All posts by andy

Little Diamond Head 20/02/10

Overnighter, Snowshoe, ,

Rob M. at Little Diamond Head:
“Anyone who’s been to Elfin Lakes knows what a drudge it is vis a vis the Lions slogging road. Thinking of it as half way to Little Diamond Head was different. From the near empty Elfin Lakes Hut we headed high towards the South Columnar Peaks then traversed an easy gradient across the face of the peaks just below their avy runouts yet above the gulley traps. The Gargoyles’ saddle is roughly half-way to Little Diamond Head. From there it was 120 m of whahoooo glissading down the north side of the saddle – but knowing we had to make up for it in spades on the other side.

The views from the north side of the saddle were quite spectacular and I regret having left my camera behind, relying on my cellphone for all the pics. The temperature fell suddenly from banana daiquiri to super sized slushy. The snowpack developed a thick tile surface above the deep moist powder making the ascent arduous with a full pack. Having succumbed to the blue sky white snow syndrome we dug in our camp a little late in the evening at the base of Little Diamond Head. We each had different reasons for a fitful sleep – a gale force micro-system that rocked the Elfin Lakes cabin “all night long” a month ago kept me awake with weather paranoia.

Waking up with Mount Atwell at our doorstep took a while to digest. We ate less than a snack and then quickly summited Little Diamond Head taking in a jaw dropping 360 view. We soon also started up the west ridge of Mount Atwell. Straddling the cornice tops with a few hundred meter drop on either side wasn’t the worst of Atwell – it was knowing that the high temperature was weakening the snowpack under our feet. Next to us were two avy’s flowing down Atwell the size of Park Royal. A tree bomb had set off a size two plus avy off the Columnar peaks covering our earlier tracks. You could never get enough of this eye candy but we did return to our gear – packed up, filled in our camp site – 18 km back to the parking lot. The most difficult part of the hike was finding space in a pub. We caught the last period of the first US vs Canada game at the brewpub with a mixed audience – you know the rest.”

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Panorama Ridge 23/01/10

Snowshoe, ,

Robert C. on Panorama Ridge:
“Four of us were determined to reach Panorama Peak, a destination that I thought might just be too much for this time of year, especially after seeing Rob’s photos from Garibaldi a few weeks ago. However, with low-moderate avalanche warnings and the prospect of sunny skies, we headed out starting at the trail head at 7:30 am. The road to Rubble Creek parking lot is quite passable with a 4X4 and high clearance. The trail from Rubble Creek to the top of Taylor Meadows was quite easy and typical. A set of ski tracks at about the 8 km mark set us on a fork and diversion to the campground instead of the typical summer route. We managed to break trail through Taylor Meadows with occasional ski tracks. Without markers on the trees it was difficult to find the junction for Black Tusk/Panorama Ridge so we ended up traversing the trail to Black Tusk. However the much steeper terrain provided views that I never saw on the regular summer trail to Panorama Ridge. As a result, we almost did two hikes, one to the ridge of Black Tusk and the other to Panorama Peak. It was a steep descent back to the bowl between Black Tusk and Panorama Ridge but well worth it. Then we started the ascent up to the peak of Panorama. Through the whole trip we experienced deep blue skies to cloud that provided for a variety of great photos. The climb to the peak was the exact opposite of what I expected. I was expecting that we would be waist deep in snow but because it’s so windy up there, it makes it hard packed for the most part. For those that have hiked with me before, you know how much I love this hike. I get goose bumps just thinking about the entire trip. I also thank everyone for taking turns breaking snow and route scouting. This was made possible only because of this teamwork! See you all again. Hopefully our tracks will stay for the next hike :)”

Elfin Lakes 23/01/10

Snowshoe, ,

Chris M. at Elfin Lakes:
“Eight snowshoers and a skier left the parking lot before 6 am! The clouds came in but there was still some interesting alpenglow. Enough soft snow to keep us all happy. We went out over the humps of Pauls Ridge then took the regular trail back. Home to Vancouver by 3 pm after a stop at Galileo Coffee in Britannia Beach.”

Early Elfin Jan 24, 09 030

Mt Harvey 10/01/10

Snowshoe, ,

Rob M. on Mt harvey:
“It was a belated once-in-a-blue-moon hike – an overcast day with light precipitation expected around 4:30 pm. The freezing level was stuttering around 1200 m. Nine of us muscled our way up the logging road, shedding clothing along the way as the pace picked up. We managed to find the refrigerator sized trailhead of Harvey. Consensus was, we were glad to escape the logging road but concerned about the sudden and unrelenting increase in the gradient. All was forgotten when we came to the first lookout with clear midlevel views of the Howe Sound. The next piece of terrain drama was in that freezing level transition.

Some of us found purchase in offtrail snow while the rest of us bungled our way to a level where snowshoes were appropriate. There was some comfort in meeting the snowshoe hike description although around the tree burned ridge, there was 150m of elevation where the wind was acute in kind of an ugly way – enough to twist us about and make listening upwind difficult. Further along the ridge we took refuge and a break in a grove at the edge of the treeline. Gaining the first prominence along the ridge we looked up at Harvey and took a long gulp. The narrow ridge before us held 4 or 5 snowloaded steeplechase ridges and a summit that didn’t seem possible in 30 minutes.

I heard a voice rise up “let’s do it”. Unfettered by the 25lb monkeys on our backs we scrambled pell mell up the summit on our 4x4s. It was a race to the top as the ceiling was beginning to drop. Jiri, the first to summit had missed the 360 by a scant 15 minutes. We were able to tackle Harvey at an animated pace fuelled by a never ending stream of chocolates. Although standing on the small summit in a freezing jetstream wasn’t a compelling social environment, we were happy as clams. We did manage a toothy white on white on grey summit pic. The return hike was pretty much this TR played backwards. A light rain began to fall. It was 4:30 and we were back in Lions Bay. After a bit of exit finding we were in Horseshoe Bay for a celebratory hoist. I was impressed by the cultural diversity in the group and by how we all came together to make this hike successful.”

Deep windloaded ridge and the summit ahead.

Elfin Lakes 05/12/09

Overnighter, Snowshoe, ,

Rob M. at Elfin Lakes:
“From the snow-free parking lot we boot walked easily on compacted snow to the Red Heather hut. On snowshoes now, we took the extra wide poled traverses up Paul Ridge and to the winter route crossing some active and icy steep slopes before gaining the open ridge top with the eye-popping views as we approach the hut 6 km away. Three-and-a-half hours from parking lot to the Elfin Lakes, we drop our gear in the near-empty hut, carb up and head out. We sight a long line above the numerous gullies and below avalanche debris leading to the saddle. From the south end of the Columnar Peaks we gain a small shoulder where breaking a crusty trail, fierce winds and waning light force us back into the shelter for some fine wine, food and cards. A plan to be back at the trailhead by 3 pm and a persistent overnight howl didn’t hold us back from being on the trail at 8 am the next day, aiming at the south Columnar Peaks. Shortly before gaining the south ridge we realized the crust is getting thicker and that a fall might end up in a toboggan run into the hikers-hereafter-forevermore. We opt for a single line of tree wells leading close to the south peak. Out of the trees, we’re down on all fours buffeted by gale force winds along a very narrow exposed ridge to the peak for a harrowing but impressive 360. Returning, we take the aggressive gluteus line for the longest ass-wiping ever. We’re out of the hut by 1 pm. After two short breaks and one face-plant we’re back in the parking lot by 3 pm for pitchers and buffalo burgers you know where.”

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Hollyburn Peak 05/12/09

Snowshoe, ,

Carollyne on Hollyburn Peak:
“We enjoyed hard-packed, but not icy snow and a perfect blue sky on our snowshoe to Hollyburn Peak. The clear sky made for great views. The trail was popular with snowshoers and a few skiers as well. The snow was so hard-packed that snowshoes were not really needed, except for their grip on the steeper parts. One of us (not me) was smart enough to bring crampons, which were ideal for the conditions – except when sliding downhill. Excellent company made for an even better day. Trail to peak is open to Feb 1.”

Hollyburn Peak 22/11/09

Snowshoe,

Cara on Hollyburn:
“This trip was an absolute blast! Eight of us headed up the peak under brightening skies and light snow. The fresh snow on the trees was beautiful and a nice change from the rain of the previous trip. The creeks were almost covered up, though not quite. At the peak we enjoyed a quick snack, and Giri pulled out some home made gingerbread – yum! The real fun began on the way down as we jumped, somersaulted, slid and crashed our way down the mountain. We didn’t leave much “fresh stuff” behind. We rounded out the afternoon with a quick snack at the black bear pub in lynn valley before hitting the road for home. Thank you all for an awesome trip!”

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Dog Mountain 15/11/09

Snowshoe,

Cara on Dog Mountain:
“Zoltan, Marisa, Alex, Tom, and Gareth joined me on a fun but very wet snowshoe to Dog mountain. There was about 1 m of snow at the parking lot and it was raining heavily. The trip through the trees was beautiful, with the stream crossings still not completely covered. At the view point the wind picked up so we took a quick group shot, considered joining the crazy campers in their two-man, and beat a hasty retreat to the trees for some lunch. On the way out we detoured past First Lake and broke trail up to the junction above the parking lot. By the time we reach our cars, the rain/hail mix had turned into a determined downpour and we were completely drenched. Hot coffee provided a nice opportunity to chat before we packed up and headed home.”

Dog Mountain, November 15, 2009

Mt Harvey 12/11/09

Day hike, ,

Erez on Mt Harvey:
“On Thursday, four of us: Dan, Dorothy, Rob, and myself, headed to Lions Bay to climb Mt. Harvey. It was a little cloudy in the morning, but the weather improved considerably. Snow started at around 870 m and the snow was knee-deep at around 1100 m, and more than hip-deep near the top. When we reached the ridge, clouds began to cover Howe Sound. The Lions, however, were not covered. As we continued it got even cloudier. Only two of us had snowshoes, and so the other two (me included) decided to turn back and not reach the top as it didn’t seem that the view would be better there. There was a ton of snow up there, way more than I expected. All of us reached the car at around 16:30, after about 7 hours of hiking. I hope to return to Harvey, when it’s not so cloudy. It was a very nice hike with nice company.”

Harvey 3

The Chief 01/11/09

Day hike,

Ahmad on the Chief:
“Almost no people when we started at 10 am. It was the first time I’ve seen the Chief that empty especially on a nice day like today. Not much of a difference than it was one month ago except things seemed wetter and colder. The scramble is easy with ropes and all of us managed without a problem. The last one is difficult but the rope makes it easy. We went up also on the second peak and descended via the main trail. Dogs cannot get over the chained-steep section. We saw few dogs got stuck there. This trail is not obvious. It branches off in several places. It took us 6 hours at a luxury pace.”