Elfin Lakes Backcountry Skiing

Elfin Lakes Backcountry Skiing Overnight Trip — View from our campsite

After the knee and ankle injury from the Gin Peak backcountry skiing trip, I took two weeks off from skiing. Then, just as I thought I would be back on the slopes, I was down with COVID. It was almost the end of February when I returned to any outdoor activity. So when we got a good weather window, Jesse and I decided to make an overnight trip to Elfin Lakes.

Trip Planning

Avalanche Forecast & Route Planning

Avalanche Canada - Sea to Sky Forecast — Source: Avalanche.ca – March 16, 2023

The Avalanche Forecast for the Sea to Sky region was “Considerable.” Based on conditions and recommendations from friends, we planned to stay on moderate slopes beyond Elfin Lakes.

FATMAP - Elfin Lakes to Gargoyles — FATMAP: Avalanche Terrain Overlay and rough trail from Elfin Lakes to Gargoyles

Weather

Compared to the weekend, the weather looked promising for March 16-17 (Thu-Fri). So, we took half a day off on Thursday and a full day off on Friday.

For Thu night-Fri early morning, the temperature was expected to drop to -10C (at 1484 m). SportWx and Windy forecasted temperatures in the -5C to -10C range (likely at a bit lower elevation).

Gear

Jesse had made several overnight trips earlier in the season and planned to go ‘Fast and Light.’ He was planning to use his hammock. How? I had no idea. Given this was my first backcountry skiing overnight trip, I would be ‘Fast, Light and Stupid’ if I followed Jesse.

I packed my Outdoor Research Helium Bivvy and a -18C sleeping bag. Along with a Thermarest Z foam pad and an Exped inflatable sleeping pad, I thought I would be warm enough. All packed, the bag weighed about 33 lbs. I would have preferred a 50L pack, but I didn’t have one, so I went with my 70L backpack.

Elfin Lakes Trail

On March 16, we left Vancouver after lunch and reached the Diamond Head trailhead around 3:30 pm. There were about two cars in the lower parking lot (cars without chains) and five more cars in the upper parking lot.

It took us an hour and thirty minutes to get to the Red Heather Hut. About 10-15 minutes more than the last time I was here with a day pack.

After a short break, we continued on the winter trail to Elfin Lakes. Earlier in the season, Jesse and I had gone up to Round Mountain. This time, we stayed on the winter trail (South side of the mountain). The sunset was around 7:15 pm, and we had a beautiful view from Paul’s Ridge.

Hammock vs Bivy

It took us just over three and a half hours (from the trailhead) to get to Elfin Lakes. We went past the pit toilets and selected a spot for the night.

Then, Jesse and I started digging side by side. I just dug a trench wide and long enough to fit my bivy. It was probably a foot deep. If I did this for work – I would be fired in the first hour on the job.

Jesse was still digging even when I started melting snow for dinner. Finally, when he was done, he had a trench close to four and a half feet deep. Then he set up a t-slot anchor with his skis and hung his hammock. He has been fine-tuning this setup, so he had his sleeping bag over the hammock for better insulation.

I was using my bivy for the first time, and it took some time to figure out the optimal setup to balance warmth and ventilation. I had the foam sleeping pad underneath the bivy and the inflatable sleeping pad inside the bivy.

Even with my thermal layers, long sleeve shirt and softshell jacket, I felt cold at night. So I put on my puffy jacket, and it helped a bit. But, with all these layers and the sleeping bag, the bivy felt even smaller, and I could relate to the term “coffin” that someone had used for the bivy.

Overall, I was awake for more hours than I slept. Jesse, on the other hand, was quite happy with his setup and slept better. In the morning, he dug a cave on one side of the wall to see if this setup would offer better protection and more warmth. He liked it.

Out of Fuel

As we prepared dinner the previous night, we realized we only had a 100 g jetboil canister. Unfortunately, we misunderstood each other and didn’t get the 230 g canister, so the backup canister was our only fuel source. In normal weather, it is good to boil 12 litres of water with a total burn time of about 30 minutes. But with all the snow melting, we were out of fuel in the morning.

Gargoyles as seen from Elfin Lakes Campsite — Gargoyles Peak – Highlighted

I was tired just getting into Elfin Lakes on skis with the backpack. I was doubtful about going further to Gargoyles anyway, but with minimal water, even Jesse was unsure. So we decided to pack up and head down.

From Elfin Lakes to the base of Round Mountain, it was just over 4.7 km with about 150 m elevation gain. Then, we transitioned to ski mode and returned to the parking lot. Skiing with a relatively heavy pack was a good learning experience.

Last year, I made a day trip to Elfin Lakes on skis. So it was good to be back again and stay overnight. Hopefully, the next time I am here, I will have a better sleeping setup for winter camping and enough energy to explore beyond Elfin Lakes.