"Whistler Backcountry - Fissile Mountain" Whistler Off The Beaten Path Tip by pipercherokee

If you're a hardcore skiier/rider then you'll want to test out Whistler/Blackcomb's backcountry. To give you an idea of the geography concerning my particular trek: Singing Pass trail leads from Whistler village, between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, all the way back to Overlord glacier, continuously climbing in elevation along the way. In the summer months this is a great way to get back there but it is definitely a trek and a half. In the winter, the hardcores start out from the top of Whistler's peak chair and traverse across Picolo, Flute and Oboe and continue towards the hut at the base of Fissile. Fissile is a jagged peak looming just to the right of Overlord Glacier and it can be seen all the way back from Whistler's in-bound terrain as jutting out by its lonesome into the sky. It takes a day to traverse all the way back there to the hut. One can overnight in the hut and then attempt the Fissile climb the following day. When I was 19, dumb and gung-ho I clambered up Fissile with no avalanche or safety equipment, trudging along in the footsteps created by wiser, older backcountry fellas that were using ice axes and crampons. It was definitely steep and I couldn't fathom looking down behind me. Nevertheless, in an hour and a half I had scaled Fissile and then proceeded to carve out 150+ turns in untouched, knee deep powder in the month of April - and it hadn't snowed in a month. This was the north face of Fissile (no sun!) and it was the most pristine experience of my life.

Just fyi, the picture here simply shows a very small section at the very base of Fissile mountain. We carved these turns upon arrival at the hut before the main trek to the top. 5 of us made it to the hut but only 2 of us attempted the Fissile climb. Not for the faint-hearted. Some great pics in the Fissile Trip travelogue!