Sand Mountain

Elevation Gain: 1,643m
Distance: 21.3km
Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Date: January 4th, 2026

I had a rest day after my trip up nearby Mount Padella and I took full advantage to pore of maps of the area. Padella hadn’t really satiated my curiosities for the area as it overlooks the town of Smithers and is replete with cell service and proximity to mankind. There is a lifetimes worth of objectives within driving distance of Smithers, so I started to look further afield for interesting ideas. My ambitions were somewhat tempered by the snowpack, but I figured I could find something notable to do. As I looked over more and more of the maps I realized there’s lots of summits with suitable avalanche terrain but few that can be accessed easily without a snowmobile. Many summits had logging roads that ran quite high, but with 10 or more kilometers of flat road walking to even start the elevation gain proper.

Two objectives finally stood out with “Sandview Peak” looking like the best option. (I’d later find out it’s known locally as Sand Mountain). Located just north of Sand Lake and not far from Kitsumkalum, it had the hallmarks of a fun ascent. It would involve a fair amount of road travel, but then there was 800m of meadows to ski up and down afterwards. While the logging roads would be a bit of a slog on the way up they would make for an expedient return on skis. I was sold.

I knew nothing of the area other than it appeared remote, it was forecast to be -15 to -18 and I was a little anxious about heading out alone despite the terrain looking not all that involved. To remedy that I packed extra layers and even a -18 sleeping bag should I get marooned from an injury of some kind. The next morning I made the long but scenic drive with the sunrise commencing right as I pulled into Terrace. I continued past Terrace and Rosswood where “Sandview Peak” finally came into sight. It looked like a Chilean Volcano rising alone above Kitsumkalum Lake.

As I reached the start of Meadow Mainline I was surprised to round the corner and see a fully plowed pullout. A quick survey of the scene revealed this was a regular haunt for snowmobilers from Terrace and at least some part of the road I was about to skin up was graded and maintained. I laughed a bit thinking of how prepared I had come for a somewhat remote experience. In hindsight it should have been obvious, but that’s how it goes when you are learning an area.

Two riders appeared to be out on the trail already, but otherwise I had the place to myself. I started skinning down the road and after 3.5km or so my route veered off of the maintained section of road and up a spur. The snow had a firm crust and made for an easy ascent. I exited through a cutblock and found steep ice in the forest. Skinning was an injury waiting to happen so I booted up the steep icy slope and then returned to skiing on the open meadows above. From the cut block I weaved my way through open forest and among some giants (to me) spanning at least 130-150cm in diameter.

Above the forest was 800m of open meadows and slopes to gain. There was a wide spread layer of hoar frost on crust which promised some excellent skiing on the return. I slogged my way up to the ridge and from there I had my first view of the summit. It looked absent of any difficulties and I pressed onto to the top. The summit was devoid of any wind and I had the expansive vista to myself.

All around were unfamiliar and spectacular summits. Oscar Peak first climbed in 1925 dominated the views across the valley, but Alder Peak and Poupard also commanded some attention. Some 28 years prior Dave Williams and Greg Statter ascended up Alder Peak in a summer traverse. Meanwhile Glenn Woodsworth and Tony Ellis were in the area exploring many of the summits behind Oscar Peak including Mount Voshell, Pluton Peak, Dents du Cheval and many others. In fact, much of the area west Sterling Mountain is apparently of great interest to geologists and a number of summits have been explored. Many still might perhaps await a further look.

To the East the summits were generally more tame save for Mount Priestly. The south east looked the most promising with Weeskinisht Peak rising high above the ranges. One could spend years out here and hardly make progress on all of the summits. However, that might also be aided by the deluge of rain that hits this part of the Coast Mountains each summer. The Grizzly population might well act as a deterrent too.

Satisfied with my surveillance of the area, it was finally time to return. The first 300m of descent were across icy rime bumps and feathers and was not all that pleasant, but big sweeping turns were had from there on out. Once I was on the road I had a speedy descent to the flat valley bottom below and skate skiied the flattest bit to the car. When I returned to the parking lot there was ~8 more trucks parked, but I never ran into a single person all day. I would imagine given the simple terrain and prominence above Kitsumkalum Lake that this peak is a regular ski touring attraction and I can certainly vouch for it’s enjoyment!