Colleen C. at Memaloose Peak:
“Great day to be out in the mountains! I was surprised to hear about the chaos on the Coquihalla – Highway 3 through Manning was a breeze. All day we had light flurries of teeny snowflakes that floated down even through the long periods of dazzling sunshine. Snowshoes were on from the start. Snow conditions made for easy travel most of the day, though the descent went through some wetter, looser snow sections that required some careful lines. We chose to take a different route than I had originally planned, following some old tracks immediately up to the ridge. This allowed us to explore more of the bumps along the ridge (one of which was topped with an eerily beautiful patch of dead trees due to a lightning fire) and then dropping down to the valley bottom for the straightforward hike out to make it into a nice loop. Due to gaining the ridge earlier than planned, much chatting, enjoying views and rambling, we didn’t reach the summit, so I’ll definitely be back here again soon.”
Category Archives: Snowshoe
Joffre Lakes, 26 Mar 2017
Chris N. at Joffre Lakes:
“About 3/4 of the main parking lot at Joffre is plowed but there’s still enough snow that you’ll lose traction with 2wd if you drive in too far. Parking close to the exit means you won’t need much of a push. There were about 10 cars in the lot when we were there – a far cry from the 200+ you’ll see on a summer’s day. The snow at the beginning was wet and sticky but improved with elevation. All the lakes are frozen but there is a layer of slush covered by another layer of snow on top of the ice on the first lake. The inlets and outlets of all the lakes are ice free so give these areas wide berths. If you follow the winter trail across the lake, you might prefer snowshoes but most of the route can be done in microspikes with minimal post-holing. Weather was changeable – a bit of cloud with the sun trying to peek out at times interspersed with snow showers. Temperatures varied from about 0 C in the parking lot to maybe -5 C with a bit of wind at our high point. We reached the third lake in under 2 hours, had lunch and spent a bit of time exploring.”
Windy Joe, 25 Feb 2017
Colleen C. on Windy Joe:
“It was a great group that joined me for a snowshoe up to the Windy Joe fire lookout. It was a pretty uneventful, straightforward drive and hike – which personally was appreciated after a few recent misadventures! Particular thanks to Lisa for driving all the way out from White Rock, Phil for bringing homemade cookies, Haiying for supplying zip ties for makeshift snowshoe repairs, and Gail for good conversation.
The trail was packed all the way and follows an obvious path up, fairly low snow levels overall and few deadfalls. Just a heads up that the start is now along the first couple of km of the Similkameen trail. Seems like this is due to a permanent loss of a bridge, so some of the info online is out-of-date and the km markers higher up are a little out. The Club Tread route info page was accurate.”
Mt Seymour, 8 Jan 2017
Chris N. on Mt Seymour:
“Snow was somewhat wet and heavy almost all the way to the first peak. If you stuck to the trail, snowshoes were probably not needed (but you would posthole off trail). Given the amount of snow lower down, I had expected more higher up but it may have been due to wind scour. Around the peak, there was a stiff wind crust and small pockets of wind-deposited powder. Many trees were bending under a load of crusty, icy snow and snowbombs were frequent (and dangerous as they were large and icy). Surprisingly, trail traffic was relatively light for a snowy weekend. Temperatures were warm with a slight inversion – slightly above freezing at the peak and warmer than the city at the parking lot. Visibility was outstanding but flurries moved in while we were on the peak. This became rain as we descended below Brockton Point.”
Mt Kelly, 17 Apr 2016
Phil A. on Mt Kelly:
“Lured by blue skies and warm temperatures, we set out to conquer Mount Kelly and the ridge to Nordheim Peak in Manning Park. We attacked from Allison Pass (N49° 06.924′ W120° 51.805′). The road had snow from the get go. After getting off track due to some fallen trees we had to bushwhack back on course. At the end of the road, the trail through the woods to the peak of Mount Kelly was slightly difficult to follow due to inconsistent flagging. Once at the peak, the trees thinned out and we easily navigated along the snow-covered ridge (which progressively slushed up in the spring sun). We then walked almost to Nordheim Peak to luxuriate in the sunshine before heading back.
Total elevation gain: 1400 m.
Snowline: Dependent on the side of the mountain, but the road was covered from the road/trail up. Snowshoes necessary.
Distance: 18 km.
Total Time: 7.5 hrs including lunch, breaks, and faffing.”
Mt Seymour, 20 Feb 2016
Chris N. on Mt Seymour:
“The weather was exactly as predicted but the snow conditions were better than I had anticipated. We arrived at the Mt Seymour parking area about 10 am and parked across from the tubing area. The temperature was about freezing and we were treated to about 1/2 hour of light ice pellets before the precipitation stopped. There’s about 1 m of snow at the parking area but over 2 m less than 1 km up the trail. The snow below Brockton Point was heavy and sticky but much nicer past this point. Snowshoes would be advised beyond Brockton Point to prevent postholing. Avalanche conditions were listed as moderate below treeline and considerable at treeline. It was quite foggy at Pump Peak with visibility dipping to about 50 m at times and very flat light. After a lunch stop, we continued on to Second Peak following some ski tracks to the base of the gulley (no snowshoers had ventured further than the first peak that day). The ice pellets rolled underfoot and slowed our accent. The sun peeked out on our descent and provided some really nice lighting.”
Deroche Mountain, 31 Jan 2016
Colleen C. on Deroche Mountain:
“Four snowshoers
Eight cookies
Fifty-four waterbars
Two lakes
Wait, how many waterbars?!
Yes, that’s right FIFTY-FOUR waterbars on this hike! I’ve never seen so many or some so deep on a relatively short stretch of logging road – and as a born and raised BCer, I’ve seen a lot of waterbars in my life.
I’d been warned about these so-called “monster waterbars” but brushed it off as an exaggeration by folks who perhaps didn’t have much experience about how BC deactivates its logging roads. Well, crow eaten. And let me tell you that’s tough for a crow admiring vegetarian.
That said, I perversely found it great fun, both climbing through them and counting them on the way back. We didn’t make the summit so I’ll be re-visiting this area soon. If anyone happens to go before I can get back, let me know your waterbar count (in my astoundedness maybe I miscounted one or two). Though I’d recommend waiting for a bit more snow or a rather a lot less.
The snow conditions may have made some more tricky than usual, but for this I defined a “waterbar” as a distinct, steep down & up all along the length of the Hanson Creek road. Some were natural creek washouts,
rather than dug out by a mad excavator operator futilely but energetically trying to dig a tunnel to China, but not many.
Rainbow Lake, 3 Jan 2016
Jaime A. at Rainbow Lake:
“Eight of us woke up early and braved the frozen fog morning to head out to Rainbow Lake. The trailhead is found along a residential back road in Whistler just off Alta Rd, very accessible. The icy wind at the trailhead had us and our hands frozen in seconds, but we left it behind as soon as we ducked into the trees. Thanks to the full week of perfect, blue-bird days the trail was hard packed and manageable with boots or micro-spikes up until around 5.5 km, where the trail split into a fork, the left side headed to Madely and the right to Rainbow. The trail thinned out after that and the accidental post-holing increased.
The meadows before the lake were stunning with hoar frost that was bigger and more dramatic than any of us had ever seen. It was also the first bit of sun that we had encountered the entire way so it felt great on our frozen faces. We had a very quick lunch on the sunny lake and had to leave the sun behind to try and make it back to the cars before dark, which we did.
It took us 6.5 hours to do the 16 km snowshoe. Impressive for a group of 8 but it was too cold to stop for breaks! The trail markers were few and far between along here, mostly buried under the snow, but we had a packed trail to guide us. Route-finding here would be straight-forward, but trickier in fresh pow. The lack of sun along this trail puts it onto an overcast hiking list for me but it was a great snowshoe with lots of exploring potential beyond and around Rainbow Lake.”
Mt Sproatt, 20 Dec 2015
Colleen C. on Mt Sproatt:
“An intrepid crew of five joined me in an exploratory trip up Mt Sproatt. All of them not merely undeterred by my warnings of cloudy weather, deep snow and tough trailbreaking, but full on embracing it!
Knowing the challenging day ahead, we were well prepared with colourful toques, thermoses of tea, layers galore, headlamps with fresh batteries, GPS, maps, compasses, walkie talkies, avy gear and cookies. Due to the heavy snow conditions and limited daylight hours, we didn’t make the summit but we gave it a good shot and enjoyed a full day in winter paradise. Given the slow slog that is breaking trail uphill, it was about 5 hours up and less than an hour down.
I asked everyone for a memorable moment from the day:
Colleen: Take nearly two metres of pristine fresh powdery snow. Add one snowshoer who’s determined to move through it by any means possible. Result, invention of new sport, snow swimming!
Estafan: The highlight of the day was when my foot decided to go down a hole in the snow above a small creek. I thought it fell into the creek but it didn’t. I’ve got to hand it to Fred the Energizer Bunny for pulling me out of that rabbit hole with such ease!
Darcy: The trees were draped in snow like a village of ghosts. It was challenging but rewarding to climb up steep slopes of snow, wading through waist deep whiteness.
Stephen: The best part was listening to skiers on Whistler Blackcomb narrate their super-exciting day on the slopes over the walkie talkie. My attempt to spice things up with a turkey joke didn’t get any response though. Tough crowd.
Chris: My favourite part on steep snowshoe trips is always coming down. And there were some great drop-offs on this trip to ski over. I probably broke my snowshoe foot plate on one of those descents. You can get replacement bindings at MEC but they don’t stock them – you have to order them. Hopefully, I will get my replacement in time for my holidays!
I didn’t get a quote from Fred, but I know the rest of us won’t forget pushing his car halfway up a looong hill!
Thanks everyone for contributing to a fun trip. Special thanks to drivers Fred and Chris.”
Elfin Lakes, 17 Apr 2015
Audrey at Elfin Lakes:
“I did a last minute callout on a Thursday when the weather forecast announced 4 days of amazing sunshine – indeed, the sun was out the whole time! I also found out about the shelter at Elfin Lakes and thought a weekday outside the summer seemed just perfect to enjoy such a popular spot. Elfin Lakes can be done in a day, but you would miss the best part: the sunset from the deck of the shelter, and the lovely chat with very nice people around your evening dinner 🙂
Stan and I started going up at about 1.30 pm Friday and reached Red Heather after 1h 30m, with snow from halfway. It took us 3 more hours on an amazing ridge with 360° views, to get to Elfin Lakes (which were of course, frozen!) Snowshoes were definitely required from Red Heather to Elfin Lakes because of the new, deep layer of snow that had fallen the week before. We saw many people the next day going up without them, but it was way easier and faster with them!
This was an amazing hike, with great views, a really slow way up (600 m in 11 km) and the shelter has everything you need: bunkbeds, stoves and even electricity (+ an outside pit toilet). Wow! It’s really worth the scramble in the snow! The landscape up there is gorgeous, especially with all the snow.
On Saturday, we took some time to explore the trails going further (unlike the winter trail to Elfin Lakes, which is very well marked and easy to find, trails going further are unmarked), but going further would require to spend one more day up there (especially with all the snow). It took us 3h 30m to go back and we ended the trip with a visit to Howe Sound Brewery in Squamish, yum!
What a fantastic trip, and also my first callout, thanks again for all the help through Facebook!”
