During our weekly discussion of “Where are we going to go this weekend”, Rush, Maggie and I decided that we have done enough suffering and freezing at night to earn ourselves a type-1 fun warm mountain hut adventure. We had set our eyes on a few huts but most of them appeared to be extremely busy and we did not want to deal with crowds at all. The least busy hut was the Roland Burton Hut built by VOC and the website showed there would be 3 groups (a total of 10 people, the hut can sleep 14 people comfortably) so we decided to go for it.

Roland Burton Hut is located on the east end of Garibaldi lake, it is mostly accessed during the winter times when Garibaldi Lake is reliably frozen (typically from January to April). The most direct approach is starting from Rubble Creek Trailhead, grinding up the 9km switchbacks to Garibaldi Lake and walking a flat 5km across the lake. On a clear day the hut offers great views of the Sphinx glacier but as we will come to see that was unfortunately not the condition we would find ourselves in. I did some rough measurements on the map and estimated it to be 30km round trip with just under 1000m of elevation. It does not look hard on paper but we knew that in winter things are almost always 3 times harder than they look.

To maximize daylight we set our alarms at a leisure 4:30 A.M. time and Rush came to pick me up at around 5:30 and the drive on the Sea to Sky highway begun. We knew the weather would not be ideal and the forecast was correct: it was snowing. Nevertheless, our stoke level was high and everyone was excited for the trip albeit slightly sleep deprived.

*Driving into Squamish, the Chief is covered in snow*

Rubble Creek trailhead was quite empty this time of the year, which was fairly nice as this place is always packed with people hiking Panorama Ridge. We met another group (2 skiers) and they were also going to the hut. We were all hoping that this would be the only group that would show up so we can have plenty of space in the hut.

Soon we found ourselves huffing and puffing on the endless switchbacks. The snow wasn’t deep on the trail at first but it was just deep enough to require lots of extra energy. There is always the debate of when we should put on our snowshoes and eventually the snow got deep enough and I was sweating buckets so I knew it was a good time to put them on.

We started to move a lot faster after putting on our snowshoes. This part of the trail was always pretty boring during the summer times and I’ve always just wanted to get it over with — but it was so different more beautiful in the winter that I actually enjoyed it.

*Me going up the trail, it still was gorgeous even though the weather was not ideal*

After some 7km of uneventful but beautiful switchbacks we reached a few smaller lakes (I believe one of them is called “Lesser Garibaldi Lake” and we met another 2 skiers who were also going to the hut. We decided instead of taking the trail, we would walk straight over the frozen lake to cut some distance.

*Me ready to cross the small lake, following the two skiers in front*

*Crossing Lesser Garibaldi Lake, Maggie and Rush in front breaking trail*

Soon we found ourselves in a pickle: we entered another lake and the ice was fairly broken and we could see open water. In this kind of temperature getting wet would really suck so we tried to relocate the trail but it was a steep and complicated climb up so we kept skirting around the lake looking for a good place to get back to the trail.

Finally we checked our GPS and spotted an orange trail mark on one the the trees in a relatively mellow terrain. We directly cut across through some deep snow and thick trees but atlas made it back to the trail. It was a fun little detour and it gave us a little taste of what walking on a frozen lake was like.

*Back to the trail, anyone know what animal left these tracks?*

*Another 2km of easy walking on the trail, we reached the Garibaldi Lake Junction*

*There were a few other hikers on a day trip that would stop at the lake*

It was my first time seeing the frozen Garibaldi Lake. We still had plenty of daylight left so we took a break and had some food. The other side of Garibaldi Lake looked so far away from this side and it surely did not look like just 5km. To add to the adventurous atmosphere it also started snowing and it was a total white-out on the lake and our GPS maps were very handy.

*Ready to set off! Our destination is on the far far side (you can barely see it)*

It became obvious to us that it would not be as easy of a walk as we expected as the snow was deep and powdery so we were sinking to knee deep every step even with our snow shoes on.

*It was harder than it looks… Maggie taking a break.*

*Looking back at the two skiers behind us, they looked so far away*

*The famous Panorama Ridge, first time looking at it from this angle*

*Looking ahead at the Sphinx Glacier and our destination.. Still so far away.*

Then things started to feel a little strange. The snow got heavy, wind picked up and visibility dropped. It was like the world has shrunk to this little white bubble that only the 3 of were in. Every direction we looked were just total whiteness. I lost my balance many times because I couldn’t tell where the ground ends and the sky begins — my brain was confused and was struggling to find a reference point. I also found out that it was impossible to walk straight because somehow I would always drift to left or right and Maggie had to constantly correct my trajectory. I then got into a rhythm, just one foot in front of another and it was meditative. However, after an hour of walking I didn’t think our destination looked any closer. It’s almost like the mountains were moving away at the same speed at which we are walking and we would just be stuck on this lake forever.

Breaking through the deep snow was getting quite tiring and I turned around and said I felt like I was in an episode of Game of Thrones. An eternity later we suddenly realized that we could see the trees on the other side of the lake and we were actually getting close. The last half an hour to the shore was filled with snow, wind, classic rock songs and good spirits. With the exact GPS location of the hut, it was not difficult to locate.

*There is the hut, half buried in snow, 2 other skiers had made it just a bit before us*

*On the other side of the lake, looking back*

*Views past the hut, the mountains and glaciers were obscured by the clouds but it was a different kind of beauty*

*Looking at the hut from the side, it is completely covered in snow*

*Home for tonight, we had to dig out the door as it was half buried in snow*

We chatted with the couple that were also in the hut and they were lovely people with good music taste. It turned out that we would be the only people staying in the hut tonight and I wondered what happened to the other 2 skiers that we saw back on the trail…

*There were a few stoves in the hut but the gas ran out*

*There’s 2 levels and we opted to sleep upstairs*

*Looking at the entrance from the inside*

*A small collection of guidebooks, most of them were a bit mouldy and wet*

It soon got dark and it got cold real quick. I changed into dry clothes and put my wet clothes on the drying rack to dry overnight. It was then time for dinner. Maggie had instant mash potatoes with nuts and I had 4 servings of instant noodles.

*The beds had been made, Rush has slipped into his sleeping bag and turned into a worm*

*It’s dinner time the best time of the day*

*Nothing beats a bowl of hot ramen in the middle of nowhere in a warm place with awesome people*

I absolutely destroyed the ramen that was meant for 4 people. The rest of the evening was filled with laughters and funny stories. The night fell and I went outside for one last pee before tucking into my sleeping bag and the moon was out. I was thrilled as that meant we might have a chance to get some views the next morning.

It was a casual 6 A.M wake the next morning. I had a good night sleep and stayed toasty warm the entire time. Unfortunately the weather was still the same as the day before. But it was peaceful with snow falling quietly. After enjoying my morning poop at the luxury outhouse (seriously, when was the last time we got accommodations like this), we packed up leisurely, cleaned up the hut and set off the cross the lake again.

*There is also an outhouse at this hut, what a luxury*

*Me and Rush ready to say goodbye to the hut. What a lovely stay!*

*Following our footprints from yesterday*

The journey back was quite a lot easier than the previous day as the trail breaking was a lot easier since we already packed down the snow. There was still about 10cm of new snow but it was not nearly as bad. Pretty sure we were 30 minutes faster than the previous day and we took some pictures.

The walk down the switchbacks down the the parking lot felt shorter on the way down. I took off my snowshoes and went down just in my boots and it was great as I could slip and slide to save some energy. I was definitely jealous of the 2 skiers who just skied down. Good thing it didn’t take us long and we got back to the parking lot fairly early in the day.

*Back to the parking lot and it’s snack time*

Even though the weather was not ideal it was still probably one of my favourite Type-1 fun trip. Crossing Garibaldi Lake in the winter is definitely somethings special and I will come back and do it again next winter. Any day is a good day when you spend it outside with good people.

Roland Burton Hut

Not an ArmChair Traverse Attempt

Mount Harvey