Massif is a term used in geology to refer to a compact group of connected mountains that easily identify into one large mountain mass. Massif is a French word that means “massive”. The Fitzsimmons Range includes several locally famous summits, including the summit of Whistler Mountain, Oboe Summit, Piccolo Summit and Flute Summit. These form the Musical Bumps trail which is a gorgeous route to the Russet Lake campground in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Next to Russet Lake is The Fissile and next to The Fissile is Overlord Mountain. Near Russet Lake and connecting to the Musical Bumps trail is the Singing Pass trail that descends along Fitzsimmons Creek to Whistler Village at the base of Whistler Mountain. The Fitzsimmons Range, Fitzsimmons Creek, Mount Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons Glacier are named after Jimmy Fitzsimmons, a prospector that mined Whistler Mountain a century ago. He cut a trail up between Blackcomb Mountain and Whistler Mountain to his cabin. What today we call the Singing Pass trail and Whistler Mountain, at the time was called Avalanche Pass and London Mountain. If you have hiked the Singing Pass trail to Whistler Mountain or Russet Lake, you will understand how appropriate the name Avalanche Pass was. There are several creek crossings that are frequently brutalized by winter avalanches. One section of the old access road to the original trailhead/parking lot was wiped out by an avalanche decades ago and has yet to be fixed, adding almost 5 kilometres to the trail!
The Fitzsimmons Range is a subsection of the Garibaldi Ranges, which in turn is a subsection of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. Deriving its name from Mount Garibaldi, the Garibaldi Ranges cover the huge stretch of mountains between two enormous river valleys. The Lillooet River valley on the east side and the Cheakamus River/Green River valley on the west. Whistler is located on the west edge of the Garibaldi Ranges, while Pemberton near the north end and Vancouver at the south end. Other subdivisions of the Garibaldi Ranges include Garibaldi Névé, McBride Range, Spearhead Range, Golden Ears, Misty Icefield and the Bastion Range.
The McBride Range is a subsection of the Garibaldi Ranges and covers a 357 square kilometre area east of Cheakamus Lake and Garibaldi Lake. Where the Spearhead Range ends, the McBride Range begins. Owing to its central location in the middle of Garibaldi Provincial Park, the McBride Range is often referred to as the backbone of Garibaldi Park. The McBride Range is a morass of brutally steep mountains and glacier valleys that expert skiers have plotted a route through. The McBride Traverse is an astoundingly difficult and beautiful, week long route through the McBride Range. Along the route you encounter several monster mountains with wonderful names, including Decker Mountain, Mount Patterson, Tremor Mountain, Sir Richard Mountain, The Gatekeeper, Forger Peaks, Isosceles Peak, Mount Carr, The Bookworms and The Sphinx.
Garibaldi Névé
The Garibaldi Névé is the large icefield that stretches out along the east side of Mount Garibaldi. With a size of 35 square kilometers(14 square miles), the Garibaldi Névé is a subdivision of the Garibaldi Ranges, which in turn is a subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. The Garibaldi Névé Traverse is a tremendously beautiful and very treacherous winter skiing route that runs between Elfin Lakes and Garibaldi Lake. It is generally done as a three day expedition beginning and ending at two BC Parks Garibaldi Provincial Park trailheads. The Diamond Head(Garibaldi) trailhead in Squamish and the Rubble Creek, Black Tusk(Garibaldi) trailhead halfway between Squamish and Whistler. A common itinerary is the Diamond Head(Garibaldi) trailhead to Elfin Lakes on the first day. Sleeping in the very nice and well equipped Elfin Lakes hut. The second day covers the difficult Garibaldi Névé which runs from the Opal Cone north of Elfin Lakes to the foot of Sentinel Glacier northeast of The Table. The second night is usually spent at the Burton Hut at the east end of Garibaldi Lake. The third day involves crossing the length of Garibaldi Lake to the Garibaldi Lake campground and then the comparatively easy descent to Rubble Creek. The south to north route is favoured over the north south route because of the net elevation loss and much prized north facing ski descents.
The Garibaldi Ranges are a subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains. Deriving its name from Mount Garibaldi, the Garibaldi Ranges cover ...
The Rubble Creek trailhead is the main access point for many of the best hikes and sights in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Rubble Creek is located midway ...
Mount Garibaldi is the huge, potentially active volcano that Garibaldi Provincial Park is named after. Mount Garibaldi also lends its name to the Garibaldi ...
Armchair Glacier is one of the many easily identifiable mountain features around Whistler. Along with Wedge Mountain and Black Tusk, Armchair Glacier has a ...
The Cordilleran Ice Sheet covered most of north-west North America for much of the last 2.6 million years. At the Last Glacial Maximum during the Last ...
When you hike in the alpine in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park, you will often encounter unbelievably hardy and sometimes mangled looking trees. ...
Alpine Zone or Alpine Tundra is the area above the treeline, often characterized by stunted, sparse forests of krummholz and pristine, turquoise lakes. Mount ...
Cheakamus Lake is a wonderfully relaxing way to get in the wilderness easily and quickly from Whistler Village. The trail begins on the far side of Whistler Mountain, 8 kilometres from the Sea to Sky Highway ...
The short, winding, and ever-changing hiking trail to Rainbow Falls is the same as the much more popular trailhead for Rainbow Lake. The trailhead is marked as the Rainbow Trail, and the trail quickly ...
Alexander Falls is a very impressive 43 metre/141 foot waterfall just 30 to 40 minutes south of Whistler in the Callaghan Valley. Open year-round and located just before Whistler Olympic Park where several ...
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 ...