Nov 25-26, 2006, - Elfin Lakes, Garibaldi Park
11/25/06
Canada BC
3050
3
What a weekend! I cannot remember this much dry powder so close to the ocean. (Not that I remember much ;)).
We did 8 laps off Paul's Ridge on the way to the Elfin Lakes cabin, visibility was relatively good, almost no wind, but skiing close to the trees was better than the bowls. There is anywhere between 0.5-1 m (20-40 in) of fresh dry powder, the temperature was hovering around -5°C (23°F) all day dropping down to -9°C at 8PM. This is all around 1350 m (4,430 ft).
On the way back the same story, except there was a bit more snow and it was even colder, -7°C (19°C) around 1PM. We again did about 8 runs off Paul's Ridge, except it was getting hard to find steep enough terrain to pick up speed for turns. At one point I straighlined around 50 m (160 ft), 40° gully without really picking up speed for an easy turn. Not that I am complaining ;).
We saw no signs of avalanches, probing with a pole did not indicate any layer interface within 1 m (3.3 ft).
The track from Elfin lakes Hut to Red Heather was blown over with fresh snow so we had to break trail, heavy work! The skiout from the Red Heather warming hut was awesome luge track. We're down in what seemed like 5 minutes.
The road from the parking lot to the park boundary was plowed and it was sanded from the park boundary to Squamish. There were BC Park rangers at the lot checking on people and they advised us to put on snow chains which we did and got out just fine (Forester with all-season tires and front wheel snow chains). But on the way down we saw cars park in awkward spots and one 4WD in a ditch (the guys did not look happy at all; it costs $500 for the tow truck to come to your rescue there on Sunday night).
Some pictures from the trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/runningclouds/sets/72157594395415594/
We did 8 laps off Paul's Ridge on the way to the Elfin Lakes cabin, visibility was relatively good, almost no wind, but skiing close to the trees was better than the bowls. There is anywhere between 0.5-1 m (20-40 in) of fresh dry powder, the temperature was hovering around -5°C (23°F) all day dropping down to -9°C at 8PM. This is all around 1350 m (4,430 ft).
On the way back the same story, except there was a bit more snow and it was even colder, -7°C (19°C) around 1PM. We again did about 8 runs off Paul's Ridge, except it was getting hard to find steep enough terrain to pick up speed for turns. At one point I straighlined around 50 m (160 ft), 40° gully without really picking up speed for an easy turn. Not that I am complaining ;).
We saw no signs of avalanches, probing with a pole did not indicate any layer interface within 1 m (3.3 ft).
The track from Elfin lakes Hut to Red Heather was blown over with fresh snow so we had to break trail, heavy work! The skiout from the Red Heather warming hut was awesome luge track. We're down in what seemed like 5 minutes.
The road from the parking lot to the park boundary was plowed and it was sanded from the park boundary to Squamish. There were BC Park rangers at the lot checking on people and they advised us to put on snow chains which we did and got out just fine (Forester with all-season tires and front wheel snow chains). But on the way down we saw cars park in awkward spots and one 4WD in a ditch (the guys did not look happy at all; it costs $500 for the tow truck to come to your rescue there on Sunday night).
Some pictures from the trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/runningclouds/sets/72157594395415594/
Looks great. I've only been in there last April and want to hit it again. Is there any reliable way to find out whether the access road is open? and was the Elfin Lakes Hut crowded at all?
We followed the plow up on friday - trail was broken to the heather hut, and we extended the track to the top of the ridge - slow going... The feeling of weightless turns off the top of the ridge was wonderful! We came down that 'toboggan run' on saturday, passing many others coming up, then explored whistler (for easier trail breaking) on sunday.
Beautiful sunrise saturday morning... then it snowed, and didn't stop until we got back to Seattle sunday evening!
- Kevin
Beautiful sunrise saturday morning... then it snowed, and didn't stop until we got back to Seattle sunday evening!
- Kevin
The road is supposed to be open all winter. There is a parking fee system that pays for the plowing, most of the time the road is drivable with a 2WD with chains. Last winter the road was reliably plowed during and after each snowfall; the road sees a lot of cars every weekend so it is a safe bet it will be plowed on Fridays or Saturday morning. They did plow it this past Sunday afternoon to get people out, although the plow could not get the last mile or so because of cars parked on the road (some were 200 meters from the lower parking lot, it is beyond my comprehension but then I don't understand a lot of people's intensions >:(
You can get updates at:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/garibald.html
Click on trail updates half way down the page. It is not updated too frequently, every 14 days or so.
The hut wasn't crowded at all; there were 12 people there (including us) plus a couple who tented just outside the hut. The heater kept the upstairs at reasonable 13°C. If it keeps snowing like this the hut might be under snow quite soon, it already required 2-3 steps down to the main entrance.
You can get updates at:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/garibald.html
Click on trail updates half way down the page. It is not updated too frequently, every 14 days or so.
The hut wasn't crowded at all; there were 12 people there (including us) plus a couple who tented just outside the hut. The heater kept the upstairs at reasonable 13°C. If it keeps snowing like this the hut might be under snow quite soon, it already required 2-3 steps down to the main entrance.
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