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The Fissile is the stunning Matterhorn-looking mountain that is visible from Village Gate Boulevard in Whistler. Looking up from Village Gate you will see the distant Peak2Peak Gondola spanning Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain. In the background distance you will see The Fissile. In the bright sunshine of summer it will be vibrantly coloured red. In the evening it turns dark red then fades into an ominous black. In the winter months, of course, The Fissile is a striking, white pyramid.
Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking
Alexander Falls 
Ancient Cedars 
Black Tusk 
Blackcomb Mountain Brandywine Falls Brandywine Meadows Brew Lake Callaghan Lake Cheakamus Lake 
Cheakamus River 
Cirque Lake Flank Trail Garibaldi Lake Garibaldi Park Helm Creek Jane Lakes Joffre Lakes Keyhole Hot Springs Logger’s Lake Madeley Lake Meager Hot Springs Nairn Falls Newt Lake Panorama Ridge Parkhurst Ghost Town Rainbow Falls Rainbow Lake Ring Lake Russet Lake Sea to Sky Trail Skookumchuck Hot Springs Sloquet Hot Springs 
Sproatt East Sproatt West Taylor Meadows Train Wreck 
Wedgemount Lake Whistler Mountain
January February 
March April May 
June July August 
September October November December
For newcomers to Whistler, The Fissile can go unnoticed for weeks, or even months. Until you find yourself at one of the many perfect vantage points to this beautiful mountain peak, such as Village Gate Boulevard. One little known fact about Whistler is how intricately designed the Village is. The Village Gate entrance to Whistler Village was designed in the late 70’s with one thing in mind. It had to have a view of The Fissile. Originally called Red Mountain, it wasn’t until 1965 the name was changed to The Fissile. One motivation may have been the fact that Red Mountain is a very common mountain name. Two local Whistler legends, Karl Ricker and Neal Carter suggested the name. Karl Ricker was the mountaineering pioneer that, along with Bert Port, Chris Gardner and Alistair MacDonald that skied and mapped out the Spearhead Traverse in 1964. Neal Carter was an even earlier mountaineering pioneer that was the first to explore many Whistler area mountains in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Photographing and documenting many first ascents of Whistler area mountains like Wedge Mountain and Mount James Turner. The name The Fissile is derived from the geological term fissility. Fissility refers to the tendency of certain rocks to split along flat planes of weakness. Sedimentary rocks like shale and slate to develop planes of weakness along layers during compaction. The Fissile is a mountain of red slate and a remarkably beautiful example of a mountain showing fissility.
Peak2Peak Gondola and Overlord and The Fissile in the Distance
Peak2Peak Gondola and The Fissile
The Fissile and Russet Lake
The Fissile is part of Fitzsimmons Range and towers above Russet Lake. One of the many amazing campgrounds in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile has Russet Lake on one side and Overlord Mountain and Overlord Glacier on the other side. Russet Lake can be hiked to via the astoundingly beautiful Musical Bumps trail and the High Note Trail which start from the top of Whistler Mountain. To get to the top of Whistler Mountain you ride up the Whistler Gondola and then the frighteningly steep, though exhilarating Peak Express Chair. Alternatively you can hike to Russet Lake for free from Whistler Village via the Singing Pass trail which is the original route to The Fissile, Overlord Mountain and the alpine of Whistler Mountain.
Overlord Glacier and The Fissile
Overlord Glacier from Blackcomb Mountain
Geological Origin of The Fissile
The Fissile is quite a distinct mountain in Garibaldi Provincial Park because of its vivid red colour and symmetrical arrowhead shape. There is another, even more remarkable feature of The Fissile, its age. The sedimentary rock that would eventually become The Fissile was laid down more than 200 million years ago. The Fissile began its life as sedimentary rock formed in a shallow sea along the coast of North America. As tectonic plates pushed into the North American Plate from the Pacific, the Coast Mountains were formed over millions of years. The Coast Mountains are almost entirely comprised of geologically young mountains comprised of volcanic rock as opposed to The Fissile's ancient, crumbling slate. Black Tusk, for example is strikingly youthful at just over a million years old.
Fissility: the tendency of certain rocks to split along flat planes of weakness.
For decades The Fissile has been a destination and playground for outdoor adventure seekers year-round. In the winter it is one end of the popular Spearhead Traverse. The Fissile itself is a skiing destination on its own for expert skiiers/snowboarders. In the summer The Fissile is next to a lot of Garibaldi Park hiking and camping activity at Russet Lake. From the Russet Lake campground, the summit of The Fissile is quite close, but a very challenging and potentially dangerous scramble to the top.
Neal Carter (14 Dec 1902 - 15 Mar 1978) was an early explorer of the Coast Mountains around what would eventually be called Whistler Valley. In the summer ...
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Col: a ridge between two higher peaks, a mountain pass or saddle. More specifically is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks. Sometimes ...
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Accumulation Zone: the area where snow accumulations exceeds melt, located above the firn line. Snowfall accumulates faster than melting, evaporation and ...
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Columnar Jointing: bizarre looking columns of oddly angular rock formations that can be found in many places around Whistler and worldwide. Generally ...
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If you make it to the summit of Wedge Mountain you will notice off in the distance a beautifully symmetrical mountain that stands out among the rest. ...
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Russet Lake sits in a wide, glacier carved valley at the base of The Fissile. In the direction opposite The Fissile, up on a plateau less than a ...
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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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Cornice: a wind deposited wave of snow on a ridge, often overhanging a steep slope or cliff. They are the result of snow building up on the crest of a ...
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In the(usually) deep March snow of Whistler you have an amazing array of snowshoeing options. If you have not been to the Whistler Train Wreck, you have ...
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April in Whistler is a wonderful time of year. The winter deep freeze ends and T-shirt weather erupts. The village comes alive with overflowing patios and ...
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May is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year in Whistler. The days are longer and warmer and a great lull in between seasons happens. Whistler is fairly ...
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June is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler. The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f). The summer tourist ...
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Taylor Meadows is a very scenic campsite and great alternative to the much busier and more well known, Garibaldi Lake campsite. Located in Garibaldi Provincial Park between Garibaldi Lake and Black Tusk, ...
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Wedgemount Lake itself is a magnificent destination for a day hike or spectacular overnight beneath the dazzling mountain peaks and stars above Garibaldi Provincial Park. Many sleep under the stars on one of ...
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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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Brandywine Meadows is a nice, relatively short hike to a massive flower filled valley high up in Callaghan Valley. Located 40 minutes south of Whistler, this tough and sometimes muddy trail gains a huge 550 ...
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