On Labour day weekend, many families head to the beach to drink beer/pop and eat chips while boating. My family did something very different, we hiked the Spearhead Traverse. Crossing loose rock, glaciers, ridges, meadows and forests it would take longer than in the Winter. It was my fourth time doing the trip from Blackcomb to Whistler mountain, but my first time in the Summer. I was very excited to see it in a different light. Starting on Thursday evening, we ascended the lifts on Blackcomb mountain. Reaching the top of Solar chair at 5pm, we didn’t know how far we would get. We started towards the bottom of 7th Heaven and would then wrap around the inside of the Traverse. We would meet up with the Winter route on Pattison. That first night we hiked until 7:30pm. Having found a flat spot of greens on a rocky slope (outside of the WB borders), we set up our tent. The view was amazing. We could see most of the Spearhead, Black Tusk, Garibaldi and Tantalus. As the sun set some great photos were taken.
In the tent I soon realized I had forgot the pump bag for my mat. It was an amazing mat, but not without a way to inflate it. I had also brought a ridge rest, my bed was decent, but I didn’t sleep well. Our tent was a three man, as always with our family of four we were squished. In the morning I was still energized, though by sleep or excitement I’m not sure. Once packed up, we set off uphill. We wanted to cover a lot of distance, but really had no idea how long it would take us. If we found easy paths through the rocky sections and if the glaciers were easily to navigate, it could be fast travel. Weaving our way through the boulders, we found a pass to the other side. Once we could see the Trorey glacier my dad planned out a route. We descended slightly and arrived at the glacier.
After putting on our crampons and roping up we started across. The glacier travel was by far my favourite part of this trip. I hadn’t been on a glacier since Mt. Logan. The blue, white and brown pattern on the glaciers is so incredible. Walking along the beast of ice I was reminded of the majesty of mountaineering. The simple things like; how you need to step wide to avoid ripping your pants with your crampons, pacing yourself against your team mates to avoid slack in the rope, adjusting your pack so it doesn’t push your harness into your hips. These things all made me think about Logan, the simplicity of the daily routines in the mountains. I was so happy that I was being cooled by a glacier breeze, not by a fan in front of a TV. Throughout the day we jumped across crevasses and scrambled up steep rock. Ascending the Tremor glacier was incredible. The crevasses were so very beautiful. Their colour bolded them against the snow.
Stepping over those cracks in the ice was exhilarating. Once we were on a more solid chunk of the glacier I began to think about mountaineering. How much it changed me. I think different in the wilderness. I dream more, I smile more, I feel alive. I was encouraged by the beauty of British Columbia as I started to think about crazy things people had done in the world of alpinism. Thinking about what others had done made me want to be one of them. I want to be the person that inspires someone to climb, ski, hike or just love the mountains. Walking slowly uphill there, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I had to get into the mountains more often and for longer. With crazy thoughts spinning through my brain we reached the top of the glacier. There was only one way to cross over, a steep lose slope of 50 meters. My dad short roped with Anna and I first. This was a bit scary, many, many rocks were knocked down below and they weren’t small. If the leader wasn’t careful, the lower climbers would be pushed down the slope. Near the the top of the ridge, my dad left Anna and I to get my mum. I had dropped my ax near the end and descended to retrieve it as he brought my mum up. Anna was waiting at the top of a small couloir that wind was shooting up. It was cold, but it nice to be so after the blazing summer. We waited and snacked as the other half of our team worked their way up. My mum and dad were coming up the couloir instead of the slight ridge we had ascended. It took them at most half the time it took us. Once together we crossed onto the other side. As we slid down the snow to the Platform glacier. the view was unbelievable.
I had loved the sight all the other times I had been there and didn’t think it could get better. But the glaciers weren’t covered snow and their crevasses and icefalls were spectacular. The view of Iago and Fitzimons with Garibaldi in the background is truly indescribable, definitely one of my favourite views ever. Ascending and crossing Naiden and the Ripsaw I was very happy. Being in the moment was making me stress free. As we made our way over more rock and ice the temperature started to cool. About half way through the day we had decided that the far side of Macbeth would be a good and reasonable place to sleep. Sliding down Macbeth I was ready to rest my feet. I had tape on four spots, and had two big blisters caused by hikes in the Rockies earlier in the summer. That evening I walked around camp barefoot, and as my blisters had been opened, I got dirt and rocks under my skin. Eating as the sun faded we were all in great moods. That night I slept better than I had the previous night, being more tired helped. We awoke early the next day and I was glad. I love starting a climb without the sun. The coolness was lovely on the first short climb. Reaching the ridge that lead to Iago I was excited. It was so pretty and I was peaceful and happy to just walk and think.
The ridge was amazing, the hiking was perfect and there were views on every side. We started up the Iago glacier and I thought about mountaineering again. I realized that I hadn’t really thought since Logan. When I had been training for Logan I had spent so many hours just walking and thinking. And in the past few months I had never just thought for even an hour, I was always busy and if I was relaxing I was listening to music. I missed being able to dwell over the same things for hours. I was so sad that I hadn’t been able to feel as calm as I then did throughout the summer at all.
We came up to the top of our climb and looked for a descent route. We all remembered this descent from last time. It had been steep and very difficult to descend. My dad looked around, but didn’t want to spend too much time exploring so we made our way to the couloir we went down in the winter.
My mum went first and alone as it was full of lose rocks. I waited as everyone else descended and then headed down. Traveling on loose rock is what I need to work on the most in the mountains. I hate it, I am so scared when doing it and don’t trust my feet. It takes me a long time to descend.
When I finally arrived at the bottom we put our crampons on again. Walking down the snowy slope it warmed up, it had been fairly cold for the past day and a half. When we climbed up to Benvolio it was much hotter than it had previously been. This climb seemed to be long, and it was longer than the Winter route. We hiked to the top of Benvolio and spotted Mt. Baker.
It was crazy how we could see so far. The view of the volcano brought back memories of climbing it, and the first time I did the Spearhead and my dad pointed Baker out. We moved quickly from there to Overlord and my dad, Anna and I summited.
Looking at Refuse Pinacle I was not looking forward to crossing over it. We left the snow behind and started to climb up the rocks. There were many short ups and downs. I wasn’t enjoying it, but it was better than being inside. We weren’t moving too fast and I was being cautious. All was good and then it wasn’t. I was on my stomach, my head below my feet. The only thing I remember thinking is, don’t roll onto your back! And then my hands were closed around solid rocks and my backpack was holding me in place. I hadn’t slid a metre, but it was still my closest call yet in the backcountry. My dad shouted at me to stay where I was and then came and tipped me right way up. I had scraped my forearm and my knee, but virtually unharmed. After I fell, I was very, very cautious. Moving super slowly I didn’t trust my feet. What was most worrisome about this was that if I ever slip and actually injure myself, I don’t know how I would get myself out of the mountains. I was so nervous after, I didn’t trust myself at all and that can be very dangerous in the mountains. When we finally reached the snow I was very relieved. We walked across the snow and passed mountain goat tracks. We had seen the goats when we were on the ridge and were amazed at their speed, if only I could be as good as they are at climbing mountains. We arrived at the Whirlwind – Fissile col. Looking back at the view of the Spearhead is always such a cool thing. Being able to see how far we came. My mum and I continued down while Anna and my dad climbed to the top of Whirlwind. We descended until we didn’t know where the best route was. Soon we were joined by my dad and Anna and we went up a short distance to see the glacier. We scouted a route and returned to the glacier and started down. After sliding down the last piece of snow, walking on the soft moss was so nice on our feet. We saw that there were 10+ tents on the lower side of Russet lake. We also saw the building sight of the new hut and were excited to check it out. But we were more excited to eat and we camped above the lake.
That night was amazing. Anna and I slept out of the tent. Gazing up at the stars and talking with one of my best friends was the best possible way to spend the last night of summer. In the morning we walked past the hut sight and chatted with volunteers. We talked about helping out with construction next summer. Our family is excited that more people will be able to experience the backcountry. Anna and I wanted to descend the Singing Pass trail, but my dad said that going over the Musical Bumps would be faster.
As we ascended Cowboy ridge, then Oboe, then Flute I became more and more tired. I should have eaten and drank more that morning. When we reached the Whistler boundary I was tired. We still had two hours to go and somehow I made it without drinking much water. By Harmony lakes I was feeling very tired and I knew my mistake, I was dehydrated. With only one more push to go I hauled myself to the Roundhouse. I can’t believe that I had made myself so tired. I know how important it is to fuel yourself in the mountains, even on easy days. For next time I will remember that easy days become hard if you are dehydrated. It was an incredible experience to do the Spearhead again with my family. It made me remember how much I need the mountains, and pushed me to make another goal for myself. Whatever I do next, this trip will have been the starting point of it.