Garibaldi Park Whistler A to Z: CloudrakerThe Cloudraker Skybridge and the Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk are new additions to the summit of Whistler Mountain.  The Cloudraker Skybridge stretches 130 metres from just steps from the top of the Peak Express Chair across to the West Ridge.  The Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk is a viewing platform that extends over 12 metres up and out from the West Ridge.  Both of these exhilarating viewing areas tower way above Whistler Bowl.

Whistler & Garibaldi Hiking

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The Raven's Eye Cliff Walk gives you wonderful views over the Whistler valley as well as an excellent vantage point of the Peak Express Chair with Blackcomb Mountain and the Spearhead Range in the background.  The Spearhead Range encompasses Blackcomb Mountain and the Fitzsimmons Range includes Whistler Mountain and extends to Overlord MountainOverlord Mountain is where the two mountain ranges meet, separated by Fitzsimmons Creek that runs through Whistler Village into Green Lake.  At Whistler’s peak you can hike the cliffs adjacent to the top of the Peak Express Chair on the Whistler Summit Interpretive Walk.  This rugged, though very easy 1.6 kilometre set of trails can be done as a figure 8 loop trail.  The large area to the right as you exit the Peak Express Chair with the Inukshuk and the Cloudraker Skybridge is one side of the figure 8 and the other side ascends up past the Peak Express Chair to some incredible lookouts and interpretive information boards before bending back to meet Mathews’ Traverse, the gravel road that brings you back to where you started.  Many follow Mathews’ Traverse down to the Roundhouse Lodge on a constantly descending and gorgeous 3.2 kilometre or 2 mile route past several stunning views and through the Whistler ice walls.

Whistler Mountain Riding the Peak Chair

Cloudraker Skybridge from the Peak Express Chair

The Whistler Summit Interpretive Walk is quite easy and two much more challenging hiking trails can be found starting at the trailhead located next to the inuksuk just past the Cloudraker Skybridge and Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk.  The Half Note Trail and the High Note Trail both start here.  The Half Note Trail is a beautiful trail that follows the ridge of Whistler Mountain overlooking Cheakamus Lake.  It bends back and connects to Pika’s Traverse Road which takes you back to the Roundhouse Lodge.  This route is 5.5 kilometres or 3.4 miles and should take you 2 to 3 hours from the start at the top of the Peak Express Chair to the end at the Roundhouse Lodge

Whistler Mountain Mathews Traverse Ice Walls

Alternatively you could take the much shorter Mathews’ Traverse Road(instead of Pika’s Traverse) back up to the summit of Whistler Mountain and ride the Peak Express Chair back down to the Roundhouse Lodge(via the short Peak Express Traverse trail).  Where the Half Note trail veers back, the High Note trail continues.  This much longer route takes you deeper into Garibaldi Provincial Park before meeting the junction to the Musical Bumps trail at Piccolo Summit.  The High Note trail sinks into the valley in the shadow of Whistler Mountain and past Symphony Lake and Harmony Lake before reaching the Roundhouse Lodge.  The High Note trail from the Cloudraker Skybridge to the Roundhouse Lodge is 11 kilometres or 6.8 miles and takes most hikers 4-5 hours.

Cloudraker Skybridge Whistler

Cloudraker Skybridge Whistler

Whistler Mountain Hiking Trails

Whistler Mountain Pay Use Hiking Trails Easy to ModerateWhistler Mountain has a dozen named hiking trails that range from extremely easy and short to very challenging and long.  All of them are pretty beautiful on their own, however all of them tend to be combined with others into routes, depending on what hikers are after and how much time and effort they want to put in.  Another factor is the time of year and snowpack.  In May and much of June, for example, you won’t have the Peak Express Chair running and almost every trail will be still buried in snow.  If you are short on time and want to get to the obvious highlights, you will ride the Whistler Gondola to the Roundhouse Lodge, ride the Peak Express Chair to the summit of Whistler Mountain, see the Cloudraker Skybridge and Raven’s Eye Cliff Walk, inuksuk, Interpretive Walk, then ride back down to Whistler Village.  If you are wanting more of a hike, you will not return via the Peak Express Chair, but instead hike the Half Note trail and check out the snow wall on Mathews’ Traverse.  This route takes only a couple hours, but takes in a tremendous variety of sights and endless viewpoints.

Whistler Mountain Russet Lake Map v20

Charles Townsend climbed and explored several mountains around Whistler back in 1923, when much of the area remained unexplored.  Along with his friend Neal ...
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Col: a ridge between two higher peaks, a mountain pass or saddle.  More specifically is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks.  Sometimes ...
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Along the shore of Green Lake, you will find a monstrous old Caterpillar tractor that dates from the 1930’s.  Abandoned here in the 1950’s, it looks as if the ...
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Tom Fyles (27 June 1887 - 27 March 1979) was an astoundingly skilled climber that figured prominently in the climbing community of Vancouver for more than two ...
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Wedge Creek cuts through the valley that separates Wedge Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain and empties into Green River near the north end of Green Lake.  ...
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Bench: a flat section in steep terrain.  Characteristically narrow, flat or gently sloping with steep or vertical slopes on either side.  A bench can be ...
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Alec Dalgleish (1 August 1907 - 26 June 1934) was a highly respected mountaineer and climber out of Vancouver in the 1920's and 1930's.  His enthusiasm and ...
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The rocky and narrow row of islands in Garibaldi Lake just offshore from the Garibaldi Lake campsite are known as Battleship Islands.  Named by the ...
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May is an extraordinarily beautiful time of year in Whistler.  The days are longer and warmer and a great lull in between seasons happens.  Whistler is fairly ...
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June is a pretty amazing month to hike in Whistler.  The average low and high temperatures in Whistler range from 9c to 21c(48f/70f).  The summer tourist ...
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July is a wonderful time to hike in Whistler and Garibaldi Provincial Park.  The weather is beautiful and the snow on high elevation hiking trails is long ...
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August hiking in Whistler definitely has the most consistently great, hot weather.  You can feel the rare pleasure of walking across a glacier shirtless and ...
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Whistler and Garibaldi Park Hiking Gear Rental

Logger's Lake is an amazing little lake hidden up in the deep forest above the more well known Cheakamus River. The lake, almost unbelievably exists in a long extinct volcano. However, as soon as you see ...
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Black Tusk is the extraordinarily iconic and appropriately named mountain that can be seen from almost everywhere in Whistler.  The massive black spire of crumbling rock juts out of the earth in an incredibly ...
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Russet Lake is a surreal little paradise that lays at the base of The Fissile, in Garibaldi Provincial Park. The Fissile is the strikingly bronze mountain visible from Whistler Village.  From the Village ...
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Madeley Lake is a gorgeous mountain lake located high up in the Callaghan Valley just a short drive past Alexander Falls.  From Whistler Village it takes about 50 minutes to drive the 27.4 kilometres to get to the ...
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