My friend and I hit the road early and made it to Squamish with plenty of time to relax and enjoy a coffee in a local café. We made it over to the gondola base just before 9:30 and joined the handful of other outdoor enthusiasts catching the first rides up, many with backcountry skis!
After a quick and scenic ride up, we were standing at 3000 feet, and strapping on our snowshoes to climb higher.
It was perfectly peaceful in the forest as we moseyed along. Before too long though the trail started to climb and we were treated to our first views of the nearby mountains.
The snowshoe track dropped into a gully and then climbed steeply up through the forest. It was very easy to follow the track and we were reassured by the sight of summer trail markers. We explored a small side ridge to catch more views north before re-joining the track and climbing below some great rock outcroppings. The trail levelled out one last time through a great forest section of pines and cedars and then we faced a steep climb up a hillside to reach our viewpoint and our turnaround spot for the hike. |
The return trip passed incredibly quickly, with very little effort. It was amazing how many people were at the Summit Lodge, many marvelling at the snow as if it was their first time in it (it might have been for a few...)
We took in the awesome view of Sky Pilot and then caught the gondola down, thrilled with our mountain-top adventures.