Garibaldi Park Whistler A to Z: CloudrakerThe Cloudraker Skybridge and the Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk are new additions to the summit of Whistler Mountain.  The Cloudraker Skybridge stretches 130 metres from just steps from the top of the Peak Express Chair across to the West Ridge.  The Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk is a viewing platform that extends over 12 metres up and out from the West Ridge.  Both of these exhilarating viewing areas tower way above Whistler Bowl.

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

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The Raven's Eye Cliff Walk gives you wonderful views over the Whistler valley as well as an excellent vantage point of the Peak Express Chair with Blackcomb Mountain and the Spearhead Range in the background.  The Spearhead Range encompasses Blackcomb Mountain and the Fitzsimmons Range includes Whistler Mountain and extends to Overlord MountainOverlord Mountain is where the two mountain ranges meet, separated by Fitzsimmons Creek that runs through Whistler Village into Green Lake.  At Whistler’s peak you can hike the cliffs adjacent to the top of the Peak Express Chair on the Whistler Summit Interpretive Walk.  This rugged, though very easy 1.6 kilometre set of trails can be done as a figure 8 loop trail.  The large area to the right as you exit the Peak Express Chair with the Inukshuk and the Cloudraker Skybridge is one side of the figure 8 and the other side ascends up past the Peak Express Chair to some incredible lookouts and interpretive information boards before bending back to meet Mathews’ Traverse, the gravel road that brings you back to where you started.  Many follow Mathews’ Traverse down to the Roundhouse Lodge on a constantly descending and gorgeous 3.2 kilometre or 2 mile route past several stunning views and through the Whistler ice walls.

Whistler Mountain Riding the Peak Chair

Cloudraker Skybridge from the Peak Express Chair

The Whistler Summit Interpretive Walk is quite easy and two much more challenging hiking trails can be found starting at the trailhead located next to the inuksuk just past the Cloudraker Skybridge and Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk.  The Half Note Trail and the High Note Trail both start here.  The Half Note Trail is a beautiful trail that follows the ridge of Whistler Mountain overlooking Cheakamus Lake.  It bends back and connects to Pika’s Traverse Road which takes you back to the Roundhouse Lodge.  This route is 5.5 kilometres or 3.4 miles and should take you 2 to 3 hours from the start at the top of the Peak Express Chair to the end at the Roundhouse Lodge

Whistler Mountain Mathews Traverse Ice Walls

Alternatively you could take the much shorter Mathews’ Traverse Road(instead of Pika’s Traverse) back up to the summit of Whistler Mountain and ride the Peak Express Chair back down to the Roundhouse Lodge(via the short Peak Express Traverse trail).  Where the Half Note trail veers back, the High Note trail continues.  This much longer route takes you deeper into Garibaldi Provincial Park before meeting the junction to the Musical Bumps trail at Piccolo Summit.  The High Note trail sinks into the valley in the shadow of Whistler Mountain and past Symphony Lake and Harmony Lake before reaching the Roundhouse Lodge.  The High Note trail from the Cloudraker Skybridge to the Roundhouse Lodge is 11 kilometres or 6.8 miles and takes most hikers 4-5 hours.

Cloudraker Skybridge Whistler

Cloudraker Skybridge Whistler

Whistler Mountain Hiking Trails

Whistler Mountain Pay Use Hiking Trails Easy to ModerateWhistler Mountain has a dozen named hiking trails that range from extremely easy and short to very challenging and long.  All of them are pretty beautiful on their own, however all of them tend to be combined with others into routes, depending on what hikers are after and how much time and effort they want to put in.  Another factor is the time of year and snowpack.  In May and much of June, for example, you won’t have the Peak Express Chair running and almost every trail will be still buried in snow.  If you are short on time and want to get to the obvious highlights, you will ride the Whistler Gondola to the Roundhouse Lodge, ride the Peak Express Chair to the summit of Whistler Mountain, see the Cloudraker Skybridge and Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk, inuksuk, Interpretive Walk, then ride back down to Whistler Village.  If you are wanting more of a hike, you will not return via the Peak Express Chair, but instead hike the Half Note trail and check out the snow wall on Mathews’ Traverse.  This route takes only a couple hours, but takes in a tremendous variety of sights and endless viewpoints.

Whistler Mountain Russet Lake Map v20

Bench: a flat section in steep terrain.  Characteristically narrow, flat or gently sloping with steep or vertical slopes on either side.  A bench can be ...
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The Roundhouse Lodge is the centre of activity on much of Whistler Mountain.  It is where the Whistler Gondola drops off and next to where the Peak 2 Peak ...
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Adjacent to the huge Caterpillar tractor in Parkhurst is a large disintegrating wooden dock that is a great place to take in the wonderful view of Green ...
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When you hike in the alpine in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park, you will often encounter unbelievably hardy and sometimes mangled looking trees.  ...
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Aiguille: a tall, narrow, characteristically distinct spire of rock. From the French word for "needle". Used extensively as part of the names for many ...
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The second Caterpillar tractor in Parkhurst Ghost Town is considerably harder to find despite being just a few metres from the hulking Caterpillar at the shore ...
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The rocky and narrow row of islands in Garibaldi Lake just offshore from the Garibaldi Lake campsite are known as Battleship Islands.  Named by the ...
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The Fitzsimmons Range is a subsection of the Garibaldi Ranges that covers the area between the valleys of Cheakamus Lake and Fitzsimmons Creek.  Fitzsimmons ...
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June is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Park.  The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f).  ...
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July is a wonderful time to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.  The weather is beautiful and the snow on high elevation hiking trails is long ...
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August hiking in Whistler definitely has the most consistently great, hot weather.  You can feel the rare pleasure of walking across a glacier shirtless and ...
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September hiking in Whistler is possibly the best month of all.  The snow has melted far up to the mountain tops, yet the temperatures are still quite high.  ...
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Whistler and Garibaldi Park Hiking Gear Rental

Sloquet Hot Springs is a wonderfully wild set of shallow, man-made pools fed by a small, all natural, and very hot, waterfall. The pools stretch from the waterfall to the large and crashing Sloquet River. The ...
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Russet Lake is a surreal little paradise that lays at the base of The Fissile, in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile is the strikingly bronze mountain visible from Whistler Village.  From the Village ...
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The Sea to Sky Trail is a 180 kilometre multi-use trail that runs from Squamish to D'Arcy. The trail is still under construction in many parts, however, the amazing route through Whistler is finally in ...
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Joffre Lakes Provincial Park is a gorgeous park with extraordinarily coloured lakes, waterfalls, stunning mountain peaks and ominous glaciers pouring into the valley.  Joffre Lakes is one of those incredible ...
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