Despite being a highly sought after summit among climbers in southwest BC and its close proximity to civilization, Mount Currie had historically been a very difficult summit to access until recently. The historical approach to the summit would typically involve a two night minimum expedition, beginning with either a brutal bushwhack through the dense rainforest from the base of the valley, or an even longer multi-day epic from Wedgemount Lake. This all changed thanks to the efforts of Pemberton locals in 2013 with the construction of the Mount Currie/Pemberton Valley Lookout Trail, which currently climbs to 2050m and there has been talk of it possibly being punched in even further in the coming years. Thanks to this new trail, the trip to the summit can now be done as a mere (albeit dawn to dusk) day trip in the summer months, or a more leisurely overnight trip. There are three excellent camping areas (known as Windridge Camp, Currie Meadows and Camp 3) in the alpine should you choose the latter option.
With the town of Pemberton being just a paltry 210m above sea level, Mount Currie has a sheer vertical relief (distance from base to summit) of over 2300m. To give this some slightly misleading but nonetheless interesting perspective: the vertical relief of Mount Everest is less than one third greater than that of Currie at 3500m. Also since the trail doesn't begin from much higher than the base of the Green River Valley, you will be responsible for gaining all but maximum 200 of those 2300m on your own power!
Directions:
Turn off of highway 99 at the Green River Motocross Track, follow the road to the right past the track for about 2 km to the bridge over the Green River. 2wd vehicles will have to park immediately after the bridge. 4x4 vehicles may be able to make it a bit farther to a point where the road is blocked by a large boulder and then washed out by a small creek shortly after. The trailhead is located to the right of the road about 15 minutes from the 4x4 parking area, marked by a large wooden signboard (with no sign). The trail begins with mostly gradual climbing with a few short steeper sections spaced in between until reaching a heli-logging clearcut area on the left, after which point it proceeds to go up, up, and up, eventually reaching a signed junction with the spur trail to the Pemberton Valley Lookout (which was the original end of the trail in 2014) at 1500m. Go right at this junction and continue 30 minutes to the Windridge Camp at the base of the alpine, where the outstanding views of Pemberton and the surrounding valleys and peaks begin to open up. From here the trail is marked by orange flashes spray painted on rocks and trees all the way up to Camp 3, which marks the end of the "official" trail (for now). For those who choose to spend the night, Camp 3 is definitely the most scenic of the three designated sites, and the recommended choice IF you have a quality tent capable of handling colder temperatures (including in the summer) and lots and LOTS of wind. If you have just a basic summer camping tent, one of the more sheltered lower sites would be a wiser choice.
From Camp 3, the route continues traversing an alpine bench around to the south side of the mountain. There are a decent number of cairns marking the way through this area. Upon reaching the south side, drop down to around the 2000m mark and continue eastward beyond the sheer cliffs below Currie NW1 and other false summits until you reach the broad, bouldery south face below the true summit. From here the route follows steep grass and scree, eventually changing to all scree farther up. The slope becomes less steep over the last 100 or so vertical meters but unfortunately the scree is also a tad bit more unstable over this section. Be sure to use caution here as some of the boulders including the bigger ones can often come loose. Upon reaching the ridge crest, the summit is finally just a short ramble away.
Best of luck!