Whistler - Pemberton 08-09 official report
- Thread starter RGM
- Start date
From what I have heard, as of yesterday, snow was 400 ft from the parking lot, and yes, you can park in the Brandywine lot...
You should be able to park there this weekend, probably the last days before driving up the road. Unloading at Rutherford is at 7K and moving up fast. Gravel patches are getting looonger.
L
lewey
Member
how long does the tour take from brandy to rutherford? only linked brandy and callaghan but never any farther.
epic tour.......
*short notice*how about ditch work and go on tues or weds.... brandywine to rutherford I have not seen the airstream but some super guys from north van showed me the way...... any one have a google map with some waypoints on it? looks like need a guide for this one................
*short notice*how about ditch work and go on tues or weds.... brandywine to rutherford I have not seen the airstream but some super guys from north van showed me the way...... any one have a google map with some waypoints on it? looks like need a guide for this one................
Does any body know if ya can go in Calahan, or is still closed?? Thanks
Callaghan is still closed and will most likely remain closed. Triconi, Brandywine and Sproatt are apparently closing for a full three months next year before, during, and after the Olympics.
I have done this tour many times and I guess it how much you play on the way back. I'd say to go from BW to Dave Mill's trailer on the Ice Cap it would take about an hour (hardpack conditions) without stopping. To go from the Helislsledder's to the trail head at Rutherford would take about 40-45 minutes. Of course that is knowing short cuts.
Dooin that tomorrow......or this morning
With the setup snow you could probably go from bwine to harrison hut down to Rutherford and back to bwine with an extra fiver. Another great day on the Icecap. If you lost a blue helium ballon I got it, if you lost anything else PM me to identify.
RGM do you have the GPS Coordinates for Harrison hut? We couldn't find it last time.
K.
K.
Thanks RGM.
K.
K.
Anybody know the condition on Brandywine? Is it pretty much mandatory to drive up the road to unload? Thinking about going up this weekend.
Please be aware that the Sea to Sky LRMP winter zoning was recently approved, and the area around Harrison Hut is one of the non-motorized zones. The new zoning map can be found here: http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca/slrp/lrmp/surrey/s2s/plan/gisdata.html (Map 15A)
I'm a bakcountry skier and up until now a lurker on this forum. Like all of you I'm a snow junkie and I want to get updates on the most recent snow conditions.
Before you all jump on me as an anti-snowmobile granola eating hippy, let me get a word in. I think that snowmobiling is a perfectly legitimate activity, but snowmobiling and self propelled backcountry skiing don't mix well. Like ice cream and pretzels. That's why a negotiated solution was developed a few years ago to sort out some non-motorized zones. Please recognize that the solution is not perfect, but all groups (snowmobilers, backcountry skiers and commericial operators) had to compromise to find a workable solution. Hopefully the solution can be improved over time if all the stakeholder groups are willing to be civil and have meaningful discussions.
If anyone wants to discuss this further, please start a seperate thread in this forum and I'll reply there.
-Scott
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S
sledjunky3
Active member
Braaaaaaaaap!!!!
I had no idea Harrison hut was off limits to sledding. I was only back there once this year but I did not see any signs like there is at Callaghan from BW saying stay out. How do most sledders know that this area is off limits and would they be penalized? There is only a small percentage who read SnoWest.
I agree that there should be a happy medium between sledders and cross country skiers but I still cannot see why we both cannot use the same areas. I am actually not upset about losing Harrison Hut area as the Pemberton ice cap is big enough.....I am just frustrated that we lost Callaghan last year and I hear Brandywine, Sproatt and Tricouni will be closed for three months during the Olympics. I just hope it does not stay closed...after the Olympics go away.
I just wish I could have been a part of the "negotiated solution"!
I agree that there should be a happy medium between sledders and cross country skiers but I still cannot see why we both cannot use the same areas. I am actually not upset about losing Harrison Hut area as the Pemberton ice cap is big enough.....I am just frustrated that we lost Callaghan last year and I hear Brandywine, Sproatt and Tricouni will be closed for three months during the Olympics. I just hope it does not stay closed...after the Olympics go away.
I just wish I could have been a part of the "negotiated solution"!
The "negotiated solution" is 5 years old and was negotiated by club representatives (BTSC, PVSC, etc). Implementation is just starting now, which is why there hasn't been any signage yet. The original negotiated solution allowed for a snowmobile access route through the Callaghan Valley, and had all of Sproatt Mountain as a non motorized area. Then the government ****ed it up by closing the snowmobile route through the valley and pushing more snowmobiles over onto Sproatt Mountain. What's in the LRMP maps linked above is the latest version, but it's a changing document so feel free to send your comments to the government people listed on the website if you want to participate in the process.
Tricouni should remain fully open to snowmobiles next winter. I believe some people are working on resolving the parking situation to benefit both skiers and snowmobilers. Brandywine will be open, but there won't be any parking because VANOC will be taking over the parking lot for security staff or something. If you can ride to Brandywine from Tricouni or somewhere else there won't be anyone there to stop you. Brandywine parking should re-open after the olympics. Sproatt will be at least partially closed to sleds starting next winter, because a lot of the riding area is in the 21 mile creek watershed which is the drinking water supply for Whistler. Sproatt has the biggest skier-snowmobile conflict of any area in the sea to sky - even bigger than Callaghan before they closed it.
Let me try to explain about skiers and snowmobilers sharing an area. First of all, cross-country skiers and backcountry ski tourers are completely different user groups. A big part of self propelled backcountry ski touring is getting away from the complexity and noise of our modern lives and having a quiet wilderness experience. Another part is seeking out untracked powder snow. If an area is heavily used by snowmobiles, it is not an appealing destination for backcountry skiing. Brandywine meadows used to be a very popular destination for backcountry skiers, but not any more. I think that sharing access routes can work if the skiers and snowmobilers have different destinations. For example, at Chance creek the skiers mostly go to cloudburst and the snowmobilers mostly go to tricouni. However, I don't think that sharing a final destination is possible, since the skiers will always be trying to get away from the snowmobiles.
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