[TR] Garibaldi Neve- 4/8/2004

[salbrecher]

Climb: Garibaldi Neve-

 

Date of Climb: 4/8/2004

 

Trip Report:

10 car rides and 12hrs after leaving Kamloops I arrived at the Garibaldi lake trailhead at 5:00pm. The plan was to start around midnight and carry over to Squamish in one go but the evening light was so nice I started shortly after being dropped off. I blasted the first few km of trail in runners and listening to my newly purchased "Lion King soundtrack" Tape (highly reccomended). The lake and trail were in excellent condition and it was a quick 3 hrs to the Sentinal Bay huts. 3 other guys from vancouver were also there after comming over the neve and gave me some of their leftover pasta with smoked salmon, mmmm. I curled up in the hut and slept a few chilly hours till i couldn't stand the cold and left for squamish at 5:45am. The sunrise was SPECTACULAR and there was a 3/4 moon between Garibaldi and Dalton Dome and alpen glow everywhere! So nice that I even put the lion king soundtrack into my backpack, for the time being. It was an super fast ski down the neve to ring creek on hard pack snow. 3 and a half hours after leaving Sentinal I was basking in the sun at the Elfin Lakes cabin and eating the rest of my chocolate and pringles. I was even lucky enough to catch a ride so early in the morning from the parking lot into squamish! It is a fantastic traveres with fabulouse conditions right now and I highly reccomended doing it.

 

Gear Notes:

Light and fast was the name of the game (re read pertaining chapters in extreeee alpinism if you must. I brought no sleeping bag or stove as running water is available in several spots along the traverse. I wish I had brought a light sleeping bag instead of just a down jacket as it was pretty chilly at night.

 

Approach Notes:

All the crevasses are well bridged and the lake is still well frozen. The shrund on Garibaldi is also well bridged.

[thelawgoddess]

sweetness. light fast and "alone" ...

[Dru]

damn:

 

dru - elfin to sentinel - 10 hrs and change

stefan - sentinel to elfin - 3 hrs

 

i've been howitted!!!

[salbrecher]

Wow, wow, wow, that's 3 and a HALF hourst to elfin. Those wouldn't happen to be your boot tracks Drew walking DOWN the sentinal would they...

[Dru]

yeah i booted down the steepest part of the sentinel after watching fern and billygoat wipe out

[tele_nut]

Did Twight mention Pringles and chocolate as energy sources in his graduate thesis on light alpinism? Cheaper than GU.

[salbrecher]

I believe Twight mentions pringles in an example of a food that someone ate to get up Makulu to show that you should eat whatever food you can eat at high altitude to get enough energy . I modified it to one should eat whatever food one likes, whenever.

[stinkyclimber]

damn:

 

dru - elfin to sentinel - 10 hrs and change

stefan - sentinel to elfin - 3 hrs

 

i've been howitted!!!

Actually, Dru, knowing your level of fitness, and if you actually left all that shit you carried in your pack, doing the Neve in a reasonable day, car to car is really not that hard. Holmes and I did the whole thing in 8-10 hours and really, it was a pretty casual day (and I am NOT in great shape, by any means!).

 

Just pack for a day trip, and it becomes an easy day trip. Pack overnight shit, or even bivy shit, and... It is a much better day trip then an overnight.

 

And knowing how to ski downhill isn't critical, since the only downhill bits are a little sidehilling into Ring Ck, and then the ski down into Sentinel Bay...and I suppose the icy hell run down the Barrier Trail, but by that stage, walking isn't a huge deal.

 

Apparently the Whistler guys are thinking about doing the Spearheads twice in a day, so the Neve in a day even for hackers shouldn't be that big a deal.

 

PS - doing the Neve from Garibaldi Lake is fun too, esp. without a car - that adds nicely to the challenge - but it is definately longer. Nice night time blitz/food-scarf at Sentinel Hut strategy from Stefan!

[Alex]

Apparently the Whistler guys are thinking about doing the Spearheads twice in a day, so the Neve in a day even for hackers shouldn't be that big a deal.

 

No doubt, since going from Blowhole to Blacks in 3.5 hours is possible!!

[Dru]

damn:

 

dru - elfin to sentinel - 10 hrs and change

stefan - sentinel to elfin - 3 hrs

 

i've been howitted!!!

Actually, Dru, knowing your level of fitness, and if you actually left all that shit you carried in your pack, doing the Neve in a reasonable day, car to car is really not that hard. Holmes and I did the whole thing in 8-10 hours and really, it was a pretty casual day (and I am NOT in great shape, by any means!).

 

Just pack for a day trip, and it becomes an easy day trip. Pack overnight shit, or even bivy shit, and... It is a much better day trip then an overnight.

 

And knowing how to ski downhill isn't critical, since the only downhill bits are a little sidehilling into Ring Ck, and then the ski down into Sentinel Bay...and I suppose the icy hell run down the Barrier Trail, but by that stage, walking isn't a huge deal.

 

Apparently the Whistler guys are thinking about doing the Spearheads twice in a day, so the Neve in a day even for hackers shouldn't be that big a deal.

 

PS - doing the Neve from Garibaldi Lake is fun too, esp. without a car - that adds nicely to the challenge - but it is definately longer. Nice night time blitz/food-scarf at Sentinel Hut strategy from Stefan!

 

nothing to do with level of fitness more like can't ski, new boots and new bindings combining to make a learning experience. stefan is still fast. it is those long legs.

[fern]

 

I was talking to a fellow at Sentinel about the logistics of doing the McBride traverse in 2 days - 2x30km days w/ bivy gear versus one day to Naden Pass , no-gear bivy with a campfire then blast through to Garibaldi Lake in one day. Ha! I am not worthy ... maybe next year

 

... anyways I think you are sandbagging a little Mike to suggest that the whole Neve is a casual day for someone #1) not in great shape and #2) who doesn't even know how to ski.

[salbrecher]

I'm reading this book "we all die alone" (true story) about a Norwegian who escapes from Nazi's in Norway and has to make his way back to Sweden and then England. This guy talks about and meets an old Norwegian who talks about what great skiers Norwegian's are and how todays generation is getting weak. He says "a Norwegian on holiday, or merely on a journey, thinks nothing of 50 miles a day".

Maybe we're just weak, inferior skiers because we're north americans . I think it has a lot to do with state of mind. So many of us get used to bringing 50lbs of camping gear on a weekend trip and forget or don't realize that the same distance can often be covered by a "reasonably fit" person in way less time, with just day packs. Defanitly a great read.

[tele_nut]

Did he die alone because he was SO HARD that he skied 50 miles into the middle of nowhere and collapsed from exhaustion?

[stinkyclimber]

#1) not in great shape and #2) who doesn't even know how to ski.

Yah, but you are being modest by denying that you aren't in good shape!! However, you are right about the skiing part - esp. if Dru is dealing with new gear as well as a total lack of skiing ability! But, I bet Dru would have found the skiing/butt-sliding easier without all that crap in his pack!

 

McBrides in 2 days - sure. Now that WILL make the Neve in a day seem easy!

[salbrecher]

Did he die alone because he was SO HARD that he skied 50 miles into the middle of nowhere and collapsed from exhaustion?

Haha, no he doesn't die. It's not giving away anything because he helps write it.

[Dru]

hey i didnt butt slide anything and i only booted down one section on the sentinel after watching fern and billygoat's tracks that i was folowing degenerate into a string of craters

 

i did ski the drop from below the gargoyles down to ring creek I think that is the hardest slope i have skiied to date

[salbrecher]

Are you learning on mountaineering boots?

[Dru]

no i have some scarpa lasers now.

[stinkyclimber]

no i have some scarpa lasers now.

Fuck, that is practically cheating. It wasn't that long ago you would have been learning in single leather tele boots. AND walking uphill - both ways - to school.

 

Anyway, good job. Next step: ski the entire Barrier Trail in full icy conditions. At night. With a full pack.

 

Or a bit more fun: ski up Baker (I will probably be into that sometime in the next few weeks...always a fun spring trip - lemme know).

[Dru]

the scabs on my shins have to heal up before i will put those ski boots on again.

[stinkyclimber]

the scabs on my shins have to heal up before i will put those ski boots on again.

That's what duct tape is for. It goes on real easy....

[Dru]

its a shin-shaver conspiracy

[jordop]

.

Edited June 8, 2021 by jordop

[PaulB]

Either that or it caused some sort of shin fungus cos my skins are fuking gross rite now

You should see my big toenail after our heinous ski-out... not pretty. I'm afraid to put my rock shoes on.

 

But, back to the topic... I did the Spearhead Traverse a couple of weeks ago in twelve hours. For one of the guys with us, it was only his second day of backcountry skiing. He was fit, and an intermediate skier, but spent a lot of time screwing around with skins, bindings, etc. Even with that overhead, we still made good time, and were able to easily move at twice the speed of groups hauling overnight gear.

 

To paraphrase Jim Bridwell (I think): If you bring overnight gear, you'll probably use it. If you don't, you're motivation to push through is pretty high.

[jordop]

Quote

Quote

Either that or it caused some sort of shin fungus cos my skins are fuking gross rite now

You should see my big toenail after our heinous ski-out... not pretty. I'm afraid to put my rock shoes on.

 

But, back to the topic... I did the Spearhead Traverse a couple of weeks ago in twelve hours. For one of the guys with us, it was only his second day of backcountry skiing. He was fit, and an intermediate skier, but spent a lot of time screwing around with skins, bindings, etc. Even with that overhead, we still made good time, and were able to easily move at twice the speed of groups hauling overnight gear.

 

To paraphrase Jim Bridwell (I think): If you bring overnight gear, you'll probably use it. If you don't, you're motivation to push through is pretty high.

.

Edited June 8, 2021 by jordop