Date: Sunday Oct 4, 2026

Weather: Cool & Sunny (Amazing)

Group size: 2

Gears: Poles, helmets, 10 essentials

Route: Followed the route on AllTrails

1. Follow Brunswick Mountain Trail 90% of the way until reaching the junction with HSCT
2. Turn left onto HSCT heading towards Brunswick Lake
3. Halfway before reaching Brunswick Lake, turn right off trail towards Mount Hanover
4. A mix of alpine meadow + bushwhacking + boulder fields + absolutely no other humans
5. Climb a steep gully that requires class 4 scramble before reaching the summit

Actual timings

13h 47m car-to-car:

• 7:05 am - Lions Bay Sunset trailhead
• 9:50 am - Brunswick / HSCT junction
• 10:40 am - Turnoff from HSCT to Mount Hanover
• 12:30 pm - bottom of the gully
• 1:17 pm - Mount Hanover summit
• 2:25 pm - started heading down
• 3:35 pm - bottom of the gully
• 5:25 pm - back on HSCT
• 6:05 pm - Brunswick / HSCT junction
• 8:52 pm - back to trailhead

Challenges

Overall: This is my first hike that's rated "strenuous" on AllTrails, and I do find it to be undoubtedly my hardest one yet.

The final gully scramble

Hard. I personally find it to be the most technically challenging scramble I've done so far (somewhat surprisingly) (see below for my past experience). The moves aren't hard for any rock climbers, but good holds were a little sparse in a couple spots, especially because the rock was loose and/or wet in places. The gully didn't feel very exposed, but a fall could still easily lead to injuries, so we took our time there climbing securely.

There were two good fixed ropes and two sets of rappel rings in the gully. We didn't use them on the way up, but did use the fixed ropes partially on the way down. The rappel rings can provide better coverage if you bring your own rope. We didn't bring our own rope.

Helmets are required. Plenty of loose rocks throughout the gully. The two of us took turns and never climbed at the same time.

Route finding

Moderately hard. Offline map is a must.

The turnoff from HSCT to Hanover was in the bushes and quite hard to spot. Trail markers / cairns were sparse immediately after crossing Deeks Creek too. I heavily relied on GPS / offline map / GPX track on my phone in this area.

However, I started seeing more trail markers a few hundred metres after crossing Deeks Creek, and rarely used my phone since then. There was still no well defined trails though. Keen eyes for spotting trail markers in the distance are helpful.

Boulder fields

Moderate. We could find large / stable rocks to step on for most of the off-trail portion. Rocks don't get smaller / unstable until within ~50 metres of the final gully. Still needed to be careful to find good footing and not sprain an ankle.

Bushwhacking

Moderate / easy. Bushes were thick in a couple sections, but they were fairly short and well marked with trail markers.

Length / overall energy

Hard. This shouldn't be a surprise for experienced hikers in this area - the numbers don't do this route justice. It's "only" ~20 km and <1,900 m elevation gain, but it felt much harder on my body (especially legs) compared to easier trails of similar stats (e.g. Panorama Ridge & Black Tusk). The steepness of Brunswick Mountain trail and the massive boulder fields are both extra taxing. Hiking poles are highly recommended.

I'd say one should find other prominent mountains in the Lions area (Brunswick, Lions, Harvey) to be at most "moderately hard" before attempting Mount Hanover.

Past experience

I only started hiking somewhat seriously since summer of 2025 (after I moved to Vancouver). I'm on the slower end among regular hikers, but probably not slow compared to non-hikers. Grouse Grind just under an hour.

I've been climbing in gyms for 8 years and quite comfortable hanging on rocks/walls, however.

Notable past scrambles (total time spent):

• Sky Pilot (8h 17m)
• West Lion (9h 53m)
• Black Tusk (11h 28m (including 1h+ waiting in line))
• Cypress Peak (9h 50m)

Edit: Added duration for my past hikes/scrambles and overall difficulty rating for Hanover.