Archive:BC Day '09 Long Weekend: Tantalus Range

What when how why?

Tantalus Range is those pretty mountains you see off the highway between Squamish & Whistler. Read all about it in Matt Gunn's book, p.48.

We need 1 day (Aug 1) to hike in and 1 day (Aug 3) to hike out. We will do ~1200m elevation gain/loss with backpacks + one river crossing each of those days.

On Aug 2 we will 'do our own thing'. Our base camp will be Lake Lovelywater. There is scrambling up there, you can go to at least 2 different places: Alpha (exposed sections), and Pelops/Niobe (glacier+ some exposure). If you don't like sketchy, haul up an inflatable kayak and paddle on the lake.

Beginner Friendly?

There are several beginner-sketchy things on this trip which I will take the time to point out.

• Crossing via tyrolean. I have no idea how much arm strength this requires. Not recommended if you're afraid of swiftly running ice cold water below you.
• 1200m elevation gain to base camp, with backpack. it will be a long day.
• Optional moderate to difficult scrambling with exposed sections and/or glaciers. You can skip this though.

Across the Squamish

At the beginning of the route we have to cross the Squamish river. It's kinda surrounded by Native land and there is no bridge. There's a cable where we can Tyrolean across and boats can be hired too.

This is going to be a large organizational issue. I want to cross via Tyrolean because it sounds like fun. But, we can't have everybody pile up at the crossing all at the same time (you cross one at a time). So at the very least we need to get people 'time slots'. You can probably pay somebody to use a boat, and Roland has given me some contact info, but before I do that, maybe a rough idea of how many people wanna NOT do the Tyrolean will be helpful. If you own a boat (canoe? kayak? yacht?) then you can do that. Except, where would you leave it? Also, the river is fast so you should be confident of your paddling skills.

Gear

Regular camping gear. You want a warm sleeping bag even though it's likely to be boiling hot down here. Helmet for scrambling, possibly rope 'n harness for the glacier? Probably ice axe. 3 large biners if you're doing the Tyrolean thing, these will work: [1].

If you wanna skip on carrying the tent, there is that really $$$ve hut up there which belongs to the ACC. I hear that it has to be booked waaaaay in advance though. Just throwing that out there, not saying it's a good idea or anything.

More details coming up.

Interesteds

Put down a name and any info you'd like to share, such as your preferred method of crossing the Squamish.

1. Maria M. Crossing via tyrolean.
2. [name] [preferred crossing method]