Neve Traverse + The Gargoyles
March 28, 2023
At 1am I was driving over the Lionsgate bridge when I was stopped by a police blockade.
– Hello ma’am, have you been drinking tonight?
– No sir, I am actually starting my day right now, not ending it
*cop looks into my backseat and sees all my ski gear*
– And where are you off to at this hour?
– To ski the Neve traverse from Squamish to Whistler!
The cop nodded me by with a little shrug, but I found this interaction really entertaining. I am very sure he was not expecting that answer!
I made the drive to the Rubble Creek parking lot alone, and met Mike who was parking his car there for the day. This was the beginning of what we call the “car shuffle” or the “car dance,” something that’s required for us to do a traverse. I heard that back in the day people would hitchhike, but seeing as this is no longer a reasonable option, we’re limited to our car dance. We moved Mike’s stuff into Francis’ truck, who had kindly let me borrow it to navigate the Elfin Lakes trailhead, and then took off back for Squamish. Around 4am, we were all set and moving on the trail to Elfin lakes.
Around this time I started to feel pretty queasy and nauseous. I guess I’d been up for a few hours already and my body was confused on whether it was hungry or tired, and either way walking didn’t seem like the solution. We stopped on the trail for a few minutes while I forced down some calories, and Mike being the great friend that he is told me he wouldn’t hold it against me if we backed off this time. We were in for a long day and it was probably a good idea if I was feeling my best. However, since we already had put in the effort to get the cars in place, I was pretty set on giving this traverse my best shot. I knew I was in the best shape of the season, and this was our go time.
After a couple more slightly miserable and exhausted hours of plodding in the dark, the sun finally began to rise as we reached the red heather hut. As with any overnight mission, suddenly everyone’s spirits start to lift with the sun, and our motivation do get this thing done skyrocketed. We did a quick tag of Round Mountain true summit to get the tick for my challenge, then continued on toward Elfin lakes. As the sun rose in the sky, the wind also picked up. We’d seen in the forecast that there would be gusts up to 40km/h but I’m not sure I realized how strong that is! The snow flowed over the landscape, making all sorts of shapes as though the ground itself was moving.
Sun finally coming up behind us
Now that there’s sun we’re stoked!
My maximal sun protection outfit tells you I’m ready to do business
Mike near Round Mountain, looking out at what we’re about to do
Once at Elfin lakes, we didn’t take a long pause as I normally would in the summer but instead carried on in the direction of the Gargoyles. Although this was a diversion off the true Neve traverse, it would add an extra point for the challenge and I knew it could be done since one of my competitors had also completed it this year.
The trail up to the Gargoyles became increasingly windblown, and by the time we crested the ridge towards the summit, we were being physically blown backwards since our skins didn’t have enough traction. Determined to make the summit, we decided to bootpack it. Once up there we really did not stay long, and could barely see with the wind in our faces!
We skied off the East side of the Gargoyles, and rejoined the Neve trail around the creek. In this little sheltered spot, we stopped for our first small meal of the day and transitioned our skis to walking again.
Heading toward Elfin Lakes
Up toward Gargoyles (on the right)
A good description of the day: WIND.
Gargoyles summit. Very pretty!
A different creek crossing.. looks sketchy! Thankfully we were already across 🙂
After our break, we started the true endless plod of the Neve traverse. There is a few km of sidehilling before reaching the glacier that were pretty exhausting without a broken trail. The wind had quite literally blown the snow away, leaving what looked like a railroad of previous skiers’ tracks sticking up a few inches from the ground.
We walked mostly in silence, and I had time to contemplate the scale of this landscape as we circled the backside of Mount Atwell and Mount Garibaldi. It felt like we were moving so slowly in comparison to these huge mountains, when in reality we were setting a pretty decent pace. The feeling reminded me of my years growing up spent canoeing. When you’re crossing a big lake you feel like each paddle stroke gets you nowhere, but as the landscape around you changes ever so slightly you take note of your gentle progress. Eventually without fail you arrive where you need to be, even though for many long moments it feels like you never will.
We crossed the Garibaldi, North Pitt and Warren glacier in similar fashion, though thankfully this terrain was flat, leaving plenty of space in my brain to appreciate the landscapes. From these glaciers you can see deep into Garibaldi park towards peaks that are hardly ever climbed. I dream of skiing and/or climbing out there one day!
Although many people rope up through these sections of glacier, we took the risk to plow on without the rope. Mike let me go first and kept the rope in his bag, figuring he could toss it down to me if absolutely necessary. The glaciers at this time of year are so well filled in by snow that it’s hardly a concern; and sure enough we had no issues. Mike had also done the Spearhead traverse the week prior without needing the rope, so we had some confidence in the density of the snowpack.
Mike heading through the long section of sidehilling
The snow is forming waves from the wind!
Lots more sidehilling.. almost there!
Our carved out tracks were pretty cool.
Mike up ahead.. we didn’t see anyone else all day!
Finally on to the glaciers! Now I’m in the lead.
We took one more break after crossing the glaciers to fuel up again. I don’t know what compelled me to bring this lunch but I literally had mashed potatoes with peas, corn and beans. It was delicious. I savoured every bite, and it was a welcome change from endless granola bars. At this point we transitioned to ski mode, thinking we’d have one long and beautiful ski run down to Garibaldi lake. I was looking forward to the end of our uphill travel, and was pretty excited to see the views coming up of the lake.
However our dreams were crushed when we had to do one more transition just after the Sharkfin. There is some hidden elevation gain that, while short, is JUST long enough that you don’t want to side step the whole thing. We begrudgingly put our skins back on for what felt like only 100m, before getting the reward of FINALLY being able to see Garibaldi lake! What a treat that was, it was huge and I was really looking forward to skiing down onto it. I also thought this meant we were almost done with our day already…
Plodding along looking like a glacier hero 😉
Finally at the “top.” Me making sure we’re about to descend the right direction
I don’t remember what I’m looking at here but Mike thinks it’s really funny.
The Sharkfin! A very apt name
Finally a view of Garibaldi lake!
The ski down to the lake was pretty mediocre, with crusty and windswept terrain. It was a challenge to stay on my feet at times, with a mix of fluffy wind deposited snow, and hard icy crust. It was definitely beautiful though, and I savoured the last moments of being able to see deep into the mountain range.
At the lake, I was honestly ready for this all to be over, and I collapsed onto the ground where Mike took a pretty funny photo of me trying to have a nap. We eventually made another transition back to walking mode and began our loooooong journey across Garibaldi lake.
People had warned me that this walk is especially terrible with it being so long and so flat, but absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the PAIN! Turns out touring gear is really not meant for long flat walks, and before long my feet were swollen and blistering. I popped a couple advil and continued on, but the pain was still practically unbearable. Mike and I played some rock music while we walked in an attempt to stay motivated, but honestly it was pretty soul crushing (lol)! When we got close to what I thought was the exit of the lake near the campground, it was really still another km or so, and it felt like we were moving tiny inches at a time. My feet were literally on fire. I could light a match with them.
Mike had an analogy for this lake crossing: he said it takes about the same amount of time as it does to sit down for a movie in the theatre, so as we walked he told me where he thought we were at in this hypothetical movie in his head.
My nap at the lake. I am tired! hahahaha
Starting the lake crossing…
Ending the lake crossing. The sound my feet make is “ouch! ouch! ouch! ouch!”
When we FINALLY reached the end of the lake, it felt so nice to transition to downhill mode for our final ski out! We decided to try to ski the barrier since Mike claims it’s much faster and more pleasant than the rubble creek trail, so as the sun was beginning to set, we found ourselves standing atop what looked like a cliff. Feeling decently confident in my ski ability at this point in the season, I figured I would give it my best shot.
I was the first to drop in, and after a single icy turn one of my worst fears happened: one of my skis popped off, and began disappearing down the slope. I almost cried at this point since I just wanted to be back at the car, but I popped my other ski off and began walking down to go find it. As I walked though, I found another problem: the melted snow from a warm day had begun to freeze and without crampons, this slope was surprisingly hazardous to walk. I gently half stepped and half slid down about 100m of elevation to where my ski had thankfully caught on a tree, and recuperated my setup. The sun was now set.. it was going to be a long night.
Mike and I now had some decisions to make. Since the barrier is surrounded by cliffs, there is no easy exit from this point, so we would have to commit to finishing the barrier, or hike back up to where we started. When I tried putting my skis back on, the decision was made for us. My ski bindings were just not holding my boots, and by rotating my foot I could easily twist out of the pins. Skiing some icy cliffs in the dark with failing skis was not on my bucket list for the day, so we packed up our skis and began our hike back to the top of the barrier by moonlight.
Once we reached the rubble creek trail again, I now had to find a way where my skis could get me out of here. My guess was that the warm snow from the day had frozen solid into my bindings, so we began banging at my bindings and picking at them with our keys to get out any hardened ice. After about 10 minutes with some success, we managed to get my skis locked on to where I could no longer twist out of them. I gingerly made a couple turns to see if it worked, and since the skis didn’t go anywhere I had no choice but to trust them: we needed to get out of here!
I would love to say this was the end of our troubles, but around 2km from the car, one of the pins in Mike’s binding actually snapped off! He was forced to walk the rest of the trail while I skied slowly ahead of him. Before long though I had my skis off too because of hidden rocks in the snow. When we finally arrived back at the car we’d never been so relieved in all our lives. What a day!!! An incredible challenge, but also incredibly beautiful the entire way.
We drove back to Squamish together to do our reverse car-shuffle, though with Mike’s car we couldn’t even drive all the way to the truck 🙁 I walked the last km in the dark and wondered if I’d ever been so tired in all my life before this. The drive back home was tough, and I took a few short naps to not fall asleep at the wheel. When I crawled into bed at 2am… I wish I could say I slept deeply but well.. you can read my trip report on Mount Pattison to hear the rest!
Mike at the top of the Barrier. I took no more photos after this and focused on getting home 🙂