Mt Joffre, BC

The Joffre Range in the South Coast Mountains combines excellent access with some of the finest moderate technical alpine routes in Southern BC. Our Guided trips into this region typically will focus on climbs of Mount Joffre (2,710 meters), with a secondary objective of nearby Mount Matier (2,770 meters) if time and conditions permit.

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Guided climbs on Joffre are arranged on an individual basis. Please review the Cost Details tab, select your preferred start date below and click on Check Availability. The best season for climbing Joffre is between mid-June and October.
  • Costs are based on a 2-day program with climbs on Joffre and/or Matier. Climbs of 1 day, or more than 2 days, may be arranged as well, please contact our office for pricing details.
    • $1,250/person, for one person
    • $650/person, for groups of 2
    • $450/person, for groups of 3
    • On standard routes on Joffre or Matier, our maximum Guide to Climber ratio is 1:3. Other routes may be limited to 1:1 or 1:2, please contact our office for more details

      These costs will include all guiding fees and all technical equipment. It will not include transportation costs, food costs, personal gear, or hut fees if required ($20/person/night if staying at Keiths Hut).

  • The standard routes on Joffre are the South and East facing rock ridges, rising above the Anniversary Glacier. These are done via Cerise Creek (Anniversary Gl) in 2 or 3 days. The first day we hike in and set up camp at 2,000 meters, or stay in Keith's Hut ($20 donation per/person per/night required) at 1,700 meters. The hike in to base camp or the hut is around 3 hours. During the afternoon of day-1 you will review all the skills required for the climb - snow travel, self arrests, belaying, basic glacier travel skills and rescue, etc.

    The 2nd day you will start at around 4 am or 5 am and head up to the climb. You will descend via the same route. By August the snow is usually retreated a lot and more travel on glacier ice and rock climbing is required.

    Typically a team can be on the summit in 5-6 hours, and back to the camp or hut by 3-4 pm. The hike out to the car from camp is about 2 hours.

    The same program can be used to climb nearby Mt. Matier as well.

    Alternately, many groups choose a 3-day option and ascend the Anniversary Glacier on Day-1 to establish a higher camp. The next day (Day-2) you will climb a route on Joffre; and, climb Matier on Day-3 (or a 2nd route on Joffre). This is a bit more strenuous as the camp should be set at the 2,000 meter camp for sure, or ideally even a higher camp we use in the Joffre/Matier col, at 2,400 meters, so you need to carry your overnight gear to a higher camp.

    The best season is early July and onwards. Our main concerns on this route are melting snow that can make travel challenging and increase chance of rockfall. This is more typical of early to mid June, but can be an issue all season depending on the conditions, which of course vary widely from year to year. As for late season, we typically are leading groups on Matier and Joffre as late as early October