Hiking Mount Callaghan near Whistler
Contents
Mount Callaghan Hike Information
Difficulty: Very Difficult
Distance: 25.4Km
Elevation Gain: 1,670m
Highest Elevation: 2,409m
Average Gradient: 13.15%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Very High / Very High
Time Needed:
– Slow: 11 – 13 Hours
– Moderate: 10 – 11 Hours
– Fast: 8 – 10 Hours
Dog Friendly?: No
Season: Summer
4×4 / High Clearance Required? Yes
Scrambling / Exposure: Steep and long boulder field scramble, though little exposure
Mount Callaghan Trail
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°11’27.3″N 123°10’55.2″W
Mount Callaghan Overview
Mount Callaghan is a mountain located at the very north of the Callaghan Conservancy near Whistler. It’s a backcountry, unmarked hike/scramble that should only be attempted by experienced and confident hikers. Summiting Mount Callaghan begins by hiking to Ring Lake, which is a beautiful and serene trail through forest, alpine meadows and two stunning lakes, Conflict Lake and Ring Lake.
While the trail to Ring Lake is defined and somewhat trafficked, it’s poorly maintained, usually very muddy, not so well marked and requires a creek crossing that could pose difficulties the earlier in the summer you attempt it. Once at Ring Lake the ascent up Mount Callaghan is seriously steep, unmarked, requires some scrambling and is mostly on loose boulders. Exposure is never too serious, though you will need to be comfortable with heights as the higher you get the more unnerving the scramble becomes.
It is possible to summit Mount Callaghan as a day hike but we were surprised at how long it took. We were a relatively quick group, but this took us a full 10 hours round trip, including breaks, largely due to the route finding and slow grind up Mount Callaghan on an unmarked ascent. Usually this distance/elevation wouldn’t take this long but we found we were significantly slowed by the final ascent.
While the distance/elevation of this hike would typically land it in the “difficult” hike category, due to the ascent to the summit being unmarked, extremely steep (32.72% average gradient) and on loose boulders, I would consider this a very difficult hike.
The Callaghan Conservancy is accessible year-round, but in the winter you are required to park at Alexander Falls and it’s therefore an enormous distance to reach Ring Lake and Mount Callaghan, as such I would only recommend this hike in the summer. Unfortunately you are not allowed to camp anywhere in Callaghan Conservancy due to the whole region being environmentally sensitive and filled with wildlife. You therefore will have to complete his hike in one day! Dogs are also not allowed anywhere in Callaghan Conservancy.
Maintaining this website requires a significant investment of both time and money, if you find this website a useful resource, please consider making a donation using this button.
Is Mount Callaghan worthwhile?
The biggest issue with hiking only to Ring Lake is that you don’t get any epic summit or mountain range views. By ascending up Mount Callaghan you fix this with some ridiculous views and one of the best summit photo opportunities I’ve had anywhere. Combined with Ring Lake, this hike has it all. Alpine meadows, stunning lakes, forest strolls, creek crossings, glaciers, 360 degree mountain top views. While this is a very difficult hike it’s also one of the best and I highly recommend adding it to your trip to Ring Lake if you’ve got the experience and confidence needed to tackle it.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Callaghan?
The 25.4km and 1,670m elevation gain don’t tell the full story of how difficult this hike is. While the average gradient of 13.15% doesn’t sound a big deal, the reality is this is a very difficult hike due to where the gain is. Virtually all of the gain of this hike is in two places, the ascent up to Ring Lake and the ascent from Ring Lake to Mount Callaghan. The latter of those ascents is extremely steep, largely unmarked and on loose boulders. This is a hike you should only attempt if you are confident and experienced.
Mount Callaghan Route Information
The hike begins at the Callaghan Lake Provincial Park campsite, at the end of Callaghan Lake FSR. This FSR has a few smaller cross ditches that should be fine an SUV but will cause issues to a 2WD.
Begin your day by quickly checking out Callaghan Lake as that in itself is a beautiful lake. The trail is just south of this lake and should be fairly obvious as it delves into the forest. The first few kilometers don’t offer much in the way of difficulty or views, so just plod along making good progress.
After 5km or so you will break out of the forest and into the stunning alpine meadows, scattered with ponds and scenic mountain backdrops. Shortly ahead you will reach the Journeyman Lodge, which isn’t of much interest so carry on along the trail to Conflict Lake, which won’t be much further now.
Conflict Lake is another beautiful lake but there isn’t much of a shore to enjoy, so stop for a few photos and maybe a snack before continuing along the trail. The trail will now start to climb and shortly ahead you will reach a large valley opening. The terrain here is pretty rough and very muddy, with some makeshift wooden platforms to navigate as you continue along the trail to the right of this valley. You’re about to hit your first real test of the day as the trail begins to climb steeply, but thankfully it’s not for too long. Soon enough you’ll reach the creek crossing that could prove challenging with high flowing water, so prepare to get wet.
After climbing a makeshift ladder, the remainder of the trail to Ring Lake continues to grind, before you finally crest above the hill to Ring Lake, with Mount Callaghan now in sight to your right. Now is a great time to head down to the lake, have a break and it’s probably around lunch time by now.
From Ring Lake, Mount Callaghan will be to the north, or if you are looking to the end of the lake, Mount Callaghan will be the highest point to your right. You’ll want to pay attention to your map now as it’s all route finding from here on out. From the hills beneath Mount Callaghan you will notice several streams flowing down the mountain, some of which are covered in boulders. You will want to follow the stream to the east of Mount Callaghan’s summit to begin with, which is covered in boulders. This will be very steep and will require the use of hands, but should be manageable.
About halfway up this stream, once you’ve passed the tree line to your left, you’ll want to cut left above the trees. You will eventually be traversing all the way across from east to west, then cutting back as you get nearer the top.
Once you cut left on the first stream you’ll traverse west along the grassy slopes, trying not to destroy the foliage as you do so. This was tricky in the fall and I’m sure no easier in the summer. The route will not be marked, but as long as you keep traversing to the west of the summit you should be able to see which approach to take as it’s pretty much the only feasible way to the summit.
Soon you’ll be out of the heather and onto the boulder field. This will be loose boulders and there will be plenty of occasions where one will be a lot looser than you think. One or two times we ended up kicking a refrigerator down the mountain by mistake, so do be careful not to hike closely behind one another.
The good news is, once you reach the boulder field the trail should be marked with small cairns if you look carefully. You’ll know for sure you’re going the right way once you see them, but they are certainly few and far between so don’t rely on them entirely.
On the boulder field you will keep traversing west, eventually going slightly beyond the summit, before turning back on yourself (while still climbing) heading east. The boulders will get larger as you ascend, which I find helps but since they’re still loose you’ve got to be extra careful as dislodging one can mean it heading all the way down the mountain. After briefly heading east again you’ll soon be directly below the summit. The route up to Mount Callaghan is now pretty obvious, it’s a straight line to the top and very steep. If you’ve been hiking all the way from Callaghan Lake you’ll be pretty exhausted by now, but it’s almost over.
Once at the top there are epic views in all directions. To the north there is an absolutely giant glacier with mountain upon mountain in the distance. To the west and south will be Ring Lake and Ring Mountain and to the east will be Hidden Peak. There is an exceptional photo opportunity just to the east of the summit where you can scramble to the very top of a point overlooking the gigantic glacier. It looks more ominous than it really is, in fact it’s quite an easy climb up, just don’t go so close to the edge that you might fall off.
After resting at the top it’s time to head down. The climb down the mountain is a lot easier than the climb up, simply retracing your steps. Some people find the descent slower than the ascent but I made it down very quickly, taking lots of photos on the way while waiting for the rest of my group.
Back at the lake we still had 10km to return to the car, or around 2.5 hours. This is one of the longest and quietest trudges back to a trailhead I’ve ever experienced. It was heads down zombie walking as fast as we could with the little daylight we had. No time for photos, very little conversation, everyone was tired. After what felt like the longest walk back ever, we made it back half an hour after darkness set in, a full 10 hours later.
When should I hike Mount Callaghan?
I would save this one for the end of summer, September or early October is ideal as you miss the mosquitoes, the snow is fully melted, the creeks are easy to cross and the mud is likely at its lowest level. The full season is likely mid-July to early October, outside of that you will likely hit snow.
Top Tip
Leave as early as possible and take a headlamp. This hike could easily take 12+ hours if you’re not fast, especially on boulder fields/scree, and you don’t want to get caught out by daylight like us. Take a downloaded map as there is no service for large parts of this hike and it’s poorly marked for a lot of it. You don’t want to end up getting lost here.
This is also prime bear territory, including grizzly bears, so I strongly recommend hiking in a group and carrying bear spray.
If you don’t think you’re cut out for the full ascent up to Mount Callaghan, you might enjoy just hiking to Ring Lake.
