Hiking Tonic Peak near Whistler
Contents
Tonic Peak Hike Information
Difficulty: Difficult
Distance: 19.20Km
Elevation Gain: 1,150m
Highest Elevation: 1,803m
Average Gradient: 11.98%
Effort/Reward Ratio: High / Moderate
Time Needed:
– Slow: 8 – 10 Hours
– Moderate: 6 – 8 Hours
– Fast: 5 – 6 Hours
Dogs Permitted?: Yes
Season: Year-Round (Winter Preferred)
4×4 / High Clearance Required? No
Scrambling / Exposure: One section in the forest that requires using hands, no exposure though.
Tonic Peak Trail
Note: The above trail includes both Mount Sproatt & Tonic Peak. If you are only hiking Tonic Peak obviously ignore the sections going to Mount Sproatt.
Trailhead Coordinates: 50°07’48.8″N 122°59’06.7″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.
Tonic Peak Overview
Tonic Peak is one of several summits located west of Whistler Village and tends to be overshadowed by the surrounding summits of Mount Sproatt, Gin Peak and even Rainbow Mountain. Tonic Peak is typically a winter objective, offering some beautiful winter scenery in a fairly mellow, relatively low elevation setting.
There are at least 3 different approaches for a hike to Tonic Peak, one from the Callaghan Valley, one from Function Junction and the final route, the one that is covered here, from the Rainbow Lake trailhead.
Tonic Peak is not a particularly popular objective and tends to be more of a peak-baggers summit, with the nearby Mount Sproatt slightly being slightly higher and offering more panoramic views. Most people who intend to summit Tonic Peak do so at the same time as Mount Sproatt in order to bag two peaks in one outing.
At around 19km and 1,150m elevation gain, this is a fairly sizable hike in winter, with much of the route requiring self-navigation through a mostly forested valley. Depending on snow conditions and if you’re breaking trail you can expect a pretty tiring day.
The hike begins on the Rainbow Lake trail, before abruptly leaving the manicured trail and diving into the forest, where the remainder of the hike is self-navigated. After a brief (but steep) climb through some bush, you’ll soon enter a valley where the gradient mellows out and the trees gradually begin to thin, with views improving as you progress. After following this valley for a few kilometers you’ll eventually see a col between Mount Sproatt and Tonic Peak, which you’ll climb up, before continuing on to Tonic Peak. The summit is not that prominent but it does offer some nice views of the region.
One of the benefits of Tonic Peak is that it is a 2WD friendly hike, even in winter, as the trailhead is on a paved road. This hike is typically best saved for the depths of winter when the snowpack is deep, so as to allow a healthy coverage of the bushes, with the prime time realistically December – April. Once the snowline is thin you can expect much tougher conditions lower down.
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Is Tonic Peak worthwhile?
Tonic Peak tends to be overshadowed by the nearby Mount Sproatt and Gin Peak, both of which are better objectives. While the winter scenery is nice once you reach the alpine, most of the hike is through forest and a somewhat tedious valley. If you are breaking trail and self-navigating, prepare for a long and tiring outing with a fairly modest summit view. I would only really suggest hiking Tonic Peak if you are also hiking Mount Sproatt. Of the trio of peaks in the area, Gin Peak offered the best reward, plus you are guaranteed to have tracks to follow for most of the day, unlike on Tonic Peak.
How difficult is the hike to Tonic Peak?
The stats for this hike need to be taken with a pinch of salt as you cannot compare a full winter hike with a summer objective. While the stats might be moderate, don’t let that fool you into thinking this will be a quick and simple outing. The majority of the elevation gain is on unmarked, technical and slow terrain. If you are also breaking trail you can expect this to be draining. Overall, despite the somewhat moderate stats I’d suggest this is a physically difficult hike.
Technically the hike has some challenges. The Rainbow Lake trail is straightforward, but once you depart this trail the terrain immediately becomes technical, with a lot of route finding necessary if there are no touring tracks to follow. There is one section here that is very steep, requiring the use of hands to climb up, which can be tricky in snow. The exposure is fairly minimal though. After this steep climb you’ll soon enter the valley, where again you will be route finding, though the terrain is straightforward and mellow. There may be a few creek crossings you need to navigate depending on the snowpack. The final climb up to Tonic Peak has a few steep rolls but nothing that will require using hands.
Tonic Peak Route Information
The trailhead for this route to Tonic Peak is the same as the Rainbow Lake trailhead on Alta Lake Road. This is a paved road accessible for all vehicles.
The Rainbow Lake trail begins with a gradual ascent. After a couple of hundred meters the trail will pass by a road leading up from Whistler Cemetery. You can hike up this road or continue on the trail, both routes will ultimately join together, which begins next to a small building. After a sharp switchback you’ll continue on the Rainbow Lake trail, ignoring any spurs.
The Rainbow Lake trail is very simple, beginning as a wider path before entering a more dense forest. Assuming you’re going in winter, this will all be snow covered and most likely will have skin tracks from ski tourers. Simply continue following the Rainbow Lake trail, which passes over multiple creeks with small bridges.
As you progress you’ll want to keep an eye on your map to make sure you do not go past the turn off point. At around 1,150m elevation you will depart from the Rainbow Lake trail and begin working your way towards a valley between Mount Sproatt and Tonic Peak. Up to this point you may not have needed snowshoes, but once you leave the Rainbow Lake trail you almost certainly will need to put them on as you will no longer be following a heavily trafficked route. Immediately after departing the Rainbow Lake trail you will be thrashing through some rugged terrain, with some deadfall and creeks to navigate. A deeper snowpack will make things easier here as it will cover the rough terrain.
The first 500m after departing the Rainbow Lake trail is rugged and very steep. There is one section in particular that will require you to use your hands to pull yourself up a steep embankment, but for the most part it’s manageable. Once you’ve passed this short, steep section the terrain mellows out into a far milder gradient, and the trees begin to thin out. Soon you’ll be passing through some openings in the treeline and you’ll begin to get some views of a nearby unnamed summit.
Continue working through the valley, which will involve some relatively simple creek crossings. As this is a valley the snow collects here and can be fairly deep, as the cold air sits in the valley, there will likely be no sun to keep you warm so I’d advise moving steadily if possible. Thankfully travel here is quite simple and the route is fairly obvious even if you don’t have any tracks to follow as there is only one way to go since you are surrounded on either side by cliffs.
After traveling through the valley for 1.5km or so you should start to make out a col that sits between Mount Sproatt and Tonic Peak. This is the general direction you want to aim for. The gradient now increases fairly markedly and travel slows quite a bit, but just keep chugging along in the direction of this col. You’ll begin to get staggering views of Rainbow Mountain behind you now, and in general the scenery from here on out is breathtaking.
Once you reach the col between Mount Sproatt and Tonic Peak the route to Tonic Peak is fairly straightforward, but keep an eye on your map nonetheless. The route above will show ascents of both Tonic Peak and Mount Sproatt, but if you’re just hiking Tonic Peak you can obviously ignore the route to Mount Sproatt.
The terrain now opens up into generally stunning alpine scenery, but the final push is, as usual, the steepest. There are a few steep slopes to navigate up and over, but they’re fairly brief and for the most part travel is reasonably simple. That being said it’s a fairly slow plod, and there are several bumps to climb up as you approach the peak. The peak itself is not prominent at all, it’s just the last little bump before it starts to descend. You may not even realize you’re there until the moment you get there.
From the summit you will have 360 degree views of countless peaks, with notable ones being Rainbow Mountain, Whistler/Blackcomb, Mount Weart, Wedge Mountain, Overlord Mountain, Fissile Peak, Mount Fee, Mount Cayley, Tricouni Peak, Brandywine Mountain, Cypress Peak and much, much more. Unfortunately Mount Sproatt blocks some of the views to the east, hence this is the preferred option out of the two since it’s slightly higher.
After a good long rest at the summit (assuming it’s not too cold to linger), you simply return the same way you came. Adventurous parties can also summit the nearby Mount Sproatt, which only adds a couple of kilometers and perhaps 200m elevation gain and is well worth the effort, but by now you might be pretty tired after a long slog.
When should I hike Tonic Peak?
The ideal time to hike Tonic Peak is in the depths of winter when the snowpack is deep enough to ensure smooth travel. You may also get lucky and have tracks to follow for the majority of the hike if, as noted, ski tourers have been up in the region. Realistically the season for Tonic Peak is mid-November to the end of winter, perhaps around May. The peak season will be January – March.
I wouldn’t advise hiking Tonic Peak from this route outside of winter given the bushwhack that this would include. The Function Junction route might be best in summer, following the mountain bike tracks that lead up the mountain.
Top Tip
You’ll most likely want a solid group of people to complete this hike with as it’s a long and tiring day. This is made much easier if you have multiple people breaking trail, and even just the motivation of others will help push you on.
If you want to extend your trip you can also summit the nearby Mount Sproatt, which offers better views, but it makes for a very long and tiring day to do both.
Gin Peak might be the best option for a shorter, easier trip with the best views.
