Rohan and I recently connected over Uphill Athlete training. Rohan and his wife Prajakta are both climbers, and they now have a young one, Agastya. For February 20, there was a good weather window in the morning, so we planned to meet and do a family hike to Hollyburn Mountain.
Hollyburn Mountain (1326 m) is in Cypress Provincial Park and is a relatively easier and popular snowshoeing trail in the North Shore mountains. The hike is about 7.5 km out and back with about 450 m in elevation gain/loss.
Compared to Dog Mountain, Hollyburn would be a slightly longer hike and a bit more steeper towards the end. I knew Kavya could do it; worst-case scenario, we could turn around after the 2.5 km mark.
Parking for Hollyburn Trail is at the Cypress Mountain Hollyburn Nordic Area. We arrived at the parking lot at around 8:20 am and were able to find a spot close to the trailhead.
Oversized Jacket
The hike almost didn’t happen as I realized that I forgot to grab Kavya’s snow pants and jacket. As per the forecast, the temperature would be in the -4C to 0C range. I thought her legs would be fine at a steady pace, but she will probably need a jacket.
I had an extra jacket, but it was too big for Kavya. Kasturi tried on my jacket and gave her down jacket to Kavya. Still not a good fit but much warmer than my worn-out jacket.
Hollyburn Trail
Rohan and his family arrived soon, and by 9 am we were all geared up and ready to go. As Hollyburn is a popular trail the snow is well packed, so we just used microspikes. I carried snowshoes as backup in my backpack. Agastya was awake and enjoyed the ride in the baby carrier.
The trail is well marked and quite wide to start with. After the intial switchbacks, the trail drops and we were hiking next to the Nordic Ski Area. Kavya was using her skiing poles. At times she liked it, but more often, she preferred hiking without them.
After an hour of hiking, we reached the end of the marked trail. The trail ahead was steep, but after a quick break, we continued our hike.
Steep Hike to Hollyburn Mountain
The trail was more challenging for the next one km than I had expected, but Kavya did well and kept going up at a slow pace. Rohan was getting compliments for carrying Agastya in the baby carrier on this steep terrain. I don’t think Rohan was even breaking a sweat. Agastya was asleep by now.
We arrived at Hollyburn peak around 11 am. As expected, the visibility was limited, but we could still see the Cypress Bowl and had a partial view of the Howe Sound.
It was windy at the top, and after a brief snack break, we made our way down. Agastya was up by now and wanted to have a better view. Rohan and Prajakta adjusted the baby carrier and had Agastya facing out.
On our way back, I saw a snowshoer sitting next to the trail and on a call. I didn’t think much about the situation and kept hiking. Further ahead, as Rohan and I were waiting for others, we saw Kavya rushing towards us. She said a snowshoer is injured and can use some help.
Snowshoer Rescue
Rohan handed over Agastya to Prajakta, and we hiked back up. I had a basic medical kit and c-splint in my backpack. While hiking, I was thinking about different options to help the snowshoer and things we could do in this situation.
As we approached the injured snowshoer, a first aid professional was already on sight. The snowshoer had slipped on snowshoes resulting in an ankle injury. Soon, the Cypress rescue team arrived on two snowmobiles.
One of them asked us to stomp out a path so that the snowshoer can be carried to the snowmobile on a stretcher. It was my first time witnessing a rescue, and I was amazed at how well organized and efficient these professionals are. Within 10 minutes, they had the snowshoer on the snowmobile.
The section where the snowshoer got injured was not even the steepest section of the trail. It just highlights the need to be cautious on even easy hikes and be prepared while venturing into the backcountry.
It was about 12:30 pm by the time Rohan and I made it back to the car. Kasturi, Prajakta and the kids were waiting for us. Through this hike, we got to know more about each other. Rohan and Prajakta grew up in the same region as us in India. They had a similar journey of moving to the US and then to Canada. It was good to connect with them on this family hike.
Personally, I had a good time chatting with Rohan about training, goals and climbing in general. I hope to do more trips with Rohan and his family.
Resources:
Trail Guide: Outdoor Vancouver | Vancouver Trails
Cypress: BC Parks Website | Resort Website
Disclosure: I am not affiliated with any of the above individuals or organizations.
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Nice adventure anna..
Thank you Punith for reading the post and your comment.
Glad to read your adventures and how much you enjoy the outdoors. Even though I’ve lived in Canada for 40 years, I still prefer to look at the snow than be in it. Too cold for me! I like reading your posts with a cup of tea in front of my fireplace. ☺️
Ngoc – after 40 years in Canada, I might prefer to just look at the snow as well 😉 Thanks for reading the blog post.