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WHISTLERS WEEKLY NEWSMAGAZINE

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46 Feature
STO R Y

und aro ing leep ckcountry S in the ba

John Baldwin as c. van Veen, photos by By tobi

Bonny Makarewicz photo

46 | November 24, 2011 | www.piquenewsmagazine.com

Feature STO R Y
Ski touring is the F Ine art of suffering,
Diamond Head was one of the only places to ski, reminisces John Baldwin, backcountry skier extraordinaire and author of the indispensable 448-page Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis (all three editions), who also remembers the Chalet serving hearty soups during the cold winters. Jayson Faulkner, Chair of the Spearhead Huts Project, recounts pouring over the journals of the Varsity Outdoor Club and nding himself enraptured with decades of trip reports from outdoor enthusiasts. Male and female skiers alike began skiing in the area in the late 1930s. In the 50s and 60s, these outward bound university students would strap guitars to their backs for the nights starry-lit sing-a-

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balanced only by a few precious moments rst built as staging areas for climbers of pure ecstasy. For every brief moment of attempting the most challenging summits, joy during the weightless descent, hours are as skiing came into a sport of its own in the spent meandering up steep slopes. At days late 19th century, huts were built at treeline end, snuggling deep into down bags with for skiers seeking out the adventure of selfthe subalpine wind blowing pinecones propelled descents. Joan Mathews, Ottar Branvold and through the trees, a sense of profound his brother Emil built the Coast Ranges peace settles deep into the psyche. The Hut is the powder palace of many rst lodge, the Diamond Head Chalet, a low-income earner, that sanctuary from in the late 1940s. Long before Highway snow where passions and odours mix 99 became a four-lane racecourse, skiers in the communion with nature. Huts are becoming increasingly popular; on busy weekends its not unusual to be packed in like rats on a submarine, but everyone is too, too tired to care, face plastered with that wild-eyed grin endemic to all backcountry travellers. There is nothing more indelibly romantic than the Hut experience. Out in the blistering cold of the winter alpine, the intensity of the blue sky is matched only by the howling winds of a deep winter storm. And when the clouds roll in along the coast, the Huts are havens in the midst of whiteouts and epic snowfall. While alpinists and ski mountaineers dig Wendy Thompson Hut, looking SW, ski slopes in the background. snowcaves, pitch singlewall tents or forego even rudimentary comfort to bivy out in the elements, the rest of us powder-hunting, skanky took the four-hour ferry through Howe longs. But this wasnt the only crowd that ski-touring folk trudge our lazy asses into Sound to Squamish, then continued by made the trek. Its amazing how many people went a warm, somewhat stinky hut, peeling off train to Garibaldi Station, where after an the sweat-stained layers to steam clothes overnight stay they hitched a ride from the up there, says Faulkner, who notes and smoke bowls in front of the stove, Chalets Bombardier snowcat up past the how the Chalet attracted international breathing in fumes and downing schnapps. Red Heather ski area and to the lodge itself. attention, and even the likes of architect Located just east of Squamish, the Chalet Arthur Erickson. Indeed, getting out and served as the basecamp to a wealth of enjoying the outdoors in a social manner terrain, including the gentle slopes of Paul has long been part of West Coast culture. Ridge and the more demanding objectives In the heyday of Hollyburn Lodge and Ski bums, architects of Mamquam Mountain and Mount Grouse Mountain Lodge, which in those and freaks: skiing at the Diamond Garibaldi. It is also the southern terminus days were all backcountry lodges, it was a of the Garibaldi-Nv traverse, which like really popular thing to do. Head Lodge The Chalet dates from a time when the Chalet, was rst completed in the 40s. The idea of putting a hut out in the The Chalet was originally conceived by skiing was solely a touring sport. Going midst of the subalpine wilderness, though the Branvolds (Joan later married Ottar) down meant getting yourself up, and fat embedded deep within the ski culture as the rst of a series of lodges in what wooden skis with freeheel bindings served of the Coast mountains, arose in the is now Garibaldi Park, linked by hiking both purposes. After skinning up in leather European Alps, where the Grnhorn Hut trails. Had it been built, the chain mightve boots, sweaty in lederhosen and woolen on the Tdi was built in 1863 by the Swiss established a ski-touring classic not unlike sweaters, and after some schapps, it would be time to schuss down, lling in a sitzmark Alpine Club. Though alpine huts were the Haute-Route in the Alps.

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www.piquenewsmagazine.com | November 24, 2011 | 47

Keiths Hut at Cerise Creek by moonlight.

Elfin lake hut, left taken in November, right taken in April (2011).

view towards Mt Fitzsimmons and the head of Fitzsimmons Creek from the summit of Mt Trorey in the Spearhead Range.

or two so that those following wouldnt op head-over-heels into the bomb holes. It made a great rst date, as it lasted a few nights. Ski mountaineering in the Coast Range also saw its start at Diamond Head with missions to Black Tusk, where long before avalanche transceivers, crampons and nylon ropes early alpinists hauled their planks up 3rd class volcanic rock to ski the steeps. Skiing in its inception was not a sport of the overtly wealthy, or at least not those who didnt wish to be seen sweating away with the unwashed masses. In this respect the backcountry is still the great equalizer; only those who throw down the energy on the way up reap that incomparable feeling of tracking untouched lines on the down.

The 21st century renaissance of self-powered satisfaction

This seemingly magical era of ski-touring, before mechanization led us to believe that economic salvation will arrive only with six-pack lifts and free parking, is now experiencing something of a renaissance. With carbon bre materials and advanced alloys providing lightweight and strong ski-touring gear, as well as advances in avalanche beacon technology, a greater number of riders are leaving the ropes behind. For one, it is cheaper; with proper training and the gear, its you, a buddy, some form of transport to the trailhead, and your legs. And without wishing to

impart unwarranted criticism, many feel that resorts, even the size of the vast Whistler Blackcomb, are seemingly unable to live up to the promise of their powder publicity. Whatever the case, a growing segment of the skiing populace is turning toward the backcountry. This steadily growing inux of usersthe Wendy Thompson Hut is already booked full for Christmas and New Yearscarries with it a greater concern for the maintenance and upkeep of backcountry huts, as well as for overall backcountry safety. Whereas many dedicated backcountry users are educated in rescue, snowpack safety and rst aid, many new travellers, especially snowmobilers, are new to the outdoors in general and often unprepared for demanding conditions. With the increase

in users a concern for local search and rescue, it means that any discussion of backcountry huts needs to emphasize the proper training and equipment required for travel in backcountry terrain. Today, the Diamond Head Chalet is a rotting relic of quieter times, and the subsequent Eln Lakes Hut, built by BC Parks in 1975, has become a popular destination for the uninitiated. It is also one of several huts erected between the 1970s and 90s through the valiant efforts of BC Parks, UBCs Varsity Outdoors Club (VOC), the BC Mountaineering Club (BCMC) and the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC). Not all are as luxurious as Eln Lakes, which features 34 bunks, self-serve propane heating and hot plates, a wash sink and pit toilets. Many Whistlerites get

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48 | November 24, 2011 | www.piquenewsmagazine.com

Feature STO R Y
BRASS TACKS SNOW SAFETY
All travellers should have an AST-1if not AST-2 course under their belts; both are offered by the Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau and Coast Mountain Guides. At least one in your party should have Wilderness First Aid including CPR-C. Carry a wilderness survival kit and medical kit including a SAM splint; check out local retailers Escape Route and Ex-cess Backcountry for the gear. Seek out experienced mentors (buy them beer) and learn from them; better yet, hire a certied Guide for your rst trip or two. Do not follow tracks without maps, and a GPS is never a replacement for a compass. All gear is useless without knowledge. Ducking ropes out beyond Whistler Blackcomb can get you killed; every year, it happens. Learn from locals, take the courses, get the gear, and respect the terrain, for it wont learn to respect you. This also means keeping aware of those around youdont create a dangerous situation for others through poor terrain management and dont get caught in their terrain traps. This is especially important in the high-trafc slackcountry, from the Spearhead off Blackcomb to the Musical Bumps off Whistler.

their rst taste of the hut experience in the infamously cold, sometimes rat-infested overnight shelter at Russet Lake, which is why this hut has long been seen as an ideal candidate for replacement.

Birth of an enchainment: The Spearhead Huts Project

Translating the backcountry experience for others is key to expanding consciousness of sustainable economic models and environmental stewardship. - Jayson Faulkner, Spearhead Huts Project Committee

Between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains lies the great Spearhead Range, a near-perfect horseshoe connecting what are arguably North Americas two greatest lift-serviced ski areas. Sitting at the eastern apex of the Fitzsimmons Creek drainage, the huge arc of the Spearhead contains no less than twelve summits and as many massive glaciers, with numerous subpeaks, ridges and valleys. It is a wild and often lonely landscape of volcanic rock and glacial ice, and yet one of the most accessible ski (and backpacking) traverses through challenging terrain on the continent. Though it is possible to undertake the winter Traverse in a day, many parties opt to spend a night or three in a tent, soaking in the ambience and seeking out the more inaccessible lines that are rarely skied in the far reaches of the range. Yet to ski not just a single peak, but a few of the distant objectives in one outing would require a minor expedition. For this reason, there has always been the dream of installing huts out in the midst of the range. It is this visionof a trio of Spearhead Hutsthat has been gaining momentum

in Whistlers outdoors community. The ACC and its Whistler and Vancouver sections, the BCMC and the VOC all support the project and, despite a history of friendly one-upmanship (the alpinists of yore bagged each others peaks), the three storied clubs have come together to fully support the endeavour. Likewise, the Kees and Claire Memorial Huts Society and the Brett Carlson Memorial Foundation are also behind the project. As Faulkner says, the project is a Whistler community initiative of its outdoor denizens. Theres always a hesitation when huts go into an area, says John Baldwin. People look back at the way it used to be. But the reality is that Whistler and Blackcomb are right there, and the Spearheads are popular, and there are already use concerns, and this is one of the fty top ski trips in North America. So its a great idea. It makes sense to have huts there. Support has also been forthcoming from BC Parks and the province. According to Faulkner, meetings with the province in Spring 2011 have indicated healthy support, with government seeing the Spearhead project as fullling their mandate to encourage parks usage in an era of declining visits. Faulkner says that the project offers a sustainable, ongoing use and attraction for parks. However, it must be emphasized that

the project is at a preliminary stage; as Faulkner stresses, it is far from a done deal. Having passed the initial proposal stage of round one, the Spearhead Huts Project Committee is undertaking a detailed master plan for round two, including appropriate use and terrain studies, safety standards and environmental impact studies. A management plan detailing hut locations and socioeconomic considerations is also underway, which will involve community consultations including First Nations. This is the time where, as Faulkner says, we have to put the meat on the bone of the proposal for BC Parks so they can act on it. A generous timeline would see stage two submitted to BC Parks in Fall 2012. Like slow-motion ping-pong, BC Parks will return the Project Committees serve with detailed feedback for round three. The nal round might include addressing engineering and environmental reviews, or executing a needs list to address stage two concerns. If the project is given the green light, construction could begin as early as summer 2012, though Faulkner says that 2013 is more likely. The cost of preparing the stage-two proposal will be in the ballpark of $80,000 to $100,000, which Faulkner says, will be supported entirely by fundraising (a Vancouver fundraiser is being held November 25th at Performance Works; see below). The organizations involved

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Feature ST ORY
THE SEA-TO-SKY HUT CHECKLIST
With thanks to John Baldwin. This list assumes youve got a winter sleeping bag, sleeping pad, appropriate (freez-dried) foods and a stove with fuel (and waterproof matches). But beyond the basics (which for me includes coffee, smoke, electrolyte solution for dehydration, sunblock and schnapps), theres a few amenities that make hut travel much, much more enjoyable: 1. The map and the guidebook description. Government maps are available for the entire wilderness around us from Escape Route in Marketplace, as is John Baldwins third edition of Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis. Photocopy the guidebook and laminate both. 2. A four-season tent. Yes, if youre heading out late on the weekend to a hut that doesnt take reservations, you might need that tent. And depending on whos there (or whos with you), you might want to camp far away in the woods anyway. 3. Hut booties. The venerable MEC carries cheap booties made from down discards. Dont go to a hut without them. 4. A down jacket. Indeed, down pants might also be in order. 5. Extra fuel. Never trust that the hut will have fuel supplied. Check to see what is on tap: kerosene, propane, white gas, butane. 6. A headlamp. In fact, never, ever, ever head out without one. And spare batteries. 7. Toilet paper. There are enough stories of trying to use snow and pine needles. Not only does it scrape the sensitive bits, but you will go numb and never properly recover, resulting in the need to wear skinny jeans pulled down just above the knees (just look around you casualties all, I tell you, all those waddling dudes). 8. If youre out for more than a night, a lightweight book. I prefer Philip K Dick or the latest Alpinist magazine. Try Walter Bonattis Mountains of my Life, and be glad youre a skier. 9. Earplugs. And a spare set. Youll be amazed at the things youd rather not hear. 10. Guilty pleasures. Whether that be wine, schapps or the ne herbs, pack it in and pack it all out.
skiing along Paul Ridge to Elfin Lakes with Mt Garibaldi in the background.

Callaghan Lodge with the inviting slopes of Journeyman Peak behind.

will also be donating in-kind support. The ACC, for example, has the knowledge and experience of building and maintaining 25 huts throughout Canada. Donations made to the Spearhead Huts Project are tax-exempt, thanks to the ACCs status as a non-prot. The huts will be maintained through user fees collected through an online registration system, much like what is in place today for the Wendy Thompson Hut in the Duffy region.

Well put the pit toilet with a glacier view right here
The rst question that users, supporters and critics alike have for the Spearhead Huts project is where they will be built,

especially given the complexities of the terrain. There are now some preliminary answers. On the south side, a new hut is slated to replace the existing Himmelsbach Hut at Russet Lake built by BCMC in 1968. On the north side, the proposed location is Pattison Ridge, on Mount Pattison. And out in the midst of the Spearhead, the proposed site is the West Ridge of Mount MacBeth, at the head of Fitzsimmons Creek. All the huts are situated not only for winter access, but also for summer use, with the proposed establishment of a summer trail network for backpackers. During summer months, all three huts plan to be accessible without the need for glacier travel. Likewise, each hut will sleep around 30 occupants (approximately the size of the Eln Lakes Hut). The idea, emphasizes Faulkner, is to ensure that the huts are useful and relevant in 20 through

40 years. Ideally, a caretaker would be onsite for a few months a year.

Safety sessions with SAR

With a projected increase in backcountry users, the proposed construction of huts in the complex terrain of the Spearhead has raised safety concerns. To get a handle on numbers, the Spearhead Huts Committee is installing backcountry access gates at the boundary exit on Blackcomb Glacier and at Whistlers boundary on Flute. These gates will give BC Parks and the public an idea of backcountry usage. Currently, estimates vary widely, with Faulkner saying that some patrollers see hundreds of travellers entering the backcountry during peak conditions. This could mean that thousands of travellers are already

undertaking trips into the Spearhead yearly, with hundreds if not more completing the entire Traverse. Any increase in overall visitorsnearly a given if the huts are builtcould result in an increase in inexperienced users. The thing about the Spearhead Traverse is that its a full-on ski traverse, says Brad Sills, head of Whistler Search and Rescue (SAR). Its all above treeline. You have to have good navigational skills; you have to have good avalanche avoidance and forecasting abilities. Typically, when you have these hutto-hut systems, they have guides attached to them. So that would be our concern. That they, in and of themselves, become magnets for people that dont have the requisite skills, so the distances between them become the point where people get lost. Sills, who emphasizes that he is not opposed to the project, likens the huts to adding new lifts to the mountains.

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ascending the ridge above Keith's Hut at Cerise Creek with Mt Matier in the background.

Whenever easier access is granted to new territory, it increases the numbers of inexperienced travellers. The last thing we want, says Sills, is a tourist attraction that doesnt adequately provide for the safety of people using it. The provisio of adequately providing for the increase in trafc is at the core of the Committees two-pronged strategy to address safety. No question, says Faulkner. If youre going to put more people out in complex terrain, youre going to have more incidents. So how do you manage it? The rst step, says Faulkner, is increasing resources for SAR, including hiring full-time BC Parks Rangers. We know that were going to need more resources on the ground to be able to respond, says Faulkner. Part of this is going to require that Whistler Search and Rescue has the resources they need for what will be an increase in activityjust

like North Shore Search and Rescue over the last fteen to twenty years has had to have a signicant amount of investment in resources so they can respond as needed, because of the increased amount of people. The second step is mandatory education. Though enforcing the requirement of an Avalanche Skills Training (AST) course is not feasible nor ultimately desirable Faulkner raises the point that the backcountry is Crown land, and in the end, telling people they need a course to walk in the woods ies in the face of personal responsibilityFaulkner envisions an online skills component that will have to be passed before users are allowed to register. Similar mandatory education exists for users entering the Grand Canyon, says Faulkner. Users will have to undergo a thirty to forty-ve minute educational exercise and pass a series of skill-testing

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questions before being able to register. The questions would test their knowledge of terrain, avalanche safety, environmental impact and sustainable use practices, as well as cultural engagement with the area, which would allow education in First Nations history. It would be a relatively low bar that you could require people to jump over that would benet everybody, says Faulkner. They would know what the safety is, that they should carry proper equipment and a cellphone, because theres cellphone range throughout the whole corridor, so if you get into trouble heres the number you can call, so make sure to enter it into your cellphone nowmaybe have a Spearhead user App that they could download, that has the numbers in it, that has information and maps on it and all sorts of things. While mobile technologies are able to perform small miracles in mapping and communications, such devices can lead to overdependence (ultimately, if your GPS and cell/SAT phone are dead, youre on your own). Cellphones are especially tricky things; they can interfere with avalanche transceivers and should be kept off. Yet, Faulkners comments are suggestive in the need to utilize mobile devices, as they will provide for the broadest possible user base. However it is done, putting into place a mandatory educational component would align itself with best practices in similar areas. Faulkner also makes the point that

snowmobiliers are not required to pass an AST course in order to drive mechanized vehicles in the backcountry. According to statistics released in January by the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA), backcountry snowmobilers have accounted for the largest number of avalanche relatedfatalities in Canada for the last three years.

The Legacy of the Long Tail

The Spearhead Huts Project arguably showcases the heart and soul of not only Whistlers greatest resourceits alpine wilderness of glaciers, peaks, forests, and deep valleysbut that of its culture. Whistler is something of an accident; its Disneyed village is built upon the old garbage dump; its inhabitants are all exiles of some sort or other, from the early alpinists and yshers to the hippies and Down Under ski and snowboard bums. The vastness of the Coast Range, so tantalizingly close, is at the heart of Whistlers cultural legacy. Should the Spearhead Huts be realized, muses Faulkner, they could become part of the Trans-Canada Trail as its sole alpine section. The Spearhead Huts also point toward efforts to develop a more sustainable economy centered on what Whistler does best: exposing people to the beauty and

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Feature
huddled around the kerosene heater in the Wendy Thompson Hut during a cold snap.

wonder of the wilderness. Arent the huts a much better use of our land base than industrial logging or mining or motorized activities? asks Faulkner. If its vision is realized with the passion that its supporters evidently espouse, as one of few such accessible traverses in North America the Spearhead Huts could become something of a model, not only for Whistlers future, but also for sustainable ecotourism worldwide. And that indeed would be a cultural legacy born from freaks and bums. The Spearhead Soiree Fundraiser is Friday, November 25th at Performance Works in Vancouver. See www.spearheadhuts.org for more info.

RESOURCES
Spearhead Huts Project www.spearheadhuts.org Alpine Club of Canada, Whistler Section accwhistler.ca British Columbia Mountaineering Club bcmc.ca UBC Varsity Outdoor Club www.ubc-voc.com Whistler Search and Rescue www.whistlersar.com BC Parks www.bcparks.ca

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