Living the best adventure life, since 1958
January 3, 2026
~ submitted by Matthew Lettington
“Wet” pretty much sums it up.
How wet was it? Wet enough that two people took one look at the trailhead and decided they’d had enough adventure for the day. When we arrived, rain was absolutely hammering down, pooling across the parking lot in what could only be described as a proper deluge.
Continue reading “A Very Wet Snowshoe to Mount Elma”
We started from Raven Lodge at 8:15am. The weather was perfect: clear, sunny and no wind. Our route took us up the North side of Allan Brooks, then down to the col between AB and Elma, up Elma’s west face, then down the NE side and back via Battleship Lake. No snowshoes were needed, given the icy, firm crust. The group used a mix of microspikes and crampons, and the ice axes stayed attached to our packs. Conditions were made for efficient moving, and our total moving time was just shy of 6.5 hours. Overall, a beautiful day with unusually great conditions given the time of year.
December 11, 2022
~ submitted by Brian Fleming
Mount Elma – 12.8km, 367m elevation gain.
Total time 6h 45m.
I had thought we could get both Mount Elma and Mount Allan Brooks as one big loop but with all the fresh snow in the last few days, we would have to settle for Mount Elma.
January 8, 2022
After a flurry of early morning communications and a change in leader, five of us headed for Mt Elma on snowshoes from Raven Lodge. Although the parking lot was full, the trails were quiet. Fortunately someone had the same destination in mind and kindly broke trail for us. Conditions were ok with the temperature around minus 4, light snow, and light wind. The snow is quite deep and loose so it took some effort to get up to the summit ridge. Visibility was almost nil, but the windrifted snow and the mantled trees made the trip worthwhile.
Mt. Elma–October 10, 2021
Jane and I set out about 8:30 from Raven Lodge, with just a few other cars in the parking lot, and made our way through Paradise Meadows, treading cautiously on the slippery boardwalk.
Beautiful ponds and colours in the meadows
March 1st, 2020
~ submitted by John Young
Ah, lucked out with another beautiful day snowshoeing up Mt. Elma with a wonderful group of nine members of the Island Mountain Ramblers.
We started out from Raven Lodge at 9:45 and meandered through Paradise Meadows, then up to Battleship Lake. The snow in the trees! The view of Strathcona’s peaks from the summit–oh!
Continue reading “Mt. Elma Snowshoe”
Dear Octavia,
We don’t often get a whole day together for just the two of us. Typically, the entire family goes on our adventures, or at the very least it’s you, Hemingway, and me. In fact, that was the original arrangement, for you both to come with me –and 12 of my closest Ramblers buddies– on our February 3rd summit of Mount Elma. But Hemingway decided to stay home for a swim lesson and his first overnight camping trip away from home, leaving the whole day for just us–our first time!
Read the full report and see more photographs on Explorington.com
Dear Hemingway,
You’re four-and-a-half years old now–time sure flies. I made only two resolutions for 2018, and the first and most important one was to get my whole family out on a mountain adventure (Paradise Meadows doesn’t count). You’ve been my adventure companion on many trips, but it wasn’t until our January 6th trip that we summited our first mountain together: Mount Elma. It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort to see your smile when we crested the hill and walked out onto Mount Elma’s summit plateau.
Total Distance: 12 km
Starting Elevation: 166m
Maximum Elevation: 1418 m
Total Elevation Gain: 446 m
Total Time: 5h 30m
–submitted by Matthew Lettington, Read the full report on his blog
On February 19th, we met at Ski Tak Hut in Courtenay to gather the final pieces of backcountry ski gear needed for our day on the mountain. Lisa and I watched the sky, hoping that the hard rain would let up – or at least, that it was snowing on the mountain. Our original plan was to ski Mount Becher, but the rain forced us to reconsider our options; we decided to take our chances with Mount Elma instead.