru to the landslide mentioned in the previous trip reports. Without that landslide I could have driven 2 km further but being able to drive to Brian Waddington Hut’s trail-head was already “good enough”.