Triple Crown(ish): Bike-ski of North Shore pow

Ski bike trips are inherently a compromise between the quality of skiing and the quality of biking. Since the bike leg usually takes up most of the day, people tend to plan them in the spring – clear roads, good weather, soft snow, and generally an enjoyable time. Originally, late March conditions seemed like a sweet spot for a North Shore bike ski triple crown. Early enough for decent snow coverage, late enough for good weather, and enough daylight. However, this trip ended up looking very different, with mid-winter conditions and exploratory touring. If you are curious about what a ski-focused attempt at a triple crown looks like, read on.

A bike ski triple crown had been on my mind since last year (there are several VOC trip reports written up on this objective), but winter Landyachtz gravel rides are where I started talking about it more seriously with a group of keeners. I ran one VOC bike ski trip to Cypress (Ivan please write the trip report), which was a blast, but I knew I’d need a lot of motivation to get on top 2 additional peaks. When my gravel friends said they were all in, I hopped on board. We committed to the weekend of March 22nd with only one condition, we’d cancel if it were raining. One firm handshake with Corey later, and we had a plan. As the date approached, the Saturday forecast was clear, and I had a group of 9 strong cyclists/skiers (with 5 gals!), 5 of which ended up coming: Corey Monteith, Bre Challenger, Daniele Reda, and Stef Curtis, who had experience doing it solo the year before. Accounting for transition faff and group size, we estimated 18 hrs total, 8 hrs of biking, 7 hrs of skiing, and 3 hrs of transitions, and decided a 3am start would set us up for success.

The week before, the snow line was looking unusually good. A little bit of an issue for me was Grouse – ski touring isn’t allowed there, and with my PR application in the works, I wasn’t keen to bend the rules. I floated the idea of Fromme instead. At only 50m lower, it felt like a good alternative. We found one vague trip report with almost no details but figured we’d find out the details for ourselves. Our final plan was Pump Peak, Mt Fromme, and Mt Strachan.

 

As the date approached, the snow forecast kept climbing: 80cm of snow in the 48 hrs leading up. The avi risk also climbed, so we packed full avi kits. Initially, we were stoked: pow on the North Shore! What a rare opportunity. Somehow, it didn’t register that snow up high meant rain down low. Maybe it was denial or just stoke, but I took the no-rain forecast at face value.

A busy week in the lab meant I left my bike prep for Thursday and then pulled out my internal cable routing without a guide. Would not recommend, I wasted hours trying DIY fixes with no luck. Thankfully, my mechanic friend Brendan saved the day at 7 pm the night before and helped fix everything. As he worked, rain poured outside, but the forecast still said it would end by 2 am. “Let’s push back to 3:30am start just in case”, I said in our chat. No one complained about some extra sleep. I got everything packed by 11 pm and got to bed by midnight with my 2:30 am alarm set. A few hours later, I choked down some dry cinnamon toast crunch and sushi rice and suited up. Gear-wise, I wore leggings, bibs, wool long sleeve, wind vest, windbreaker, mtb gloves, buff, gravel shoes, glasses, and wool socks. Skis and poles were on my rear rack, boots on my front forks with an OMM thru axle kit, and cargo cages. Frame bag had a repair kit and two bags of Haribo, two bottles of scratch were on the bike, and my touring bag had ski shell layers, atom mid layer, puffy, thin and thick mittens, first aid kit, avi kit, half a liter of water, five bags of Haribo gummies, dried mango, and mini stroopwafels. I tossed in shoe covers and a spare set of socks just as I was leaving.

As I biked over to our meetup, reality hit – it was, in fact, actually raining. My windbreaker was immediately soaked through, but it wasn’t too cold. I figured we would make a group call based on vibes. We were all at the PNE pump track by 3:40 am. I asked what people felt about the weather. Corey set the tone, “Well, we’re already here. Might as well start and see how it goes”.

The ride to Seymour flew by. Since we were on gravel bikes (and, at heart, friends brought together by gravel riding), we opted to start up Old Buck in the dark. The mountain bike climb trail was a bit steep with the heavy bikes, but quiet and peaceful. Eventually, it joined Seymour Road, and we continued climbing as the first light crept over the horizon. At 400m, snow lined the shoulders, and by 700m, it blanketed the road. We regrouped and pondered the road conditions for a moment, but we’d already gained so much elevation, and the snow felt rideable enough to push to the top. (We found this initial approach looked significantly different than any trip reports we’d read on other ski bike triple crowns, so if you want more detailed beta about these conditions, reach out).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The slush eventually turned into dry snow, and the Seymour lot was empty and quiet. We locked our bikes to a pole between ski patrol and the washrooms, stashed our soaked shoe covers and shoes to dry in the piping in the washrooms, and transitioned. Section 1 of 7 done.

The ski tour was lovely. We broke trail to Pump Peak, marveling at the fresh powder. Visibility was low, but stoke was high. How often do you get good quality fresh tracks on the North Shore? The summit was covered in rime and breathtaking. We took our celebratory summit pic, and hooted and hollered our way down in the fresh snow. After hitting the park through the resort on the way down, we transitioned to our bikes. Stage 2 of 7 done

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“How are you guys getting your bikes down?” a passerby asked as I pondered the same thing, trying not to get too nervous about the snowy descent. We kept the ski layers on, switched to bike shoes, strapped everything on, and down we went. Luckily, the resort had just opened, so traffic was very light. The snow turned into rain quickly, something we were much more familiar with, so we made it down in good shape. We stopped to refuel at Bean Around the World. It was 11 am. Bre, battling what is probably pneumonia, called it. “I’ll catch you guys for the next triple”.

The Mountain Highway climb to Fromme had me questioning my fitness. My boyfriend met us at the Fromme lot with Gatorades, and we collectively laughed at our beacons over bibs setup. As the gravel started, the sky was clear, but the snow melt from the trees drizzled slush down. There was minimal snow on the ground, which was initially concerning, until the snow line appeared at 700m and the road became un-bikable almost immediately. We transitioned 2km before originally planned, and hid our bikes in the ditch. Stage 3 of 7 done, just before 2 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We skinned up the road until we got to Bills Trail. The entrance – a watery ditch, narrow trees, snow bombs – wasn’t encouraging, but the trail ended up being very mellow, following a clear snowshoe path. It dragged on, and the snow got deeper. We couldn’t believe the depth of the snowpack near the top, at least a meter deep. Finally, the summit appeared, and with a bit of blue sky. We admired the view, transitioned, and dropped down the west face.

 

The ski was surprisingly fun: we went along a creek with classic PNW mashed potatoes turns and got stunning views of Grouse resort, the bay, and the city. You can actually get cliffed out if you aren’t careful, but luckily we ended up under the cliffs. A bit of a hairy exit spit us out onto Mountain Highway. We passed through the yellow gate to Grouse, which was completely buried in snow, and then some awkward, mostly flat skiing led back to the switchbacks before our bikes. Stage 4 of 7 done, it was 6:30 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The transitions were getting quicker, and we descended fast. As I de-layered at the bottom of Mountain Highway, I realized I was missing a skin that must have fallen out when I transitioned to the bike.  Not ideal. We went to A&W to refuel and reevaluate. Daniele tapped out; he had been hoping to be home at a reasonable time, and it was already 7:30 pm.  I tried it on one of his skins on my ski – it fit perfectly. One less problem. However, the forecast said heavier rain was rolling in. We pondered the conditions, but Corey inspired us again. “I think I’m just gonna go for it”. I decided to at least bike over to Cypress and make a call at the first lookout. We headed on over. The mist barely felt like rain, and I barely felt tired after my Gatorade with a shot of Mio. Up we went. At 700m, the rain turned to snow. By 800m, it covered the road, but it gripped well. We kept climbing and reached the lodge around 11:30 pm. Stage 5 of 7 done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a full blizzard at the top. Sunday’s avi forecast was a solid red block. An attendant called over at us, “Are you planning on touring? I wouldn’t recommend it. The conditions are very touchy out there”. Not reassuring. We considered touring the resort, but the slopes were crawling with machines. We weighed options. Do we push through? We were getting full-body shivers, the temperature was dropping fast, the roads were only getting worse, and none of us had toured Strachan before. We knew could do it – but should we? Was it perseverance or just ego? Do we bail?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We looked at each other, drenched and shivering, and decided it was time to go home. We threw on our layers, did jumping jacks to thaw our hands and toes, and started the descent. With snow dampening the world and no cars on the road, it was the quietest, most peaceful North Shore descent I’ve had. (Stef and Corey might disagree due to the cold and delirium, but I think my intense fear of cars and ski mittens were the key components to my comfy descent)

Rolling home through the rainy streets of the city, I felt really good about the day. Munching on gummies every half hour made sure I never bonked or got exhausted. I got home at 2:30 am. A bit longer than expected, but the whole adventure felt laid-back and genuinely fun.

Door to door: 23.5 hrs.

Elevation: 4050m. Distance: 150km.

I’ll be back to finish the full triple in better conditions another time. But as far as bike ski adventures go, this one was special. Thank you to everyone who helped make this a reality! Next up, Baker