*Mount Harvey, the Lions in the background*

It was my good friend Rush’s last week in Canada and we planned to do a final backpacking trip up to frosty mountain on the weekend. However, the weather looked bad on Sunday and temperature was forecasted to be around -25 degrees up high. Avalanche danger was also considerable in the interior so that limited our options to the a day trip in the north shore mountains.

Our original plan was to summit Mt.Brunswick (the highest mountain on the north shore) but neither of us had much winter mountaineering experience as the last part of Mt. Brunswick could be fairly exposed in the winter with cornices all over. We then opted for the second-best choice in that area — Mount Harvey — just about 150m lower than Brunswick.

I somehow thought it was a good idea to try to catch the sunrise and then somehow successfully got Rush to get onboard with it.

The plan is to meet up and start driving at an ridiculous 1 A.M. in the morning. I got off work, bought food for the trip and laid down in bed at 8 P.M. and set my alarm at 00:15 just past midnight. I don’t think I have ever woken up so early — for anything.

Atlas, little to no sleep was had and I was woken up by the alarm. I was light-headed and groggy and had to fight with all my mental strength to not just kill the alarm and crawl back to bed. Somehow managed to get out of bed and had “breakfast” at 00:30. By 00:50 we met up at the parking lot and soon we were off. That’s the thing I love about Rush, he’s always on time if not early.

It was a weird feeling driving into downtown as it was St. Patrick’s Day and people were still out partying. I looked at Rush and we both laughed at how stupid our plan was. Due to sleep deprivation we both started bobbing our heads up and down in the car as if we were listening to music. A car stopped beside us and one of the girls in the backseat rolled down the window and asked us what we were listen to. Me and Rush looked at each other and burst into laughters as we were just sitting in absolute silence and marinating in early morning depression.

After 40 mins of driving we made it to Lion’s Bay and parked the car. There was actually another truck already in the parking lot… What?? Seems like someone else was earlier than us — Vancouver people really need to get a life.

Quickly did some last-minute gear check: poles, crampons, ice axe… and we’re off. It is a strange feeling as this parking lot is always packed with people but now it’s just dead quite (I guess it is 1:30 in the morning).

*Seems like March is not really a good time to do this*

The forest was spooky at night, combining with sleep deprivation I felt like I was seeing things moving. We half-ran up the first set of snow-free switchbacks and did 500m of elevation in just under 45 minutes. I was quite happy about that progress and it seemed like we were gonna hit the summit so much sooner than I expected but boy was I mistaken.

Turning right at the intersection, soon we encountered the snow. It was ok as there was still tracks from previous days so we did not need to break trail. Although we were still postholing at times. Our pace significantly slowed down and now the flat part felt equally exhausting as the uphill snow-free part.

Then we hit the start of the steep climb, here the trail narrowed to a single track and only one person can pass through at a time.

*Postholing.. Sinking to our knees at every step.*

This was when shit started to hit the fan: not a lot of people have gone this far previously and the trail was not broken at all so we were sinking to above our knees at every step. It was like running on a treadmill and I would need to take two steps to make the distance of one step when the snow is not deep. The snow was also frozen on top but soft on the bottom, which means breaking through the top part hurts but it also didn’t have to strength to support our weight so we would still sink.. We were going to put snowshoes on but the trail was too narrow to go through with snowshoes on. Plus it was also too steep for snowshoes and we felt safer to just crampon it.

*Me breaking trail. It was frustrating to say the least.*

My memory of our journey in the dark was quite fuzzy. The snow slopes felt like an eternity and we were just slowly crawling our way up this huge mountain. There was not many words said in those 5 hours in the dark as we both just tried to put one foot in front of another. Thoughts like “this is so stupid, why am I in this” were definitely hitting me multiple times but in the end I started laughing at the comedy of it. I would be sinking down to my waist sometimes and just burst into laughters because the misery was just funny at that point.

One eternity later the sky was brightening up and i could see the end of the trees. We gathered energy and almost ran out of the woods to get a view. It looked a bit cloudy but the sun had not risen yet and I knew that the clouds tend to clear before sunrise so I was not too worried. It felt good to finally be getting a few after battling in the dark for many hours.

*Looking at the Lions on the other side of the valley*

From here the gradient eased up so we put on our snowshoes. However, my crampon straps were frozen together and wouldn’t come off so I had to be stuck with them in this deep snow while Rush just took off in his snowshoes. It was crazy how much easier it was to walk without sinking every step.

*Climbing up, the sun is rising and the clouds cleared!*

*The views opened up, classic shot of the north shore mountains and the ocean. You can see the Sea to Sky highway, Horshoe Bay and Bowen Island*

*Mount Harvey casting a shadow on the mountains*

*Me looking back, the sky was turning pink*

*The sun finally hitting the ridge, sky fully cleared*

*Looking North, there is Hat Mountain (far right), Mount Harvey Summit (close right) and Mount Brunswick just to the left side of Harvey*

*A sneak peak of the East Lion just behind the West Lion*

We still had quite some ways to go as the true summit looked quite far away. I was suffering not being able to put on my snowshoes but I just couldn’t undo my crampon straps. Mad lad Rush gave it a look and straight up blew at it with his mouth and miraculously got it unstuck. I then put on snowshoes and boy was it a night an day difference.

*We had to watch our steps here: these cornices were huge and we really had to pay attention to where the mountain ends and the cliff starts*

*Winter wonderland, this is what makes waking up at midnight worth it*

*Looking up at the last steep section to the summit*

I had to take an emergency poop break just below the summit as I could not hold it in anymore so I let Rush to go ahead first. I dug a 1m pit in the snow and gave myself a platform to put my feet on. It was by far the most epic poop I have ever had. And of course, I carefully buried so that no one would stumble upon it.

Not soon after I heard Rush’s cheers on the summit and I knew he was there. He yelled to tell me to start walking so he could use his drone to get some footage.

*On the way up, looking at the shadow in the ocean*

*There is something so satisfying about stepping into smooth snow*

*Epic drone shot, me walking up the final section. Mount Brunswick is just to the left side behind Harvey.*

*Almost there, a wider shot of the Lions in the background*

*Looking at the summit from the other direction, if you look closely you can see two black dots on top*

We spent about 45 minutes on top taking in the views. It was moments like this that makes all the pain of suffering worth it. This was truly a type 2 fun day at its finest and miraculously we felt so good on top even though we were both suffering from dehydration, sleep deprivation and tiredness.

*A closer look at mount Brunswick in covered in snow*

*I really liked the white and blue colour scheme so I snapped a shot*. Notice how the wind left the marks in the snow.

It was getting really windy and cold and soon we both could not feel our fingers and toes so we decided it was time to head back down. I was really not looking forward to the long and complicated way down as I knew that sinking on the way down sometimes can be equally exhausting as climbing up and going downhill with snowshoes is always super awkward.

It turned out that the descent was a bit better than I imagined because we basically skipped the switchbacks and went a straight line down the mountain using the deep snow. It was actually better for my knees. On our way down we saw about 6 other groups and they were all very thankful that we broke the trail for them. However, the summit adrenaline soon wore out and the sleep deprivation hit. Half way down the mountain I was falling asleep on my feet and I wanted to take a nap leaning against the trees.

*Still some ways to go.. We’ve been going for 9 hours at this point.*

The last 2 hours was a battle against sleep deprivation but finally we reached the junction and it was only a 2km downhill walk back to the car.

Made it back to the parking lot a bit pass 1 P.M. which brings our totally time on the trail to around 10 hours. In the summer this route usually takes me about 6 hours and this goes to show how much more difficult everything is in the winter. Our shoes were all soaked and it was quite a scene when we sat by the side of the road and squeezed water out of our socks. Rush set a 30 minute alarm and straight up napped right on the side of the road. I had to explain to concerned people that he’s not dead and he was just taking a power nap.

After that 30 minute nap Rush said he felt incredible and drove us back to Vancouver without falling asleep on the highway — which was super impressive considering I passed out almost as soon as I sat down in the car.

Despite how much we suffered I think in the end we both agreed it was the most fun we have had in the mountains in a long time. The views are just that much more epic when it’s hard-earned and we had the summit all to ourselves. The 5 hours in the dark would be one of the memories I will try to forget about but it sure makes a good story to tell. I wish I could tell a bit more about what was going on in my head in that 5 dark hours but I think most of the time my brain was just blank. The thought of putting one foot in front of another pretty much consumed all my mental capacity.

I think me and Rush will still laugh at our stupidity when we meet next time and talk about “hey do you remember that time when we decided to wake up at midnight to climb a mountain in the winter?” But will we still do it again?

Hell yea.

Mount Harvey

Roland Burton Hut

Sky Pilot via Sea to Sky