I learned to ski at Cypress, a family-friendly mountain on Vancouver’s North Shore and a ten-minute drive from my dad’s house where I stayed every other weekend. During the winter, he and his wife would drop my brother and I off at the parking lot and we’d learn from a blue-jacketed instructor, following their tracks down green and blue and eventually black runs. For longer weekends or school breaks, my dad would drive us up to Whistler.
My brother attended annual downhill biking camps in Whistler at the height of summer, but beyond a few trips to ski with family friends and one snowboard camp with a friend in high school, I rarely visited. As of last week, I hadn’t been to Whistler in nearly seventeen years.
A few weeks ago Nick and I decided to finally make a trip up to Whistler, our first time there together. This was convenient for several reasons: without traffic, Whistler is just a two hour drive from where we live; our work allows us to travel during the week (as long as we have access to internet and a place to park our laptops); and staying at an Airbnb lets us bring along a few pets.
After training on Monday morning, we watered the garden, put together enough veggies and rat food for our pet sitter to disperse to our small animals in our absence, and packed up the car for a short road trip. Along the way we stopped at Squamish’s local running store, RunUphill, to try on some new shoes (a major perk of having no sponsor—being able to test a variety of options and hold allegiance to nothing beyond what feels good on the feet!) and pick up burritos from Tacofino. Cashew and our two kittens, Zuko and Hoki, came along on this trip and seemed to enjoy the ride up.
After picking up groceries for meals and unpacking, we settled in for an early night.
Day One: Singing Pass to Harmony Lake
We woke early on Tuesday morning. Weather conditions were forecasted to worsen throughout the day, so it looked like an early start would be most favorable if we wanted to get into the mountains. After walking Cashew and feeding the kittens, we jogged out the door and through the village to the start of the trail. The initial mile parallels a fire road and a downhill mountain biking course before peeling off to the forest. The forest felt eerie at this hour and I was glad we were running together; it was only last year that a cougar had stalked a hiker up this same section of trail. We stayed quiet as we worked our way up the gradual ascent, the trail entirely smooth save a few water crossings: Flute, Oboe and Harmony Creeks, named after the mountains we’d be moving through at the end of the run . There wasn’t much of a view considering the tall hemlocks surrounding us, but that didn’t matter: it was cool and cloudy with clouds moving in.
After seven miles, we topped out at Singing Pass and found ourselves in alpine meadows. As soon as we emerged from the forest the wind picked up and we realized we’d have to hold our plans lightly. If the weather worsened, we would need to turn around. We donned our rain jackets and gloves in case the chill got worse and started off toward Piccolo, Flute and Oboe, collectively called the Musical Bumps.
The views were obscured by clouds and the rain was getting stronger, so this run ended up being more focused, and therefore faster, than we predicted. By 9 am we had made it to Roundhouse Lodge. We eagerly stepped inside to wait for the gondolas to open at 9:30 am. With more running planned in the next few days, we wanted to save our legs. The availability of the gondola meant 5,500 feet less descending than we’d otherwise have to do.
Total: 13 miles, 5,500 feet of ascent.
We spent the rest of the day refueling and coaching athletes. By the time 4 pm rolled around, the weather had improved and we were eager to get outside again.
While Nick and I love lesser known routes and technical trails, we also share an appreciation for basic runs that are simply meant to be good workouts, even if that means crowds. Conveniently we were staying just a few steps from the start of Blackcomb Mountain’s ascent trails. There are three separate routes that can be individually hiked (or run) but it’s also possible to do all three in one go, ultimately completing about 4 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing to the summit at Rendezvous Lodge. We started off casually, using our hiking poles to help our already fatigued muscles up the steeper grades. By the time we had finished Little Burn and Big Burn at mile 2, I had picked up the pace. I love pushing myself uphill and the steeper the better. By the time I hit mile 3 I was close to all out. I topped out of Heart Burn, the final part of the ascent trail, in just under an hour and watched a hoary marmot scuttle through the nearby grass as I caught my breath.
Unfortunately we finished just after the final gondola left the lodge, so we were forced to run back down. We kept it as easy as we could, knowing that whatever we decided to do tomorrow would require functioning quads!
Total: 8 miles, 4,000 feet of ascent.
Day Two: Skywalk and Iceberg Lake
Since Nick and I were entirely new to trail running in Whistler, it was initially overwhelming to choose which route to run. During our stop at RunUphill on the drive in, however, one of the employees, Scott, suggested we check out Skywalk and Iceberg Lake. The mileage looked good, the trailhead was relatively close, and Iceberg Lake was supposed to be beautiful. We were sold!
After the previous day’s mileage, we were slower to get going. We checked in on our athletes, walked Cashew, fed the cats and gathered our gear. As we’ve gained more experience, our packing has improved. On mountain adventures we now carry two phones (with full battery), an emergency medical kit (with things like Benadryl for potential wasps), a waterproof jacket and waterproof gloves (regardless of weather forecast), extra gels, a water filter and an emergency space blanket. As a minimalist I don’t love having to wear a vest with extra gear, but I’ve watched too many videos from North Shore Search & Rescue to go solely off of comfort.
Our day began at Rainbow Lake Trail. From there we followed the undulating single track to 27 Switchbacks, named for the ever lasting series of back and forth turns through the forest. This eventually turned into Rainbow Sproatt Flank Trail where we climbed until eventually hitting our first alpine meadows and small ponds. We spent little time stopping—mosquitoes swarmed our legs when we briefly bent to filter water. We had just hit mile six and knew there were many more miles and thousands of feet to still climb.
Downloading the route for offline use was essential through this first part; we passed numerous trails and turn offs and there’s no way we would have chosen the correct path if we’d just winged it.
Eventually we crested yet another hill and rounded a corner to find this view:
The trail down to Iceberg Lake and on toward Skywalk was technical. We lingered by the turquoise waters of Iceberg Lake to filter more water, snapped a few photos of monkey flowers and dwarf fireweed and continued on.
We still had a gnarly climb after departing Iceberg Lake and our legs were feeling it. After a long traverse to the final pass, we began our descent. At first the grade was mellow but as we neared the intersection with Rainbow Sproatt Flank again, the descent got incredibly steep. Our quads were screaming!
Five hours later we made it back to our car, ready for a late lunch at the Naked Sprout in Whistler Village.
Total: 18 miles, 6,000 feet of ascent
In the late afternoon, once Nick had finished up some client coaching calls, we took Cashew for an exploration of Lost Lake. We walked the Nature Trail (with horror, we realized some of the features were a little too similar to what we had just spent the day traversing) and eventually popped out on the shore of Lost Lake. Volunteers were helping to usher migrating toadlets to safety! We were delighted to see this. I volunteered to help toads migrate in the Chilliwack area when I was 16 and I spoke so highly of the experience that Nick joined me several years ago, too. We built fencing to provide safe passageways for the tiny toads, helping them avoid being crushed by cars or, in the case here at Lost Lake, pedestrians and cyclists. You can learn more about the Western Toad migration here. I highly recommend volunteering if you get the chance!
Day Three: Singing Pass to Russet Lake
Thursday was our final full day in Whistler and we were planning to make the most of it. This time our goal was Russet Lake, an alpine lake and the gateway to summit mountains like Fissure and Overlord. We wouldn’t be going that far today, but Russet Lake would make for a beautiful out-and-back, with the option of taking another route to Roundhouse Lodge, different from the trail we followed on Tuesday.
We were quiet up Singing Pass, knowing the gradual climb to the top would be rough on our legs. After nearly 16,000 feet of climbing in the last two days, we were feeling it.
Unlike Tuesday, the weather was glorious and we enjoyed the sunshine at the top of Singing Pass. From there, it was a gentle climb up several long switchbacks toward Russet Lake.
We backtracked to Singing Pass before climbing the Musical Bumps toward High Note. Though we had traversed this section before, we hadn’t seen it without thick clouds so it was like running the trail for the first time.
We finished exhausted and more than happy to take the gondola back down to the village. It was also important we make it down in time for a visit at Scanidave Spa. I had been told great things about this place for several years so was happy to have more than enough reason to check it out. We rotated through various saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs and cold pools, nearly finishing the books we’d brought in the process. We also enjoyed the spa’s hot tea, a mix of Labrador tea with nettle, oatstraw and raspberry leaf.
Total: 18 miles, 7,000 feet of ascent.
Day four: Ascent Trail
We wouldn't be us if we didn’t try to fit in one more climb before leaving the next morning. We woke at 5 am to feed the kittens, walk Cashew and then attempt one more climb. We chose the Ascent Trail again for ease of access; after all, we had to make it back up and down in time to shower, pack, and check out before 10 am.
Our legs were fatigued, but the poles helped and we popped out at the top before the sun had even hit Blackcomb. We watched pikas, a few marmots and Clark’s nutcrackers from a picnic bench at the top before descending back down the trail.
Total: 8 miles, 4,000 feet of ascent.
We stopped at BReD for organic sourdough and matcha lattes on our way out of town. What a delight that our roadtrip home was less than two hours!
It seems like most of the trail running world is heading to Chamonix in preparation for UTMB, so finding trails that rival the beauty and certainly the vert in our own backyard is satisfying! We ended our four-day trip having covered 66 miles and 27,000 feet of climbing, a solid training camp to rival that of anything in Europe!
This week was about adventure and the accumulated vert is over preparation, if anything, for upcoming races. Tomorrow Nick and I run a super local 25K, then it’s onto my third year at Squamish 50K! I’m excited to continue emphasizing regional racing this summer before switching to something very different this fall.
Here’s to finding local trails that can offer their own challenge and adventure!
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.