NOTE for Summer 2010: The beginning of these hikes is getting a whole lot easier. The ski hill has built a rough track as a traverse from the gondola to the col between Terminator and T2.
Difficulty: Easy scramble
Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 700 metres
Change in elevation: lose 30 metres, gain 120 metres
Map reference: 82 N/6 Blaeberry
Synopsis: An easy scramble up the peak that looms over Bowl Over.
Trailhead: Between the gondola shed and the Eagle's Eye, there is a set of stairs that descends to the track.
Trail: Follow the new track for 400 m. You will drop down to the col (the footing is a little sketchy on the downhill right now), and then climb up the other side. (In winter, the boarders are going to have to give 'er from the top in order to make it up the hill. But that's a problem for another season.)
The trail breaks left from the roadbed about 50 m past the spool of yellow rope. The problem is, it's not marked at all, and people have been making their own trails. If you go another 100 m down the track, you will see a steep dirt hillside that lots of people climb up. Some wish they hadn't.
You want to gain the ridge as soon as you can. The first 50 metres are the most exposed and scrambly. Then it's a straightforward hike up the ridge to the cairn on the top of the peak.
Cautions:
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 1 hour
Distance: 1.3 kilometres
Change in elevation: lose 30 metres, gain 105 metres
Map reference: 82 N/6 Blaeberry
Synopsis: A moderate hike to a grassy peak with great views.
Trailhead: The stairs next to the Eagle's Eye bridge.
Trail: Follow the new track to the col between Terminator and T2. Once you reach the structure under construction, drop down the slope a bit and follow the constructed trail. The route stays below the ridge to skirt two rocky outcrops. The only confusion arises because the trail braids in many places. If you follow a braid that rises to the ridge, you'll have to drop down again. Eventually, the trail angles up and gets you to the ridge about 100 m north of the "peak" of T2. There may be no finer place for a picnic on a sunny day.
Difficulty: difficult
Time: 4 hours
Distance: 16 kilometres
Change in elevation: lose 1500 metres
Map reference: 82 N/6 Blaeberry, 82 N/3 Mt. Wheeler, 82 N/2 McMurdo.
Synopsis: A long hike along the ridge from the ski hill to Canyon Creek in Nicholson.
Trailhead: The stairs.
Trail: Follow the Grassy Knoll trail (above) to the cairn. From the cairn, drop down to the left on the hill and work your way south to the next col. Pick up the trail and follow it up the hill to where it crosses the top end of a very steep avalanche slope on the east side of the ridge.
Regain the ridge just before the final minor peak, and then descend to the treeline. From the treeline, if you follow the obvious draw east of the ridge you will pick up the old trail further down. The trail is easy to follow, as the windfall has been cleared from it. At one point on the descent, you pass through a small burn from a few years ago.
Once you reach the flat part of the ridge, the walking is easy, as the windfall has been cleared. Eventually, you will come to the new clearcut. It is probably easiest to head to your left on the old skid trail, over the small rise, and down to the landing at the end of the Tallis Creek FSR.
Head down the logging road to the switchback at 9 km. If you head directly into the bush at the corner, you will reach the old hiking trail in about 50 metres. It is overgrown and very steep in spots. An alternative, but you will have to be careful of two wheeled traffic, is to enter the bush just at the downhill corner of the switchback, where you will find a bike trail. If you follow this down, it eventually merges with an old skid road that is now mostly single track. Turn right on this old road and you will end up at the top of the Canyon Creek trail.
Cautions: