Category: Nanaimo Regional District

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Green Mountain

~November 30, 2025

~ submitted by Su Castle

Beautiful late fall weather day for this trip up Green Mountain. We drove up logging spur K15 until the creek crossing. (approx 49.04447 124.34843), snow started 1100m.

We hiked steadily upwards, using micro spikes near the summit. There was more of a crust on the snow the higher up we got. Ice formations on the foliage were beautiful!

The last 100m of elevation gave us the adventure we were seeking, as the snow wasn’t consistent enough to create good steps, and there was just enough ice on the rocks with a bit of a drop off below us to make it a super sketchy choice!

We descended the summit a slightly different way. We were back at the vehicle and out of the last Nanaimo Lakes gates by 3:00. 

Trip length: 7.5 km Total elevation: 450 Total Hike: 4 hours  

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Mount Service

November 15, 2025

~ submitted by Sarah Duncan

7 of us met at a reasonable time at a park and ride to convoy to Cottonwood main where we used gate keys to let us onto the main extinguishing the need for the long haul walk up the logging road.

We were lucky to have two gate key holders on this trip so we were able to pack more folks in than just one vehicle would allow. 

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Marmot Mountain via the South Ridge – again

May 25, 2025

~ submitted by Matthew Lettington

Just a few weeks ago, I led a club trip to Marmot Mountain. Thanks to a recommendation from one of the participants, we took a chance and approached via the south ridge. The gamble paid off — we were treated to a lovely ridge walk and even spotted a marmot sunning itself!

With my wife and daughter away at a weekend-long Scout camp, I had the perfect opportunity to head out hiking with my son. We decided to do a double-feature: Gemini and Marmot — doubling his chances of seeing a marmot in the wild!

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Marmot Mountain from the South: Easier, Quicker, Better?

May 10, 2025

~ submitted by Matthew Lettington

Our Marmot Mountain adventure turned out quite different from what we expected.

In past visits, I’ve always approached the summit from the Nanaimo Lakes side — a route that plunges into steep, brush-choked terrain. That was our original plan again this time, but when fewer than five people expressed interest, I reconsidered. It didn’t seem worth dragging a group through that notoriously rough route unless it was absolutely necessary.

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Rappel Workshop

November 11, 2024

~ submitted by Matthew Lettington

The weather must’ve scared a couple of other people away, but I had a great time with Roland on the cliffs.

While it was a little bit breezy, the rain didn’t show up until our last rappels. 

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Mount Benson from the Southeast Approach

June 27, 2024

~ submitted by Ken Warren

Well the weather was better than forecast for our mountain adventure. Five of us headed up Benson from Morrell at a respectable speed.

By the time we got to the viewpoints the fog obscured our views. We ground on with only a few wrong turns and made the summit by noon. We sat around as the fog got thicker and the temperature dropped. Our wildlife sightings were limited to frogs  and grey jays.

We made good time on the descent and arrived at the parking lot tired, stiff, and quite happy.

 Thanks all for your company.