The main purpose of my trip to British Columbia in August 2007 was to get some more mountain climbing experience. Even though we failed to summit, the climb was still a great experience and exposed me to a few new elements of mountaineering. At just below 9,000 feet, Mt. Garibaldi is not a very high mountain, but it has technical climbing and glacier travel by rope teams, something I had never done before.
Mt. Garibaldi rises above the Coast Mountains near Squamish, north of Vancouver. We started our climb at around 5,500 feet, carrying enough gear for two days on the mountain.
The surrounding landscape was a mixture of steep forested mountains, lakes, and the rugged terrain of the Coast Mountains. This lake was photographed during the Garibaldi portion of my trip, although I no longer know its name.
I also encountered wildlife around the area, including this young deer and chipmunk. It didn’t take long after leaving the developed areas around Vancouver and Squamish to feel like I was surrounded by wilderness.
Starting the Climb
At the beginning of our climb, we were mostly hiking through small shrubs with many trees in the distance. It didn’t take us long to reach the first snow as we gained elevation.
Close to two hours into the climb, we came across a very rocky ridge that we had to scramble through. Most of the rocks were loose and didn’t provide the best footing, although at some points we had large bushes to hold on to.
We eventually got a short break in the clouds, giving me a better view of the ridge and the terrain we had crossed. The mountain was already giving us a mixture of loose rock, snow, and rapidly changing weather.
Camping Below the Glacier
After crossing the rocky ridge, we had a long, steep climb up gravel-like terrain until it finally leveled off. We made our camp here beneath the glacier. During the night we had terrible weather, with heavy rain and extremely strong winds that made me wonder if the tent would come down.
Glacier Travel
Our plan the next morning was to start at 4 a.m. and head for the summit, but the weather didn’t improve until around 8. Even then, conditions weren’t good because clouds kept rolling across the mountain and reducing our visibility. We roped ourselves together for the glacier and started heading upward.
There were plenty of nasty crevasses along the route. We had to step over several of them and could see dozens more scattered across the glacier, making the rope team an entirely new part of mountaineering for me.
Turning Around at the Bergschrund
Just as we reached the technical part of the mountain, more clouds rolled in and our visibility became very poor. In front of us was a bergschrund, and we were already short on time because we had started several hours later than planned. Our guide decided that we had no choice but to turn around.
This picture shows me in front of the bergschrund, our stopping point. With the poor visibility, we couldn’t clearly see how wide it was or determine the best way to approach it. Continuing higher under those conditions would have added considerably more risk to an already delayed climb.
The photograph of my guide and climbing partner heading back down the mountain shows how limited the visibility had become. The clouds made navigation more difficult while also making the crevasses considerably harder to see.
Though I didn’t conquer Mt. Garibaldi, I’d likely try a new mountain if I climb again in the area, since I prefer having a completely new experience instead of repeating something I’ve already done. It was disappointing that we didn’t summit, but the climb still gave me my first real experience traveling as a rope team across a crevassed glacier and made the trip worthwhile.
