Whistler Olympic Park

	Avalanche Hazard
	The route and terrain described here is capable of producing avalanches. Safe travel requires the skills and equipment to assess and mitigate avalanche hazards. A professionally taught training course is highly recommended.

Background

There are two seperate nordic skiing operations in the Callaghan Valley - Whistler Olympic Park (WOP) and Callaghan Country (CC). Callaghan Country operates the western trails in the Callaghan Creek drainage, and Whistler Olympic Park operates the eastern trails in the Madeley Creek drainage.

Rules

Free access routes shown in red.
Access routes on XC ski trails shown in blue.

1. All backcountry skiing or snowshoeing parties must register at the Whistler Olympic Park Day Lodge or the Callaghan Country base warming hut in the morning to arrange parking. This will ensure that no rescues are launched to search for overdue backcountry parties.
2. There is a $6 per person fee to use the groomed XC trails for backcountry access. This fee allows use of all Whistler Olympic Park trails, and the Callaghan Country mainline trail. Only skiers on alpine touring or telemark equipment qualify for the reduced fee (no skinny XC skis). For safety, the normal cross country responsibility code applies. Only ski in the indicated direction on one way trails.
3. There is no fee to access the backcountry without using the groomed XC trails. However, a free ticket is still required to served as a liability waiver. Please be careful when crossing XC ski trails and always yield to XC skiers. At callaghan country, wilderness skiers who are not using the groomed XC trails should park outside the posted customer parking lot. There are a few parking spots on the right just after the bridge over Madeley Creek.
4. Parties that arrive before the WOP day lodge or CC warming hut open should look for a sign in book near the door. Sign yourself in with your destination, and leave a note on the dash of your car stating your destination and expected return time.
5. The XC ski trails and the 21 mile creek watershed (Rainbow Lake) are closed to dogs. This closure includes the ski touring loop from Hanging Lake over to Beverley Creek and ascents of Rainbow Mountain from the south and west.
6. All snowcat / snowmobile access roads are closed to backcountry skiers for safety purposes. This includes the ski jump service road. Please do not use this route. Instead, access Hanging Lake from the Biathlon Spectator Parking Lot.
7. Don't ever ski behind the biathlon range. Some of the kids (biathletes in trainning) can be poor shots.

Please follow the above rules or we may lose access privileges. In particular, don't get caught skiing on a groomed XC trail without the $6 ticket. If you really want to use the groomed trail, $6 isn't much to ask.

Anyone who is interested in helping out with developing the trails should contact me. Scott Nelson

Routes

Biathlon Range To Hanging Lake

• Park in the Biathlon Spectator Parking lot (P8) located on the left as you drive towards the Biathlon building.
• Head into the forest east of the Biathlon Range, to the right of the scoreboard. A flagged route starts here. The route and climbs steeply at first to get out of the dense second growth forest, then heads east parallel to the outermost XC trails. There is a narrow road here which is reserved for snowmobile/snowcat use by the XC area staff. Do not use this road, and do not use the outermost XC trail as it is for downhill traffic only and XC skiers may be going very fast around some blind corners.
• After a pair of switchback, the snowcat/snowmobile service road forks. The right branch is reserved for snowmobiles/snowcats but the left branch is available to BC skiers. Follow this narrow road a short distance until it forks. Go right at the fork, and then when the road switchbacks to the left continue straight through a stand of trees to reach a logging road.
• Go along the logging road for perhaps 50m to where the snowmobile/snowcat service road emerges from the forest. The flagged route continues on the uphill side of the road. Follow the orange flags up the valley towards Hanging Lake. Initially, the route ascends gentle slopes on the north side of the creek, trending right. At 1086m, the route crosses the creek and continues up the south side. At 1160m, the route heads sharply uphill to climbers right, reaching a bench at 1239m. Above the bench, meadows lead up and left to another bench on the bottom edge of a talus slope at 1320m.
• The orange flagging ends on a bench at the bottom of an open talus slope. To reach Hanging Lake, continue left along the bench, until it ends near the creek flowing out of Hanging Lake. Then climb steeply back to the right to gain a higher bench (below a cliff) that leads to Hanging Lake.

Distance	Location	Elevation	Position (NAD27)
0.0km	Biathlon Parking	875m	10U 0491858E 5554703N
TBD	Trailhead & start of flagging	875m	10U 0492001E 5554753N
TBD	Leave logging road	945m (?)	10U 0492592E 5554652N (?)
TBD	Cross main creek	1086m	10U 0493173E 5554707N
TBD	Bench	1239m	10U 0493513E 5554712N
TBD	Talus Slope - end of flagging	1317m	10U 0493729E 5554661N
TBD	Hanging Lake	1410m (?)	10U 0494017E 5555002N (?)

Biathlon Range To Beverley Creek

This access route is closed during all Biathlon competitions, as it crosses the Biathlon race course.

• Park in the Biathlon Spectator Parking lot (P8) located on the left as you drive towards the Biathlon building.
• On the far NW side of lot P8 is a tall light pole. From the pole head NW, crossing the Biathlon connector trail and the Olympic Biathlon loop trail.
• Turn north down a hill then parallel the Madeley Creek loop trail to a bridge over Beverley Creek.
• Cross the bridge and head into the forest on the right. Do not go up Beverley creek, but rather head NW into the next drainage to the west where a flagged route begins. The flagged route rejoins the creek higher up, above a canyon section.

Day Lodge to Hanging Lake

This route uses XC trails, so you must purchase a $6 backcountry access pass at the day lodge. If a race is being held on either of the Olympic XC race courses, this access route will be closed. The area this route goes though has only one way trails, so the outgoing and incoming routes are different.

• Pick up Olympic XC Blue going up from the Daylodge / Stadium area. Follow it to the top of the first hill.
• Cross over to Olympic XC Red and turn right.
• Take a shortcut on Olympic XC Red (on the left) to avoid going up and back down a hill
• Take another shortcut on Olympic XC Red (on the right) to stay on the perimeter of the WOP trails. Follow this trail up then head up the valley on the right. Please Do not use any of the snowmobile access roads.
• Pick up the flagged route from the logging road as described above. From here to Hanging Lake, the route is the same as coming from the Biathlon Range.

To return:

• ski down the creek from Hanging Lake until you hit Olympic XC Red. Keep right on this one way trail
• An optional shortcut is available to cut off some of the flatter part of the trail
• keep on Olympic XC red going downhill until it reaches the XC stadium area
• Turn left (south) to return to the day lodge.

Biathlon Range to Madeley Lake

This route uses XC trails, so you must purchase a $6 backcountry access pass at the day lodge. This access route is closed during all Biathlon competitions, as it crosses the Biathlon race course. There is lots of interesting terrain to explore north of Madeley Lake.

• Park in Lot P8 and head NW past the overpass on the Olympic Biathlon Trail.
• Drop down a hill heading north to reach the Madelely Creek Loop trail.
• Follow the XC trails north to Madeley Lake. The recommended route is:
  • Madeley Creek Trail
  • Norweigan Woods
  • Lunch Lake
  • Madeley Road
• Return via the same trails. Norwegian Woods and Madeley Creek Trail are one way trails, but you can take the higher branch of Norwegian Woods then ski against the grain, but off the trails back to the Biathlon Range.

Callaghan Lake

• It's 8.5km up Callaghan FSR (mainline trail) to Callaghan Lake, which takes about 2 hours to ski at a reasonable pace.
• The west side of the lake has some nice yoyo skiing terrain.
• The north side of the lake looks good as well, but the aspect isn't as favourable.
• You must buy a $6 ticket to use the grooming on mainline trail, or break you own parallel trail along Callaghan FSR.

Telemagique Ridge

• 3km up Callaghan FSR (mainline trail) an ungroomed road heads off on the right. This turnoff is signed as the "Into the Woods" trail.
• Follow the road, keeping left at two junctions.
• The road ends at a landing at 1220m.
• Follow the ridge crest uphill, heading north. On maps, the ridge looks very gentle, but there is a lot of micro terrain that makes travel and route finding a little more tricky. The upper part of the route follows a strange valley the runs along the top of the ridge.
• The final summit is most easily ascended from the NW side. There is a nice ski run from the top down to Telemagique Lake.
• You must buy a $6 ticket to use the grooming on mainline trail, or break you own parallel trail for the first 3km along Callaghan FSR.

Links

• Whistler Olympic Park main website
• Whistler Olympic Park snow report
• Whistler Olympic Park webcams
• Whistler Olympic Park trail map
• Callaghan Country website
• Callaghan Country current conditions and snow report
• Callaghan Country trail map

EAO links and documents

Whistler Nordic Centre & Callahagn Valley Master Plan

Whistler Nordic Centre Homepage