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The Black Tusk, seen from Whistler Mountain. I took this picture in the winter of 2006/7.
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A snow-covered Tusk seen from Blackcomb Mountain.
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An aerial view of the Tusk's northern aspect. The climb is from the south side.
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We started the hike at 6:25 am from the Rubble Creek parking lot. Before setting on the trail, we enjoyed the alpenglow on the surrounding peaks.
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The first view of the Tusk comes at Taylor Meadows, 7.5 km and over two hours into the trail. This is the southern aspect, the one you climb up.
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The Tusk reflected in a pond at Taylor Meadows.
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Don't let your objective prevent you from turning your head and enjoying the views behind you.
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We caught the meadows at the peak of their summer bloom.
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Paula surrounded by lupins.
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At 10.5 km you start going up the Black Tusk trail proper. Mount Tantalus is behind you.
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Western anemonae and an ocean of wildflowers.
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It just goes on and on.
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On the last 2 km of the trail you start getting views of Garibaldi Lake.
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Paula crossing a stream.
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The trail becomes steeper and the views get better.
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Mount Garibaldi, the tallest peak in the area, lends its name to the park. The dark shadow in the foreground is called "The Table." It formed when a column of molten lava topped out against the bottom of a glacier.
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At 13 km you break into the alpine, where the Tusk has gotten a lot bigger and, if you only saw it from the highway or from Whistler, presents an unfamiliar aspect.
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The Tusk. We will approach it on the right side of the picture, and then walk the "gumline" all the way to the shorter end.
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Mimulus Lake behind us.
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Castle Towers mountain and its glacier.
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The grunt continues relentlessly.
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British Columbians will build inukshuks anywhere.
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The end of the park trail, at the 14 km mark. We reached this point at 12:15, after almost 6 hours on the trail. We stopped to eat a sandwich, and then proceeded to disregard the advice on the sign.
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The back of the sign explains the process of volcanic formation and glacial erosion.
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Now the trail becomes faint and proceeds on loose scree (which is hiking jargon for small pieces of rock that move all over and make it very difficult to walk).
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Looking back towards Garibaldi Lake.
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A panorama from the trail. Choose "x-large" size to best view this picture.
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A cornice on the slopes below.
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A tantalizing view of mount Tantalus behind a cornice.
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Paula heads for the ridge below the Tusk.
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Panoramic view from the ridge.
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Permanent snowfields on the scree.
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Howe Sound in the distance. The last silhouette is Bowen Island, just across from Vancouver. The faint lines in the horizon are the mountains on Vancouver Island.
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Paula contemplates the last bit of trail.
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Just a few more metres to the base.
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Helm Lake and Cinder Cone in the flats below.
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The scree slopes below the Tusk. My 72mm original Nikon lens cap is somewhere there.
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Paula at the base to the Tusk.
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Whistler Mountain.
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I'm pretty sure Dante was thinking of this when he wrote Inferno.
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The appropriately named "Bishop's Mitre."
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Close up on the mitre.
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Looking down into the void.
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Garibaldi Lake and Black Tusk Meadows behind us. Mount Garibaldi, also a volcano, looms over it all.
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Aerial view of the Black Tusk from the eastern end of Garibaldi Lake. The hike starts 800 metres below lake level.
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View towards the "dead zone" (created by one of the glaciers that shaped the Tusk), Helm Pass, and the Fitzsimmons and Spearhead ranges (better known as Whistler and Blackcom mountains).
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Helm Lake, Cinder Cone, Helm Glacier and Castle Towers.
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Panorama from the base of the Tusk.
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Paula, geared up for the final climb!
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Me, in my climbing regalia.
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The ridge towards the gumline. Keep left and don't look down!
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The chasm at the base of the Tusk, seen from a hollow in the ridge.
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Paula navigating the gumline. If all that rock seems ready to crumble down, it is!
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Paula negotiates scree slopes towards the southern end of the Tusk. You already have to beware of rocks dislodged by climbers above you.
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To get to the top of the tusk, you have to climb through one of the volcanic chimneys. There is only one that is relatively safe to climb - the very last one. This is the last corner before reaching it.
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You gotta be freakin' kiddin' me.
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No, they were not kidding. That is what you have to go up. The first 10 metres are essentially a vertical climb. There are many handholds and footholds, but you have to watch for loose ones, and for falling rock from climbers above. This picture is from the second, less steep pitch - sorry, I had my hands full on the first one!
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This is how you climb the Tusk. You can see the vertical first pitch, and then the slightly less steep second pitch. After you complete that, the grade becomes somewhat easier and you reach the summit in no time. You stil l have to go down, though! Notice the size of the climbers for comparison.
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Paula in the second pitch - the angle here must have been 60 degress or so. Better than 90, anyway!
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On top! We got there at 2:30, after 8 hours on the trail, 15 km of horizontal distance and 1700 metres of elevation gain.
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Beautiful Garibalid Lake, seen from the summit.
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One happy Paula.
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Here's the kicker - you do not actually get to the summit. The true summit is behind us in this picture. Climbing it is a suicide proposition for all but the most experienced climbers.
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Download MOV
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Stand with us on top of the Tusk with these 360 degree panoramic Quicktime VR movie. For the best viewing experience, choose the "medium" or "small" sizes, or download it to your computer.
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Looking down.
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This place looks good in any toning.
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Another summit shot.
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Paula with mount Garibaldi.
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And me with mount Garibaldi.
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Looking down into the notch between the subsummit and the true summit. Scary stuff.
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Paula relaxes for a moment at the edge of the cliff.
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More Garibaldi Lake.
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Helm Lake again - I just love those colors.
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A deep blue Black Tusk Lake.
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Castle Towers and Helm Glacier.
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Helm Pass and Whistler Mountain.
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Castle Towers glacier.
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We had a long walk back to the car, so we lingered at the top for no more than 15-20 minutes. Downclimbing the chimney was fairly difficult, so we took our sweet time. We were once again at the base of the Tusk at 3:30, looking forward to 14 more kilometres of, this time, mercifully downhill walking.
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Paula makes quick work of the scree slopes going down.
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Yet more Helm Lake and Cinder Cone.
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Mimulus Lake.
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More flowery meadows.
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A gushing snowmelt stream where we replenished our bottles. We drank over 7 litres of water each throughout the day.
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Paula crosses the meadows once more.
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Bye to Black Tusk Meadows.
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Last look at the Tusk from the Taylor Meadows campground. This picture was taken around 7 pm.
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Two more hours at a brisk pace took us back to the parking lot. We reached it just in time to catch the very last alpenglow on the Barrier, the remains of a massive rock slide that dams Garibaldi Lake above it.
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The Barrier and Rubble Creek, the outlet stream from Garibaldi Lake. At this point, we had been 14.5 hours on the trail, walked over 30 kilometres, gained and lost 1700 vertical metres, and completed our longest, highest, technically most difficult, and most rewarding hike so far!
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