Tag Archives: Squamish

Upper Shannon Falls 09/05/09

Day hike, ,

Su-Laine at Upper Shannon Falls:
“Upper Shannon Falls is an underrated trail in two respects. Where else, at 12:30 PM on a gorgeous Saturday, can you have an entire summit to yourself with beautiful views over Howe Sound? Other than the 185 m of staircase that it shares with the Stawamus Chief trail, this hike is uncrowded enough that you can feel that you’re getting away from it all. The trail is also underrated, though, in terms of difficulty. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s listed in a book called “109 Walks” or by memories of family picnics in the lower Shannon Falls area – on average this trail is about as steep as The Lions.

Our planned Cheakamus Lake trip didn’t happen. We got about 3 km into the 8.5 km logging road off Hwy 99 and had to turn back because of snow on the road. Vehicles with high clearance might be able to get to the trailhead, but I’m not sure. A stroll in Whistler after dinner took its place as our second hike of the day.”

04_Group Shot

Shannon Falls and the Chief 03/05/09

Day hike, ,

Heather at Upper Shannon Falls and the Chief:
“Nine of us outwitted the weather report and had a great day doing a double hike to upper Shannon Falls and then the 2nd and 3rd summit of the Stawamus Chief in Squamish. The group included a nice mix – from “first hike in Canada” to our local “Mountain Meister”, plus three other Wanderungers that we bumped into along the way. After all these years, I’d forgotten how steep the Chief is, but we all got a good workout and took extended lunch breaks on the bluffs overlooking Howe Sound and then on the second peak while watching the cute chipmunks running around. The chains and ladders between 1st and 2nd summit add excitement to the way up, and the loop trail between 2nd and 3rd summits is an easier, varied way of getting down. All of us enjoyed a good early season hike and great company.”

Cloudburst Mtn 02/05/09

Snowshoe, ,

Ahmad on Cloudburst Mountain:
“Dan, Trevor, Tamsyn, and I summited after six hours of hiking. The trip started by a maze of logging roads. We found the right one fairly soon after two trial-and-errors. I parked just before the snow line which was at 600 m altitude and 3.2 km from start of the logging road. We walked along the road which ends at 7 km. No marker after that. The next stage was to find a reasonable opening in steep rocky slopes which perhaps was the hardest part of our hike. Once we got to altitude 1200 m snow quality improved, slopes ranged from gentle to steep (but not too steep), and it was fun to snowshoe. There is only one short very steep section to gain the summit ridge. Route finding was essential. On the way back, We slid almost 400 m of elevation. It took us 4 hours to get back to the car.”

Elaho Valley 21/12/08

Day hike, Snowshoe, , , ,

Christian at Elaho Valley:
“After 1 hour of white-knuckle driving on unplowed highways before dawn, Stuart and I were on edge, as we were each feeling apprehensive about this trip!! We each traveled from different places to reach Squamish. Along the way, we encountered ground blizzards, covered signs, and could not see the edges of the road at times. We met at the Tim Hortons in Squamish and chatted about the weather and conditions before dawn. By dawn, the wind was gone and visibility was great. With a safety plan in mind of being back at the car before dark, we set out for the Elaho Main road. We saw some amazing eagles along the way. I was surprised to see six eagles in one tree (see Flickr). By the time we reached 28 mile, the snow was deep enough that it limited our vehicle speed to 25 km/h. We calculated that we would be spending more time driving than hiking. No fun there! So we turned back. Quickly found a great alternate hike at Alice Lake park. We decided to do the 8 km Lake loop. We broke trail for two hours and had a marvelous time. On our hike in the park, we encountered many families with their little pre-schoolers taking advantage of the small toboggan hills. It was a great day to be out! After our 2 hour hike around the four lakes, we went to the Brackendale coffee shop. We easily chatted away two hours of the day, long before dusk. All and all, a good time spent in Squamish on the Winter Solstice.”

Virgin trail on clear day - Elaho Valley trip, Dec 21

Alpen Mountain 14/12/08

Day hike, , , ,

Chris on Alpen Mountain:
“Cara, Darcy, Dean, Mathieu, Roberto, Siegfried and Tania joined me in a search for the Hidden Valley Cabin on Alpen Mountain just east of Squamish. The Mamquam River Main (not the same road as the Mamquam Road that accesses the Elfin Lakes trail – this one is unsigned and just after the parking for the Chief) seems to see a fair amount of local traffic and was drivable to the Alpen Rd. The gate here was open so we drove in and parked just short of the first waterbar (200–300 metres up). Despite ferocious winds on the 99 and in Squamish, we encountered only light breezes even in exposed areas. But temperatures averaged around -10 C. We followed the main road but made a wrong turn about half way up (there are a lot of spurs) which lead us to a dead-end. After an attempt to cross-country to the main road, we gave up and back-tracked to the main road. Part of our party headed higher but still didn’t reach the cabin (locals said that it would have taken 4 – 4.5 hrs from the bottom). The snow varied from a couple inches at the cars to 2 feet of weightless powder around 1200 m.”

Garibaldi Massive from Alpen