Hiking Mount Garibaldi in Garibaldi Provincial Park
Contents
Mount Garibaldi Hike Information
Difficulty: Very Difficult
Distance: 25.30Km
Elevation Gain: 1,900m
Highest Elevation: 2,675m
Average Gradient: 15.02%
Effort/Reward Ratio: Very High / Very High
Time Needed:
– Slow: Overnight
– Moderate: 13 – 16 Hours
– Fast: 11 – 13 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: No
Season: Year-Round
4×4 / High Clearance Required? Yes
Scrambling / Exposure: Glacier travel, bergschrund, 45+ degree snow climb
Mount Garibaldi Trail
Below coordinates lead to the end of Cheekye FSR. You’ll need to switch to a mapping ap (Gaia etc.) with FSR roads, then drive up Brohm Ridge FSR to the highest point possible, where you will begin.
Trailhead Coordinates: 49°48’06.2″N 123°06’26.8″W
Disclaimer: Winter hiking (snowshoeing) involves significantly more risk than summer hiking. Hikers should be prepared with appropriate education, training and equipment for all possibilities, including but not limited to avalanches. A mistake such as going off trail, getting lost or injured can be far more dangerous in winter than summer. You are responsible for your own safety, and while I am happy to give my opinion on this website as to the avalanche risk of a specific hike, do not take this as fact and please do your own research. Everybody has different risk tolerances and mine might be different to yours.
Mount Garibaldi Overview
Mount Garibaldi is a dormant stratovolcano that dominates the Squamish skyline and is one of the most iconic peaks on the Sea-to-Sky corridor. Located in Garibaldi Provincial Park, this volcanic massif is actually made up of five separately named summits (Dalton Dome, Atwell Peak, The Tent, Diamond Head and Mount Garibaldi), with Mount Garibaldi being the highest point (though certainly not the most difficult to summit). While a long and committed trip, Mount Garibaldi becomes fairly sought after in the spring when conditions are perfect for climbing this trophy peak.
The standard route up Mount Garibaldi is via its northeast face, passing over both the Warren Glacier and North Pitt Glacier, before a sustained ~45 degree snow climb to the summit. Later in the season a large bergschrund forms at the base of the steep climb where the glacier is pulling away from the mountain. This can often cause significant issues, so timing for this hike is key if you want to make life as easy as possible.
Most people will summit Mount Garibaldi in the spring when any crevasses and the bergschrund are filled in. As the season progresses crevasses will open and the bergschrund will grow. Given the significant amount of glacier travel, crevasse rescue knowledge and the necessary equipment are strongly suggested for summiting Mount Garibaldi. People do summit Garibaldi in the summer as well, though it becomes a much more technical mountaineering objective with gaping crevasses and an icy ascent to the top.
The starting point for this hike is from the highest point you can drive up Brohm Ridge FSR. This FSR is typically in decent condition as it’s popular with snowmobilers. The stats above assume parking at 1,180m, but depending on when you time it you can feasibly start much lower or potentially higher. Some parties end up with 30km, 2,300m+ days if the snowline is low, so it’s useful to know where you expect to be able to begin before going.
As Garibaldi is such a big day, many parties opt to complete this as an overnight hike, camping at one of several spots along the way. The last camping spot just before the Warren Glacier at ~2,040m is a good option to allow you to wake up early for your summit push. Most people will aim to summit Garibaldi early in the day (close to sunrise) to reduce any risk. If you are aiming to do this in one push it means you will likely need to begin hiking around midnight or earlier as most parties take 7 – 9 hours to summit. Another reason to summit early is to avoid a tough slog back out in sun affected snow.
Since Mount Garibaldi is in Garibaldi Provincial Park, dogs are not welcome on this hike.
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Is Mount Garibaldi worthwhile?
Mount Garibaldi is an iconic trophy peak that offers absolutely incredible views from the summit and for much of the hike. This is easily a 5 star hike and is undoubtedly one of the best hikes on this website. Any parties willing and able to summit are going to be richly rewarded with some of the finest views anywhere on the Sea-to-Sky corridor.
How difficult is the hike to Mount Garibaldi?
There’s no doubt about it, Mount Garibaldi doesn’t come easy, especially in the spring when the entire route will be snow covered. 25km and almost 2,000m of gain on snow is always going to be a grueling affair, but the fact you will also quite likely be doing this on no sleep makes things even harder. Some parties choose to overnight it as a result, but that comes with its own challenges as well, such as heavier bags and slower movement. Going in the summer may make the long approach easier, but it also guarantees the crevasses to be open and the bergschrund to add complexities to the snow climb that can be avoided in the spring.
Technically speaking this has obvious challenges as well. The main ones being a good amount of glacier travel and a fairly sustained 45 degree snow climb at the end. This all naturally requires crevasse rescue gear/knowledge, crampons, an ice axe and the confidence to climb a steep snow slope for a few hundred vertical meters.
Mount Garibaldi Route Information
As noted, the trailhead for Mount Garibaldi is from the highest point you can drive up Brohm Ridge FSR. If you’re lucky and time it well this should be well above 1,000m, but if you go earlier in the season it could be below, which will make your trip even more gruelling. From wherever you park the initial climb is merely an FSR plod to Brohm Chalet, a 40 person accommodation maintained by the Black Tusk Snowmobile Club. Unfortunately a portion of this FSR descends ~75m, which is not fun climbing back up at the end.
From the chalet you continue following the road, which should be heavily tracked out by snowmobile/ski touring tracks, into the alpine. After a short climb up to a ridge, you’ll begin to follow it as it arcs around to the east, with plenty of undulating but easy terrain along the way. The views here are very nice if you go in daylight, with Garibaldi and its long south ridge on full display.
Over the next several kilometers you will continue along this ridge, up and down and up and down. The route is typically heavily trafficked by sledders, which hopefully makes travel easy. Eventually you will reach a decision point at around 1,880m where people go one of two ways:
- Continue following Brohm Ridge up and over Brohm Peak. This involves a narrow trail that is often melted out (may need to remove snowshoes/skis), and can be exposed due to cornices on one side and a steep drop on the other. You may also need to navigate through some bushes along the way.
- Drop down on the north side of the ridge to bypass Brohm Peak. This involves ~40m descent to the northern flanks of the ridge, followed by some sidehilling around Brohm Peak. There is no exposure on this route, nor any need to take off snowshoes/skis.
The route linked took the bypass (#2) in each direction, and compared to others who took the ridge route, the bypass was faster and easier. Of course if you want bag the unofficial Brohm Peak, you’ll want to take #1. If it’s still dark you may prefer to take the bypass on the ascent and the ridge on the descent.
Either way, once beyond Brohm Peak both routes will converge at the high campsite at the base of the Warren Glacier at around 2,020m. Conditions can often change quickly here, with strong winds and cold temperatures the norm. You may want to take a break, add layers, have some food/water etc. now as it can quickly become more challenging from here on. You’ll also want to rope up for the glacier.
Crossing Warren Glacier will be around 1.5km of mostly flat travel, culminating with a period of side hilling beneath a steep climb up to gain the Pitt Glacier at the base of the NE Face of Garibaldi. Parties either opt to climb up this steep slope earlier, or sidehill a little further before turning up and climbing a moe mellow slope. Skiers will generally do the latter. Either way the slope is steep, but snowshoes will be fine to remain on at this point.
After ~150m of climbing this steep slope the terrain will mellow out a bit, though continue to climb towards the NE Face. The views behind you will now be breathtaking, so do stop to soak them in if you can. You’ll also now have a good idea of any crevasses and whether the bergschrund is gaping as you can now see the entire route up to the summit.
It’s now merely a case of hiking up the NE Face, which gradually increases in steepness the higher you get. You can keep snowshoes/skis on until around 2,450m or so, at which point you’ll want to switch to crampons and ice axe. If the bergschrund is filled in you don’t have to worry about it, but if it’s open you’ll now need to work around it.
All that’s really left now is the steep ~45 degree snow climb up the final 150m or so. Typically there is a decent bootpack up to the top, in which case you should just follow it. If not then you’ll have to set your own track up. In good conditions it’s mostly straightforward climbing, but of course a head for heights is a necessity. In short order you should crest the summit, where you will be rewarded by truly staggering views. Atwell Peak will now be on full display, as well as pretty much every other peak imaginable on the Sea-to-Sky. You’ll be able to see the town of Squamish & Garibaldi Lake. If it’s not too windy/cold, stick around at the top and enjoy the views.
To head back you simply downclimb the same way you came up. In good conditions you can often downclimb facing out. Once at the bottom of the steep snow climb all that’s left is retracing your steps back to the trailhead. This will be a huge slog but at least the views are rewarding and constant throughout. If you hiked up in the dark you’ll now get to appreciate exactly what you hiked through on the way up.
When should I hike Mount Garibaldi?
Timing for Mount Garibaldi is important if you want to summit in the “easiest” conditions. Typically spring is the best time as the FSR is driveable to a high elevation and the crevasses and bergschrund are typically filled in. This really depends on the year, but May is often a good month for it, and potentially early June as well. April may work but you will likely need to start a lot lower on the FSR at that time of year. Of course, if you have a snowmobile you could do this in the winter.
Once late spring and summer roll around the crevasses and bergschrund open up. You can still complete this hike then you will just need to navigate around them. The bergschrund can be particularly problematic for this at times.
Top Tip
If you’re going in spring you’ll want a midnight start for the most favorable conditions. This reduces the risk on the glaciers and the snow climb at the end, and also makes life easier on the exit as the snow won’t be as sun affected.
If you think this is too big for a one day push, do it overnight and camp at the high campground by Warren Glacier. Set an early alarm and go for the summit the next morning before sunrise. It’ll probably be ~3 hours to the summit from high camp.
The bypass to Brohm Peak is usually a little faster as you don’t need to do any gear changes.
