Frosty Mountain
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Contents
Introduction
Frosty Mountain is the highest summit in Manning Park. Compared to the surrounding mountains, Frosty Mountain is rather steep and offers some excellent challenging ski terrain. The east summit can also be accessed in the summer as a moderate day hike on a good trail.
Access
Access for all the different routes are the same. Drive to Manning Park (highway 1 east, then highway 3 east) and follow signs to the Lightning Lake day use area. The road is plowed in winter, but the last couple hundred meters is often compact snow.
Routes
There are a number of attractive skiing areas on Frosty Mountain.
East Peak via North Ridge Trail
This is the most popular route to the summit in any season. The well groomed hiking trail makes it a good choice early or late in the season when deadfall or bushes are problematic. The trail starts from the dam at the east end of Lighning Lake, and switchbacks up steeply to a flat ridge. The trail can be very difficult to follow in winter, as there are no regular trail markers. Markers are only nailed to trees at 1km intervals. There is a long flat section along the ridge top that can also be tricky to navigate, even if you aren't trying to follow the trail. Open, skiable terrain is reach at around 2000m where larch meadows begin. These trees, depite their small size, are some of the oldest in British Columbia.
East Peak via Windy Joe and NE Ridge Trail
An alternate trail goes up to the East Peak from the Windy Joe shelter. In the summer months this trail is often combined with the normal route to make a loop. While not popular, this loop would also be possible in winter.
West Peak N Ridge
Ski to the far end of lightning lake and ascend the N ridge of the west peak. Navigation is easy (go up along the ridge). The forest is very tight at first, but gradually opens up higher up. There is a large avalanche path off the NW side of this ridge that provides a long descent to Flash Lake.
Frosty Creek
Long, steep runs descend into Frosty Creek from both the East Peak and West Peak areas. It's possible to descend down Frosty Creek all the way to Lightning Lake.
Hazards
- There is serious avalanche terrain on both the east and west peaks. However the forested ridges offer generally safe travel.
Hiking
The East Peak can be hiked from Lightning Lakes via the N ridge or Windy Joe via the NE Ridge. Follow the same directions as for the ski routes.
