Spring Has Arrived!
Spring has arrived! Check out our Best Whistler Hiking by Month for inspiration! WeRentGear.com rents tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, camp stoves, packs, complete kits and more!
Moraines are glacially deposited ridges of debris that accumulate at the sides or terminus of a glacier. Lateral moraines form at the sides of glaciers and terminal moraines at the terminus of a glacier. Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of a glacier. Moraines are made up of glacial debris ranging in size from enormous boulders to fine glacial flour. Boulders and rocks in moraines are generally rounded due to the churning and grinding within the glacier as it moved.
Alexander Falls
Ancient Cedars
Black Tusk
Blackcomb Mountain
Brandywine Falls
Brandywine Meadows
Brew Lake
Callaghan Lake
Cheakamus Lake
Cheakamus River
Cirque Lake
Flank Trail
Garibaldi Lake
Garibaldi Park
Helm Creek
Jane Lakes
Joffre Lakes
Keyhole Hot Springs
Logger’s Lake
Madeley Lake
Meager Hot Springs
Nairn Falls
Newt Lake
Panorama Ridge
Parkhurst Ghost Town
Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Lake
Ring Lake
Russet Lake
Sea to Sky Trail
Skookumchuck Hot Springs
Sloquet Hot Springs
Sproatt East
Sproatt West
Taylor Meadows
Train Wreck
Wedgemount Lake
Whistler Mountain
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
One of the most striking lateral moraines in Whistler to see is located in the valley down from Russet Lake in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Russet Lake is located at the base of The Fissile, which in turn is part of Overlord Mountain. Overlord Glacier flows down from Overlord Mountain into the valley that separates Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain and leads to Whistler Village. Just a short hike from Russet Lake takes you down to the lateral moraine of Overlord Glacier. You can hike to Russet Lake via the Singing Pass trail which begins next to the bus stop just up the stairs from the Dubh Linn Gate Pub in Whistler Village. It is quite a long and tedious 15 kilometre hike, but you can also hike there via the Musical Bumps trail from up on Whistler Mountain. You can start hiking right from Roundhouse Lodge or higher up via the summit of Whistler Mountain at top of the Peak Chair. The hiking distance from either of these starting points is not a lot shorter than the Singing Pass trail, but you get to avoid hiking uphill the entire hike. Looking down the valley from Russet Lake you can see both lateral moraines on either side of Overlord Glacier.
Here are two excellent books on the Geology of British Columbia. In Search of Ancient British Columbia by Barbara Huck is one of our favourites. It focuses on southern BC and covers each individual region separately. The Lower Mainland chapter explains the geology, paleontology and archaeology of the region stretching from Vancouver, Sea to Sky, Garibaldi Park and north to Mount Meager and Meager Hot Springs. Quite a lot of the book is devoted to how the last ice age shaped the land and inhabitants of southern BC. The chapters on Vancouver Island are particularly good as the geological history was particularly chaotic and the history of glaciation around present day Victoria is very interesting. Geology of British Columbia: A Journey Through Time by Sydney Cannings, JoAnne Nelson and Richard Cannings is a beautiful history of BC's geology and the 200 million year history of creatures living in this extraordinary corner of the world. The authors take us on a journey through time, describing the collisions of island chains called terrains, the sliding of plates, the erupting of volcanoes, and the movement of glaciers that created British Columbia as we know it today. They also describe the rich legacy of fossils left behind as a result of all this geological activity.
Alexander Falls
Ancient Cedars
Black Tusk
Blackcomb Mountain
Brandywine Falls
Brandywine Meadows
Brew Lake
Callaghan Lake
Cheakamus Lake
Cheakamus River
Cirque Lake
Flank Trail
Garibaldi Lake
Garibaldi Park
Helm Creek
Jane Lakes
Joffre Lakes
Keyhole Hot Springs
Logger’s Lake
Madeley Lake
Meager Hot Springs
Nairn Falls
Newt Lake
Panorama Ridge
Parkhurst Ghost Town
Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Lake
Ring Lake
Russet Lake
Sea to Sky Trail
Skookumchuck Hot Springs
Sloquet Hot Springs
Sproatt East
Sproatt West
Taylor Meadows
Train Wreck
Wedgemount Lake
Whistler Mountain
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December