Exploring The Coast Mountains On Skis A Guide to Ski Mountaineering John Baldwin Third Edition Chapter Reference Map 1 Howe Sound Contents 2 Garibaldi 3 Whistler Using this Guidebook 9 4 Callaghan Trip Planning 15 About the Coast Mountains 21 5 Birkenhead 6 Duffey Lake Pacific Ranges 7 Stein 1. Howe Sound 35 8 Chilliwack River 2. Garibaldi 51 9 Baker 3. Whistler 69 4. Callaghan 87 10 Coquihalla 5. Birkenhead 105 11 Manning Park 6. Duffey Lake 119 12 Ashlu 7. Stein 153 13 Upper Lillooet 8. Chilliwack River 163 14 Chilcotin Ranges 9. Baker 173 15 Lillooet Icefield 10. Coquihalla 191 16 Homathko Icefield 11. Manning Park 203 17 Waddington 12. Ashlu 213 18 Bella Coola 13. Upper Lillooet 233 19 Smithers 14. Chilcotin Ranges 261 20 Terrace 15. Lillooet Icefield 271 21 Stewart 16. Homathko Icefield 287 22 Juneau 17. Waddington 299 18. Bella Coola 333 Kitimat Ranges 19. Smithers 355 20. Terrace 383 Boundary Ranges 21. Stewart 405 22. Juneau 425 23. Extended Traverses 441 Index 445 Metres to Feet 448 34 Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis A Guide to Climbing and Hiking in Southwestern BC, Websites Bruce Fairley www.bivouac.com Scrambles in Southwestern British Columbia, Matt The Canadian Mountaineering Encyclopedia is an excellent Howe Sound Gunn 1 online guidebook that contains route descriptions, photos, A Climber’s Guide to the Coastal Ranges of BC, Dick detailed road information and updates and trip reports. Culbert (out of print) www.clubtread.com Stein Valley Wilderness Guidebook, Gordon White (out Online forum and trip reports. of print) www.turns-all-year.com Alpine Select, Kevin McLane Online forum and trip reports focused on Washington. Cascade Alpine Guide: Climbing and High Routes—Vol. www.alpenglow.org 3: Rainy Pass to Fraser River, Fred Beckey History of ski mountaineering in the Pacific Northwest. 100 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Routes in www.skimountaineer.com Washington, Rainer Burgdorfer Cascade ski mountaineering. 100 Hikes in Washington’s North Cascades Region, Ira www.mountaineers.org/nwmj Spring and Harvey Manning Northwest Mountaineering Journal. The Waddington Guide, Don Serl www.avalanche.ca Bella Coola Valley & Vicinity: Hiking Trails and Routes, Check out the regional discussion board. Scott Whittemore www.acmg.ca Hikes in Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park, Scott Association of Canadian Mountain Guides. Whittemore Reading Trails to Timberline in West Central British Columbia, Round Mystery Mountain, Sir Norman Watson and E.J. Einar Blix King, 1935 Hot Springs of Western Canada, Glenn Woodsworth The Unknown Mountain, Don Munday, 1948 Island Turns and Tours, Philip Stone Glacier Ice, Austin Post and Edward LaChapelle, 1971 Satellite and Aerial Photographs Ice Runway, Roy Mason, 1984 Satellite imagery and air photographs are a useful aid to Towards the Unknown Mountains, Rob Wood, 1991 route planning and selection. Information that is difficult The Great Bear Rainforest, Ian & Karen McAllister, Skiing runs on the N side of Mt Strachan above Howe Sound. to discern from topographic maps is sometimes readily ap- 1997 parent. This can include forest cover, cliff bands, crevasse Wild Snow, Louis Dawson, 1997 ising 1500m above the ocean, the mountains off the Pacific Ocean. Local ski resorts on the North Shore patterns, glacier recession and even the lay of the land. Mountains of the Coast, John Baldwin, 1999 around Howe Sound offer the closest backcountry mountains record annual snowfalls of 7–10m, and typical www.earth.google.com Pushing the Limits, Chic Scott, 2000 ski trips to Vancouver. This is not classic ski terrain, snowpacks reach 3m at an elevation of 1100m. At higher Google Earth offers high resolution satellite photographs of Clubs asR the mountains are steep sided and heavily forested, but elevations, snowfall is closer to a whopping 15m and snow- many areas that can be viewed in three dimensions. More than a dozen clubs run organized ski-mountaineer- the rounded peaks are alpine near their summits and packs of 4–5m are common, with record years approach- www.pbase.com/nolock/ ing trips to the areas covered by this guide. A club directory receive huge snowfalls. There are some great trips here to ing 10m. Snow conditions fluctuate greatly due to the lower John Scurlock has compiled an incredibly useful database and contact information is available through the Federation open ridges and subalpine bowls, with tremendous views elevations of the summits around Howe Sound and their of oblique photographs of the Coast Mountains and Cas- of Mountain Clubs of British Columbia at www.mountain- of the ocean below and runs of 100–400m. Almost all trips proximity to the coast. There can be excellent snow one cade Mountains taken from a small plane. Most photo- clubs.org. In addition to trips, clubs provide instruction are day trips. day and rain the next. Typically the snowline is between graphs are taken in winter or spring. and an organized voice to address important issues affect- The most popular trips are ski ascents of Hollyburn 600 and 800m. In winter, fresh snow can be expected 3 or Journals ing ski-mountaineering. Mountain and Mt Seymour in the North Shore mountains 4 days a week. Typical amounts are 10cm overnight, but The following journals frequently contain descriptions of above Vancouver, which offer quick wintry escapes from record storms have dumped over 60cm in 24 hours. Snow ski mountaineering trips to the Coast Mountains. They are the city. Beyond the North Shore, ski trips can be made to quality varies from drier snow to classic mashed potatoes. available at libraries in Vancouver. References are given to the peaks above Howe Sound. These are off the beaten path Rain can be expected 1 or 2 days a week. To ensure you relevant articles within the text. for most skiers, but ski ascents of peaks such as Mt Harvey have good snow conditions, check the weather forecast and Canadian Alpine Journal (CAJ), Alpine Club of Canada and Thomas Peak are highly recommended trips. freezing level before you go. As a general rule, a tempera- B.C. Mountaineer (BCM), B.C. Mountaineering Club Snow Conditions ture of 6°C in Vancouver corresponds to a freezing level at Varsity Outdoor Club Journal (VOCJ), Varsity Outdoor The mountains surrounding Howe Sound are lashed with 1000m on the North Shore mountains. The maritime influ- Club, University of BC copious amounts of moisture from major storms that sweep ence generally builds a deep, well-consolidated snowpack 36 Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis Chapter 1: Howe Sound 37 Looking SW across the Strait of Georgia from the summit of Hollyburn Mtn. Howe Sound Area Hollyburn Mountain 1326m dred metres beneath the powerline before turning N along Length: 1 day Difficulty: 2 Hollyburn Ridge. About halfway up, the trail passes the top Total Distance: 5km Terrain: Simple of the groomed cross country runs. Above this, the forest Elevation Gain: 430m Map: 92G/6 starts to become open and a wide swath provides an open Start: 900m Best: Nov–Apr ski route to the summit. The descent is a pleasant ski run in Perhaps the most popular trip in this book, Hollyburn Mtn that can be considerably different from inland areas such Maps good conditions. There is also some enjoyable skiing N and is a pleasant subalpine summit in Cypress Provincial Park as Whistler, Duffey Lk or the Coquihalla. Note that fog is North Shore 1:30,000 by TerraPro. E of the summit, with 100–200m runs. with excellent views of the Strait of Georgia. It is great for common in bad weather. A more secluded (and off-trail) route to Hollyburn Open forest on the SW ridge of Hollyburn Mtn. a quick wintry break from the city and offers a few 100– Mtn ascends the indistinct SW ridge through mostly open Access 200m runs through glades. It is the easiest ski trip on the forest to join the above route on subalpine benches S of Access to the North Shore mountains is from the Trans North Shore mountains and is feasible in all but the worst the summit. Park on the Cypress Bowl Rd approximately Canada Highway running through North and West Van- weather. 0.6km before the parking lot for the downhill ski area, just couver. From Hwy 1 in West Vancouver, take exit 8 for Cypress S of the obvious bend in the road at the central branch of Areas along the E side of Howe Sound are reached from Mountain and follow the all-weather highway 13km to Cypress Cr (signed as overnight parking). Stay right as you Hwy 99, which runs north to Squamish. Several trips far- the cross-country parking lot at 900m. It is approximately climb to avoid steeper terrain. This route is best with at ther inland are reached from an extensive network of log- a 30-minute drive from downtown Vancouver. Cypress least a metre of snow in the forest. The descent through ging roads along the Mamquam River. These roads branch Mountain also runs a shuttle bus from the city (see www. the trees is a decent 300m run in good conditions. Another E from Hwy 99 1km south of Squamish, directly below cypressmountain.com). recommended descent route for this variation, if avalanche the Stawamus Chief. Check the Squamish Forest District The main winter route to Hollyburn Mtn starts from the conditions are acceptable, is to drop NW off the summit website at www.for.gov.bc.ca/dsq or www.bivouac.com for cross-country parking area, directly under a large power- and veer left down steep W-facing slopes, emerging from updates on road and snow conditions and for recent trip line. The trailhead is well marked, and a sign here displays glades into a flat clearing beside the downhill runs on the reports.