A daytrip to Gin Peak, with Krystil Chris Evan Greta Ben and Jen.
We parked at the biathlon range at Whistler Olympic Park. Same deal as last year, where you pay $10 per vehicle. The gate is open at 8:30am and closed at 4:30pm on weekends. If you want to start earlier or leave later, then you’ll have to park at the Alexander Falls parking lot.
Based on a friend’s description from two weekends ago, I knew the approach was going to be thin. There is barely enough snow to skin along the marked Hanging Lake trail to the top of the XC trails. From the large sign, I boot packed for about 15-20minutes through the forest before hitting more consistent snow. Thanks to the work that Scott N. has put in here, the trail is easy to follow, and there are even logs to cross snow-free creeks. With enough determination, you could skin from the sign, but you definitely can’t ski down to it at this point in the season.
HS 30cm at 1100m, 160cm at the lake at 1400m, and 135cm on ridgetop at 1750m. More snow would be useful to cover up some bumps in the alpine, and another 50cm-1m in the forest, but otherwise great skiing in low-density snow. The same can’t be said for the ski out, which was a mix of survival skiing, and bootpacking.
If you ski here, please remember to fill out the 21 Mile Creek Survey
More photos here on Flickr
