Brohm Ridge by Fatbike
Since riding the top of the snowpack on Burke Ridge in what was one of my favourite experiences on a bike, I have been looking for other places suitable for backcountry fatbike riding. The key factors for backcountry riding are that the terrain is relatively mellow, and that there's snowmobile trails to pack down the riding surface and provide direction. Burke Ridge is the only ridge in the lower mainland that meets this criteria.
Me with my fatbike at the South Summit of Burke Ridge.
Me enjoying a rolling descent on a rain crust on Burke Ridge.
Just north of the lower mainland is an area called Brohm Ridge, which is the snowmobile capital of the south coast. Brohm Ridge is a high elevation mountain ridge that runs from the northeast side of Squamish up to the base of Mt Garibaldi. A large portion of the ridge is above the treeline and provides unrestricted views of nearby peaks and the valley below. It is the snowmobiling centre of the south coast, and is commonly used by climbers to access the Mt Garibaldi climbing route on skis. Proposals to develop this ridge as a ski resort have sparked debate among Squamish residents, tourists, environmentalists, backcountry skiers, and most of all snowmobilers whom consider this ridge as a home base in BC and would have the most to lose from a development. It will likely be years before the BC government makes a definite decision on this and longer before shovels hit ground if they decide to develop. Resort proposals for this area date back to at least the 1960's when two chalet buildings were built along with the foundation for a gondola in a planned resort development that fell through. Today the chalets are home to the Black Tusk Snowmobile Club.
The main chalet on Brohm Ridge in the summertime with Mt Garibaldi above.
I couldn't find any reports on people riding fatbikes on this mountain, but knew it would be feasible if snow conditions were right. Since this ridge very rarely sees rain (almost all precipitaion is snow since it's so high), I would need to go during a dry freeze thaw period to have good crust conditions, meaning the best window would be in the early spring. The conditions leading up to Saturday, May 18, 2019 looked promising, so I decided to give it a go. I woke up early and left home at about 4am, and arrived in Squamish just after 5am. I found some parking at the Brennan Park Rec Centre in north Squamish, and set out on my thick-tired bike. I rode up the Sea to Sky highway, and got an early morning glimpse of the Mt Garibaldi massif as the sun was rising. It looked distant and intimidating from the valley floor and it was hard to believe that I would get anywhere close it on this ride.
Mt Garibaldi in the distance from the Sea to Sky Highway.
I climbed the gradual grade of the Sea to Sky Highway for a half hour until I reached the Cat Lake Rd turnoff and headed east down the road. Brohm Ridge can be accessed by one of two FSR's running up the mountain from Cat Lake Rd. Cheekye FSR runs along the south flank of the mountain, while Brohm River FSR meanders up the west side. I opted for Brohm River FSR since past reports say it's the smoother of the two. Right after the turn off, Brohm River FSR cuts up the mountain at an aggressive gradient, and I had to put my bike in its lowest gear right away. The first 2km of the road averaged 14%, and woke me up far better than any caffeine drink would have. I passed by some logging cutblocks that had spectacular views of the Tantulus Range and valley below to the west and distracted me from the workout.
Views from a logging cublock on one of the steep sections of Brohm River FSR.
Looking down at the Squamish Valley from Brohm River FSR.
A zoomed in shot towards Squamish and the Howe Sound.
The road flattened briefly before ramping up again and maintaining a steady 12%. For how steep it was, the road was in very good shape - there were no major washouts and no sections I couldn't ride. I continued grinding in my granny gear for what felt like an eternity before I arrived at a major viewpoint at a rock slide at around 1000m. The view of the valley below was spectacular.
Great views from a rock slide zone at ~1000m along Brohm River FSR.
Looking west towards the Tantulus Range from the viewpoint.
I stayed at this spot for a while before hopping back on the big rig and continuing the climb. Just uphill from the rock slide view was a large concrete structure, which was supposedly constructed around the 60's and 70's as the foundation for a proposed gondola.
The old foundation for a proposed gondola.
The gondola foundation beside the road.
I kept pedalling up the steep road and eventually hit snow at around 1200m. The temperature was still around zero, so the snow was icy, meaning I could ride on top of it but that I needed to do so carefully. There were some sections that were so steep and icy that it was safer and more efficient walking the bike. At around 1300m the road drops off a little bit, and I got to practice my snow descending skills. After the short descent the road ramps back uphill again. After a mix of riding and walking my bike uphill in the snow, I arrived at the chalets owned by the Black Tusk Snowmobile Club and caught my second glimpse of the top of Mt Garibaldi.
The main chalet at ~1500m on Brohm Ridge.
The view of Mt Garibaldi from beside the chalet.
After the Chalet, the snowy road became more of a snowy trail. It was a bit narrow in some spots and had some steep pitches. For some reason, the snow was also softer above the chalet, which made it difficult gaining traction on the bike, so I spent a lot of time walking my bike. A few skiers were heading up the mountain at around the same pace as me and I'm sure they thought I was out of my mind. I pushed my bike up the ridge until the terrain began to flatten, and to where the snow was hard enough for me to ride again. I followed the main snowmobile trail along the ridge, and was able to do some of the coolest riding I've ever done on top of the crusty snow with expansive views around me.
Looking over at the Howe Sound in the distance.
My bike with Mt Garibaldi above.
Typical conditions along the route.
Looking north at Table Mountain.
There were some steep bits where I had to walk, but overall the crust was consistent and ridable. At a certain point the clouds suddenly cleared and the sun came out, and the views really opened up. At about 1820m elevation the route seemed to be getting too steep for riding, and the sun was heating up and softening the crust, so I decided to turn around. I spent a bit of time relaxing, eating and taking photos before heading back. This was an odd place to be riding a bike, but it was pretty satisfying to have gotten this large rig 1800m up this mountain to a spot like this on human power. At over 1800m from my starting point to the turn around spot, this is easily one of the largest elevation gains I've done.
Looking at my bike and the view to the north.
The bike with Mt Garibaldi above.
Looking northward at me and the bike.
One more shot of my bike and distant peaks.
I started the descent, and it was pretty sketchy since the sun was softening the snow in a hurry. There were some hard crusty sections where I could roll along nicely, but then suddenly I'd hit a soft section and come to a rapid halt. On some of the steeper downhill sections my front tire slid out and I had to bail. Fortunately snow is a forgiving surface to land on. After around 30 minutes of tricky descending, I arrived back at the chalet where the snow was really softening up and I was sinking deep even when walking. It was nice to get back onto more of a road, but I spent a lot of time walking due to the soft snow and flat and uphill sections on the road that were impossible to pedal on. I eventually hit the crest of the short uphill bit, and from this point the rest of my ride was downhill. The first bit of downhill had deep slushy snow that was very slippery. I pretty much held the rear brake and slid on my back wheel, challenging myself to stay balanced and not wipe out. After an extended period of sketchy snow descending, I finally reached the end of the snow and was pretty relieved.
I stopped at the rock slide area viewpoint for a second time, and the view of surrounding peaks was now more clear. I snapped a few more photos of the view and the photogenic bike before hopping back on it to finish the descent.
Another shot of the bike and the Squamish valley below.
The bike with the Tantulus Range in the background.
The rest of the descent wasn't too exciting. My arms got a little sore from braking and absorbing bumps in the road, but it felt nice being on steady ground again. I got back to the highway, and was finally able to let go of the brakes and cruise. There was a pleasant wind coming up the valley that felt nice on my tired body. I got back to the car in an exhausted state, and had a short nap before driving home.
This was a very unorthodox trip with a lot of unique challenges, and I definitely think this is the coolest and most efficient self-propelled method for the route I took. However the fatbike was a little bit cumbersome on this mountain due to the steep sections and the range of snow conditions resulting from the large vertical, so I think the next time I'm up there I will be hiking or on skis, or perhaps biking if it's late in the summer and most of the snow has melted. Nevertheless, I have a good idea of what to expect the next time I'm there.
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