Looking back at our summit
Howe Sound in the distance
After a goodly long time, we made it to the bottom of the headwall. We picked up the pace here, on the lower angle snow, and continued downwards. The mid-day clouds had mostly cleared away, and we were treated to superb views south and west to the Squamish area, Howe Sound, and even the distant Gulf Islands. Gabriola Island (where Jenn's parents live) was even visible as a thin faint line. I wished that Jenn had brought her cellphone - she could have called her parents and waved to them from here (Jenn's parents' house looks out onto the straight and, on a clear day, Mount Garibaldi can be seen from their living room window).
Back at the Diamond Glacier
It was shaping up to be a long, long day. It was mid-afternoon and we were still on the Bishop Glacier. Still, we'd achieved our objective, had a wonderful day of sights, and things were pretty good. We made good time down the Bishop Glacier, over the crumbly gravelly ridge, down the Diamond Glacier, and onto the lower snowfields. We stripped off our climbing gear, put everything away, and had a pleasant snowfield descent into a tributary drainage of Ring Creek. This proved to be a mistake!
The bottom of the drainage was indeed more direct, but as we got off the snow and onto the ground at the bottom of the drainage, it became very rough, with huge tiring boulders everywhere. It would have been better, in retrospect, to climb back down the ridgecrest we had ascended. Lesson learned!
In any event, we eventually got back to the maintained trail, and were very grateful for it. We were feeling pretty pooped at this point, having been on the go for over 15 hours. I was looking forward to my two packets of Lipton's Sidekicks Creamy Bacon and Carbonara dinner!
The hike along the trail, though easy, seemed to drag on for a long time. It was around 8pm that we finally saw the pointy shape of the Elfin Lakes Hut, bathed in beautiful late day sun. It had been over 17 hours since we'd left earlier that morning. Quite an epic trip!
I relished every morsel of dinner, and we kicked back, played some cards, and went to bed early. There was no early-morning schedule for the next morning, and we planned to sleep in as much as we wanted!
Interactive Trackmap - Mount Garibaldi Climb -Click map to Expand.
Climb Data Summary - Garibaldi via East Face Route
Start Time:
3:05a.m.
End Time:
8:15p.m.
Duration:
17h10m
Distance:
19.07 km
(11.85 mi)
Average Speed:
1.1 km/hr
(0.7 mph)
Start Elevation:
4760ft
(1451m)
*
Max Elevation:
8789ft
(2679m)
*
Min Elevation:
4230ft
(1289m)
*
End Elevation:
4837ft
(1474m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
5301ft
(1616m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
5276ft
(1608m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
Mount Garibaldi Climb, Elevation over Distance
Mount Garibaldi Climb, Elevation over Time
