Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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46.05000°N / 81.22°W |
Route Type:
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Hike/scramble |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Difficulty:
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Mostly hike up with one class IV section and a largish class III section |
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Approach
To get to the base of the peak you must canoe in... any attempt at hiking in could get you lost and possibly on the menu for a hungry black bear.I always canoe in from George Lake, going from George to Freeland and then on to Killarney Lake. There are however a myriad of canoeing routes to get there and if you were seeking to try a different way then I would strongly suggest buying a park map and chatting with park rangers.
Split face is located on the NW side of Killarney Lake and is the second major peak (from the west) on the lake.
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Route Description
The route requires perhaps 7 or 8 minutes of bushwhacking before you are on rock for good. The key is to land your canoe a little east of the foot of the peak and make your way up to the rock bands that lead up to the summit.The best path is along the eastern summit ridge. It is an unobstructed path over the white quartzite with only one semi challenging section.
The summit ridge is a wall and to gain access to it I have found the easiest path to be on the SW corner of the summit ridge. There are a series of rocky ramps that cut in behind a few evergreens followed by a 15m high class IV scramble. Once you gain the top of the ridge it is all smooth sailing from there.
I always try to stay close to the cliff face as it is the path of least resistance. Just before the top it steepens to perhaps 30-35 degrees but poses no real difficulty if one is cautious, just be careful if the rocks is wet it has been weathered for hundreds of millions of years and is very smooth in places.
I climb up to the cairn and then scramble on towards the summit bridge which is the highest point and is the spot where the valley ends and the eastern and western summits are joined.
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