Views of the Spearhead Traverse, Whistler backcountry
A series of photos to illustrate this classic ski traverse in British Columbia's Coast Mountains, as done on May 2, 2006
Document created 04 May 2006, last updated 05 May 2006
The party was made up of Andras and I (the author), although Andras had to turn back when reaching the top of Overlord Glacier.
We were at the top of the Whistler Peak lifts at 9:30 am, and skins on ready to start on our first climb of the day, Flute Summit, at 10.
General conditions
The weather was fine, sky cloudless, with little or no wind throughout the day. Air temperature was obviously below zero throughout the day, with freezing level starting at 1500 m and rising to 1800 m later in the day according to Whistler forecast. Later in the day, after 6 pm, it felt quite cold again. Snow conditions were good, with no sign of avalanche danger. In areas exposed to the sun (south and west) it turned soft during the day although not excessively so. Otherwise many more or less northerly-oriented slopes retained a fairly thick (about 20 cm / 8 in.) layer of quite powdery and light snow, on top of a harder, sometimes quite icy layer. At no time did snow stick much under the skis. In any case there was a fairly good trail all the way. Several parties had recently camped at several places along the traverse. A party originally ahead of me stopped and camped at the Tremor - Shudder col (see photo). Obviously another party had completed the traverse that day and was responsible for the trail beyond that point. They may also have started from a camp, as their trail dated to a time of the day when snow was quite soft in the more sun-oriented slopes. Whereas when I crossed the same places, between 6 and 8:30 pm, the snow had frozen up again. .
Remarks
Done in this direction (from Whistler to Blackcomb) I found that the only technical difficulty was in the crossing of the ridge between Fitzsimmons and Macbeth Glaciers. Over a distance of 100m – 200m the terrain is quite steep, with rocky outcrops in places below. When the snow lacks consistency, as was the case that day, a lot of care is needed. There are a few other short steep areas to cross, a couple of which where skis must be taken off, like on the ridge between Iago and Diavolo Glaciers, and to gain the col at the northern base of Mt Trorey (Trorey-Decker col). Ice-axe and crampons may be useful to tackle these areas in more wintry and icy conditions.
The traverse was effectively over by 8:30 pm when I reached the col at the base of Blackcomb Peak that leads into Body Bag Bowl and the Seventh Heaven runs area. Whistler Village was reached a good 30 minutes later, thanks to snow (or patches of it) just about all the way.
The Spearhead Traverse is probably done faster the other way, from Blackcomb to Whistler, although by how much would depend upon the party’s skiing abilities and speed. In the case of this reported traverse I would guess at least one hour (out of 9 and 1/2 in total). The main reasons are that from the col at the top of Platform Glacier all the way to Diavolo Glacier the going is essentially downhill, whereas the uphill gain from Diavolo Glacier up Fitzsimmons-Benvolio Col is much shorter. Also from Fitzsimmons-Benvolio Col all the way to Singing Pass this is mostly downhill, and again not matched by the uphill going from Singing Pass to Flute Bowl and the exit down Whistler ski runs. As for doing this traverse in one day, especially when starting as late as 10 am, this is a long day that requires a sustained pace all the way, and no time wasted in long rests or otherwise.
Photo gallery
To display and view all photo thumbnails at once click the link “display gallery” below the photo here to the right.
References:
[ref1] . . .
[ref2] . . .
Links to external websites:
[wb1] More photos and information - Another trip report with photos on the Spearhead Traverse
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