MOUNT HOOVER 2269m 7443′
MT KUBIN 2237m 7338′
Rating: ♦♦◊◊◊
Difficulty: B2 moderate
Elevation gain: 1400′
Key elevations: Park 5400′. Mid Peak 6800′
Distance:
Time: 5 hours
Season: July through September
Access: Moderate
Map: 82F/11 Kokanee Creek
Drive: From the north end of Taghum Bridge, turn right onto Marsden Rd
3km Turn left (north) up Grohman Creek
6km Turn left up Baldface Creek for 20km. Continue past the Baldface Lodge turnoff right. Park where convenient close to the end of the road.
Route: Walk straight up the obvious clearcut into the burnt-standing forest above. The burnt area is visible for several kilometres down the road. It’s very steep but easy to travel through little if any underbrush. Reach the alpine and minor summit (Mid Peak). The route is a counterclockwise ridge with several bumps along what appears to be a cat ski cleared right-of-way to the summit.
The minor summit traversed is Mid Peak, the left continues to Hoover, right to Mount Kubin. Mount Grohman is 2.5 km east of Kubin.
What to do?
1. Traverse east over Mid Peak and Mt Kubin and descend its south ridge back down to Baldface Lodge or your vehicle. The two mountains that form a better traverse are Kubin and Grohman with little elevation loss (loss over 900′ and gain 800′ traversing Mid Peak)
2. Shuttle a vehicle and do a long ridge walk from Mt Hoover traversing Mid Peak, Mt Kubin, and then Mt Grohman for a big day. Exit out Grohman FSR.
Mt. Hoover 2269m, October 20, 2014 by Steve Miros
Mt Hoover has been on the list for some time now and the mild no-snow-weather allowed us to hike it. The blue sky and golden larch colours highlighted the trip.
We drove up Marsden Road and continued straight past the Baldface Lodge turnoff (i.e. don’t turn right). A very good road along Baldface Creek probably because they were logging – including that day – at the road end which is at about 20 km. We parked at a small parking spot and moved well off the road at 18.3 km.
By way of the compass Hoover is approximately due north and we huffed and puffed our way essentially straight up the obvious clearcut into the burnt-standing forest above. This burnt area is visible from several km down the road. It was very steep but easy to travel through little if any underbrush. Eventually, we reached the alpine forest and soon after that, we were on a minor summit offering grand views of the area including Kokanee, the Valhallas, the Norns Range and to the north, Mt Hoover. The route is a counterclockwise ridge with several bumps along what appears to be the cat ski cleared right-of-way to the summit. This was a very enjoyable ridge walk and some time later we were on the summit.
We piled a few rocks to make a home for the register and while doing so we found an old rusted sardine can under one of the rocks and $3.25 in change. The views onto the Valhallas are grand. Mt Grohman, Kubin and a peak west of Kubin (between Kubin and Hoover) are just to the east. You can see bits of the Slocan Valley as well and well up the Lemon Creek drainage to Giegerich and Sunset Mtns.
After lunch, some nice pictures and orientation we began the walk back under increasingly cloudy skies. The last bit down the very steep part was tiring but straightforward and we were back at the truck 5 hours later. The loggers had left and we had a nice ride home amidst autumn gold. Though very steep at the beginning of the trek, this seems to be the best way to get to Mt. Hoover. Not including the snowcat which seems to come less than half a km from the summit.
Eliane & Steven Miros
