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Views of the Spearhead Traverse, Whistler backcountry

A series of photos to illustrate this classic ski traverse in British Columbia's Coast Mountains, as done on May 2, 2006

Document created 04 May 2006, last updated 05 May 2006

After Singing Pass   Beyond Singing Pass and the Russet Lake area, climbing towards the Whirlwind-Fissile col.
This traverse was done on May 2, 2006.
The party was made up of Andras and I (the author), although Andras had to turn back when reaching the top of Overlord Glacier.
We were at the top of the Whistler Peak lifts at 9:30 am, and skins on ready to start on our first climb of the day, Flute Summit, at 10.

General conditions
The weather was fine, sky cloudless, with little or no wind throughout the day. Air temperature was obviously below zero throughout the day, with freezing level starting at 1500 m and rising to 1800 m later in the day according to Whistler forecast. Later in the day, after 6 pm, it felt quite cold again. Snow conditions were good, with no sign of avalanche danger. In areas exposed to the sun (south and west) it turned soft during the day although not excessively so. Otherwise many more or less northerly-oriented slopes retained a fairly thick (about 20 cm / 8 in.) layer of quite powdery and light snow, on top of a harder, sometimes quite icy layer. At no time did snow stick much under the skis. In any case there was a fairly good trail all the way. Several parties had recently camped at several places along the traverse. A party originally ahead of me stopped and camped at the Tremor - Shudder col (see photo). Obviously another party had completed the traverse that day and was responsible for the trail beyond that point. They may also have started from a camp, as their trail dated to a time of the day when snow was quite soft in the more sun-oriented slopes. Whereas when I crossed the same places, between 6 and 8:30 pm, the snow had frozen up again. .

Remarks
Done in this direction (from Whistler to Blackcomb) I found that the only technical difficulty was in the crossing of the ridge between Fitzsimmons and Macbeth Glaciers. Over a distance of 100m – 200m the terrain is quite steep, with rocky outcrops in places below. When the snow lacks consistency, as was the case that day, a lot of care is needed. There are a few other short steep areas to cross, a couple of which where skis must be taken off, like on the ridge between Iago and Diavolo Glaciers, and to gain the col at the northern base of Mt Trorey (Trorey-Decker col). Ice-axe and crampons may be useful to tackle these areas in more wintry and icy conditions.
The traverse was effectively over by 8:30 pm when I reached the col at the base of Blackcomb Peak that leads into Body Bag Bowl and the Seventh Heaven runs area. Whistler Village was reached a good 30 minutes later, thanks to snow (or patches of it) just about all the way.

The Spearhead Traverse is probably done faster the other way, from Blackcomb to Whistler, although by how much would depend upon the party’s skiing abilities and speed. In the case of this reported traverse I would guess at least one hour (out of 9 and 1/2 in total). The main reasons are that from the col at the top of Platform Glacier all the way to Diavolo Glacier the going is essentially downhill, whereas the uphill gain from Diavolo Glacier up Fitzsimmons-Benvolio Col is much shorter. Also from Fitzsimmons-Benvolio Col all the way to Singing Pass this is mostly downhill, and again not matched by the uphill going from Singing Pass to Flute Bowl and the exit down Whistler ski runs. As for doing this traverse in one day, especially when starting as late as 10 am, this is a long day that requires a sustained pace all the way, and no time wasted in long rests or otherwise.

Photo gallery
To display and view all photo thumbnails at once click the link “display gallery” below the photo here to the right.

References:

[ref1]  . . .

[ref2]  . . .

Links to external websites:

[wb1]  More photos and information - Another trip report with photos on the Spearhead Traverse

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Black Tusk Beginning of the trip, with a view from the top of the lifts at Whistler Peak. Black Tusk stands out, with the Tantalus Range in the background right.

Garibaldi skyline Continuing the previous photo to the left (eastwards), two other giants of the Whistler horizon: Mt Garibaldi (right of centre) and Castle Towers (left of centre).

Spearhead panorama 1 Beginning with this photo, a series of 3 views encompassing the whole traverse. Here looking south-east towards Overlord Mountain and the head of Fitzsimmons Creek.

Spearhead panorama 2 From the head of Fitzsimmons Creek north and west to Blackcomb Peak (last mountain on left).

Spearhead panorama 3 From Platform Glacier (right) across Tremor Mountain, Decker Mountain and Blackcomb Peak, to the Blackcomb ski area.

Entry into the Whistler Backcountry Crossing into Garibaldi Provincial Park near the top of Flute Summit. View of the broad slopes towards Oboe Summit and Singing Pass.

Towards Singing Pass Skiing down into Singing Pass, with Overlord, Fissile and Whirlwind in background.

After Singing Pass Beyond Singing Pass and the Russet Lake area, climbing towards the Whirlwind-Fissile col.

View of Whistler Peak On the way to Whirlwind-Fissile col, looking back to the route followed from Whistler Peak. Metal Dome - Mt Fee area in the left background.

Cheakamus Glacier From the slopes of Fissile Peak, view south to the Cheakamus Glacier and the east side of Castle Towers.

Fissile Peak From the col between Fissile Peak and Whirlwind Peak, view of the eastern and northern slopes of Fissile Peak.

At Fissile-Whirlwind col The author, with Overlord Mountain and Glacier in the background.

Crossing Overlord Glacier Looking back to the Fissile-Whirlwind col, Fissile Peak on right, Whirlwind Peak on left.

View of Mt Fitzsimmons From the northern slopes of Mt Overlord, view of Mt Fitzsimmons, Mt Benvolio and the Fitzsimmons Glacier.

Fitzsimmons Glacier View across the glacier's upper basin, towards the Fitzsimmons-Benvolio col.

Cheakamus Mountain Skiing down the Diavolo Glacier, looking east towards the McBride Range in the background on left.

McBride Range Across the Cheakamus Mountain-Angelo Peak col (near due south), view of the McBride range (Drop Pass area).

To Mt Iago Climbing the steep southern-facing slopes of Diavolo Glacier towards the shoulder just right (east) of Mt Iago.

Detour Ridge From the Mt Iago slopes, view of Detour Ridge with the upper Cheakamus River valley and the McBride range in the background. Detour Ridge gives access to the McBride from the Diavolo Glacier.

Fitzsimmons creek valley The valley separates the Whistler and Blackcomb skiing areas. Whistler Peak visible on extreme left, Blackcomb Peak on right. Upper slopes of Iago Glacier in the foreground.

Mt Macbeth The route drops down the upper slopes of Iago Glacier and crosses the ridge visible in the center of the photo into Macbeth Glacier. A steep delicate traverse leads to the faint col to the right of the ridge.

Fitzsimmons Glacier and icefall From Macbeth Glacier, view back towards Overlord Mountain (on right), Mt Fitzsimmons (center) and Mt Iago (left of center).

Naden Glacier From the upper slopes of Naden Glacier, view towards the northern McBride Range, with Lillooet River valley on left.

Naden-Ripsaw col No difficulty here, or in the fairly similar passage from Ripsaw Glacier into Platform Glacier.

The Ripsaw From the Ripsaw-Platform col, looking back to the Ripsaw

Platform Glacier Overlooking the glacier from the north-west, Mt Tremor and the Tremor-Shudder col.

High camp High camp on the Tremor-Shudder col.

Late afternoon climb It's a short climb from these climbers' camp at the col to the summit of Tremor Mountain.

Tremor Glacier The route followed veers left and crosses a col left of Mt Pattison (first summit on left of picture). Visible behind from left to right: Mt Trorey (flat summit), Decker Mountain, Blackcomb Peak and the Spearhead.

Tremor Glacier and Mountain Looking back from the col south of Mt Pattison.

View of Mt Trorey The route sidles the upper Trorey Glacier around the eastern and northern slopes of Mt Trorey.

Tantalus A vision of the Tantalus Range as seen over the southern summit ridge of Trorey Glacier.

Trorey-Decker ridge From the glacier a short steep slope gives access to the ridge. Skis had to be taken off.

Decker Mountain South-east side of the mountain seen from the Trorey-Decker ridge. The route crosses a col on right of picture into Decker Glacier.

Decker Glacier Looking back to the upper Decker Glacier on the way up Circle Glacier.

Sunset on Garibaldi Park From the upper Circle Glacier, view south towards the McBride Range and Mamquam Mountain. The Russet Lake area in the centre of the picture, Fissile Peak on left.

The exit At the base of Blackcomb Peak, this gully gives access to Body Bag Bowl and the Seventh Heaven ski runs. Whistler ski runs visible in background.

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