Garibaldi Provincial Park

Hello and welcome back!  The days are getting longer quick here in Vancouver, and the trees are blossoming like crazy.  This afternoon Bailey and I went for a nice little 7 mile power walk through the city to Chinatown to check out the markets, the Sun Yat-Sen Chinese garden and of course some weird ass food.  It was a great day aside from some off-putting mystery meat, and a dead raven in the meditation pond which we tried not to read too much into.  It feels like summer is right around the corner, and with it comes mountaineering season and the PMC!  I'm keeping it going out here with some heavy training, and getting brainstorming on some fundraising strategies.  My October donation deadline will be here before I know it, and I've got a long way to go to $4,500!  Speaking of which, please donate to my ride if you can!  Every penny of rider raised donations goes to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and they need our help.  Now, let me tell you about a little trip about a couple of hours north of Vancouver to Garibaldi Provincial Park in the Whistler area. 

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, downtown Vancouver. 

As summer nears in British Columbia, the heavy winter snows slowly subside and alpine
mountaineering season begins.  The backcountry ski season however is winding down, so I figured on a ski trip to check out some mountaineering objectives in Garibaldi Provincial Park. I met my buddy Dave in North Vancouver, and drove north on the Sea-to-Sky Highway up the fjords of Howe Sound.  A couple of hours up the road brings you into the heart of the southern BC Coast Ranges, and to the Whistler Blackcomb resort area. We would not be going to the fancy bars and groomed slopes of Whistler, but rather into the rugged and glaciated terrain of Mt. Garibaldi and its neighboring high peaks.  Garibaldi is the northernmost Cascade volcano, a Canadian brother of Rainier, Shasta, Hood and others further south.  Just like most of the other Cascades Garibaldi could still become active at pretty much any time.  10,000 year old lava flows, still clearly visible on satellite images, are a stark reminder of the danger that lurks not 40 miles from the 2.5 million residents of greater Vancouver.   For now however, Garibaldi Provincial Park is another of the recreation meccas of the Vancouver area. Less than two hours out of town, this area offers glaciated peaks, alpine lakes and miles upon miles of hiking trails and climbing routes.  I had never been to the park before so we would not be bagging any summits, but rather skiing up to the beginnings of the glacier fields to have a look at the bigger mountains and what the summer climbing season here would have to offer. After a sketchy drive from the highway to the trailhead, we threw on our skis and made our way up a logging road into the alpine. 

Alpine meadows in Garibaldi Provincial Park. 

 We were heading up the south slope of Round Mountain, a smaller neighbor of Garibaldi's and a popular route into the higher peaks.  Six miles from the trailhead is the Elfin Lakes shelter, a beautiful alpine cabin and a southern jump off point for attempts on Garibaldi.  We hoped to get as close to Elfin as we could in a single afternoon, the weather and snow were both solid and things were looking good as we neared treeline.  After a nice little pump up the logging road we took a break at the Red Heather warming hut before breaking out of the trees onto the ridge-top.  As we sat in the sun at Red Heather, stoke was building for what looked to be a great afternoon ahead.  We finished our snacks and as I went to step back into my skis, the frame of my right binding broke in half in my hand. 

I was much more pissed about this than it looks. 

 After some disbelief and a few remarks from Dave of 'I've never even heard of that happening!', I resolved that this was a major bummer, and my day was pretty much over.  Originally enraged that the steel frame of a popular and well-known binding would simply snap in half, I later reasoned that these puppies were already on their third lifetime and were mounted on bright pink skis fresh out of 1991.  I suppose 25 years is a perfectly reasonable life expectancy for a piece of equipment.  Thankfully the route we were on was a popular one, and the trail was packed well enough for me to follow Dave up to the ridge-top for some views of the high mountains. 

Dave and Garibaldi (8,700').

The Tantalus Range, and the rad ski slopes that were not. 

Your correspondent and Mt. Garibaldi (8,700').

After a short hike up to the ridge we took a few photos and scoped out some routes on Garibaldi, and I got a good look at the great ski terrain that I would not be skiing.  Back at Red Heather, I stared at my bindings for awhile trying to come up with a way that I could avoid walking my skis down a logging road that would be perfect learning ground for me.  Gradually, I arrived at the same conclusion that is invariably arrived at in these backcountry repair situations: duct tape.

Genius. 

  After cleverly taping my skis back together, we headed down the logging road with some success.  If I put too much weight onto my right leg the tape would catch the snow and throw me to the ground, and every now and again the ski would fall off altogether, but I eventually made it down to the trailhead in mostly one piece.   Despite some setbacks, we had a great day in the sun and snow, and I got in about 10 good miles and 2,000 feet of elevation. 

Hungry Whiskey Jacks eyeing our snacks at Red Heather meadows. 

That's it for now, time to drag my ass to the gym for some stair-stepper action.  Thanks for reading, please check out my PMC profile and donate if you can!  Join me next time, when I'll be skiing half way up Washington's third highest mountain before realizing that I don't have the skills to ski down!  See you then!