Fire Mountain - South Route via Fire Lake FSR, August 2025
Typically bagged in the Spring, Joanne, Ling and I decided to go for this at the peak of summer coz, well, it's there and none of us have climbed it before. For me, the trip checked several boxes—finally completing the loop via the In-SHUCK-ch FSR from Pemberton southwards to Harrison Lake and beyond, overlooking said lake from a dramatic vantage point directly north of its head, and taking in the views of peaks, glaciers and valleys I've largely not laid eyes upon yet. Perusing a topo of the area, it doesn't take much imagination to appreciate how good the views from the summit are. The peak is practically an island in the sky, with wide and deep river valleys encircling it to the north, east and west.
Drive/FSR - In-SHUCK-ch to the Fire Lake FSR and beyond to the log sort area at the north end of Harrison Lake in great shape, and FL1210 suitable for all SUVs to the cutblock at its end. Continuing south via Harrison West FSR didn't seem as bad as expected, with just one shortish section where the road was a bit rough - should be navigable with an SUV and careful driving. Do note that it's a LONG, windy haul continuing south, so bring your patience.
Approach - The decision to tackle Fire this time of year was also in part motivated by reports which suggested that the initial forest ascent isn't too bushy without snow. Come spring, this portion typically isn't ascended with snow anyway, so no harm there. We were generally following others' GPX tracks, which was mostly steep duff followed by blueberry bushes the higher we got. Once gaining the crest of the ESE Spur, roughly at treeline, we expected generally open terrain and easier travel, which mostly held true. All told, the bush wasn't too bad on the ascent, somewhat worse on the descent as we lost our track for a bit, but for a bushwhacking lightweight such as myself, I found it not too terribly unpleasant. YMMV.
Ascent - With our peak finally in view, we dropped a bit right of the ridge proper and made a slightly descending traverse, following benches and heather slopes to a small (upper) lake nestled below the SE Face. Up a short grassy spur at right, aiming for a small basin from which a diagonal talus ramp/gully feature provides easy access to the upper snow bowl. A bit of easy scrambling up to the left here to reach the crest, with the summit now just a short stroll away.
The views, of course, are great, but most unexpected for me was the undeniably volcanic appearance of the summit area, and particularly the large caldera-like basin to the northwest. It's almost as if an eruption blew out to the NE, leaving the remaining crater rim to the west and south. This may be supported by the name itself, although I can find no information describing the geologic nature of the peak. There are also hot springs nearby, so perhaps my theory isn't too far-fetched...
Just under 4.5 hours up, with about 1.5 hrs on top, for a 9-ish hour day. Big thanks to Joanne for doing all the driving on this one!
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