Archive:Neve Say Never April 2011

Neve say Never - Garibaldi Neve Traverse April 2-3

Synopsis

In summer the Garibaldi Neve is a solid maze of icefalls and crevasses. Thankfully in winter these are mostly covered up, making for a smoother traverse. Here's a chance to pass through this exquisite passage through the mountains in winter. A VOC group did this trip last weekend - take a look at the photos to get all excited!

The tentative plan is to leave early on Saturday and drive to the Diamond Head parking lot. From there we will follow the easy trail to Red Heather and Elfin Lakes. We will continue across Ring Creek, pass the Opal Cone and get on to the Garibaldi Neve where we will camp (in tents). The exact location of camp will be decided based on our speed and energy levels. The next day we will set out towards Garibaldi Lake, passing below Garibaldi Mtn., the Sharkfin, and making a brief stop at the Sphinx cabin, before crossing the lake. Then down the switchbacks, to the Garibaldi Lake Trailhead.

There is also a possibility that we will in the end decide to leave on Friday afternoon, and spend a night at the Elfin Lakes Cabin and a night at Sphinx, making this a no-tent trip.

We will need at least two cars for this trip. The tentative plan will be to drive all cars up to the Diamond Head Parking lot. Most of the group will start up the trail, while two fast members will take two cars back down to the Garibaldi Lake parking lot, where they will stash one car for the return. Then they will drive back up to the Diamond Head Parking lot and catch up with the rest of the group. On the return, again two fast members will ski down first, arrive at the stashed car at the Garibaldi Lake parking lot, drive up to the Diamond Head parking lot to retrieve the other car(s) and drive back to the Garibaldi Lake parking lot to meet up with the rest of the group. Sounds complicated? It will go smoothly... The other option, which is slightly better, is to have two groups going in opposite directions and swap cars.

Please remember that this is a challenging and committing trip. I don't feel comfortable taking beginners on this trip, so it is not defined as a "beginner friendly" trip. You need to be comfortable spending the whole day on your feet, skinning up a trail at a reasonable pace, skiing down blue slopes in the backcountry and doing beacon searches. You must have done several backcountry ski trips, including some weekend trips, and must also come prepared for camping outdoors in winter, and in general know how to take care of yourself in this environment.

Note that if the weather or avalanche conditions aren't good enough, this trip could be postponed, canceled, or we might change locations. However, so far it looks pretty good...

Organizer

Organized by: Gili

When

Start time: Saturday, Apr. 2nd (early!)

End time: Sunday, Apr. 3rd

Sign up

To sign up for this trip, please use the trip tool. Also, take a look at the Message Board Thread.

Gear

Please take a look at the ski tent trip gear list.

Tent and Food

Please write down your tent and food groups, and any other relevant information

• Gili + Maya (2p tent + stove + food group)

• Marius + Adriana (2p tent + stove + food group)

• Kathrin + Caitlin (will borrow tent + stove)

• Ben + Frances

• Tim + Mirella

• Adrien + Dean+ Len (stove--> just boil water,plus tarp)