Elfin Shelter: Why Did Only 5 of the Original 8 Make It?

After some honest conversation, hard decisions were made and 3 members of the group didn't finish the trip.

On Saturday January 4th, eight WitW members headed out for an overnight snowshoe to the Elfin Shelter (second year in a row to do this trip in the first week of January... are we turning this into a tradition!?). However, of the eight of us, only five completed the trip. Let's talk about this.

Elfin Shelter is a hut located beside Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park between Squamish and Whistler, British Columbia. It has 2 levels and sleeps 33 on bunks (some single, some double), has a propane heater, picnic tables, four propane burners, 2 counters with sinks, and pit toilets. The summer route is 20km out-and-back, with the winter route being slightly longer - maybe 22km. In terms of avalanche danger, the winter route stays mostly in simple terrain, with one small portion going through challenging terrain. It is truly a winter wonderland when the sun comes out and glistens off the snow (see the gallery below), but when the fog socks you in blocking any views and precipitation hits your face head-on, it can be quite a slog of a trek.

Note: never go into winter conditions without avalanche awareness. Take an avalanche skills training course to get to know the basics, and always bring an avalanche kit with you (a beacon, probe and shovel). Monitor conditions leading up to, and during, every trip. Click here to go to a video I posted on IG that shows you how to check avalanche conditions in Canada and the US.

On the way up you pass the Heather Meadows day use shelter at about km 5, where we always stop for a break and to eat some snacks. As we hiked up the trail, our group naturally split up into smaller groups - some faster and some slower, with the groups stopping to wait for everyone to catch up every so often. All of us were feeling it, as many of us hadn't hiked in months, and one member of our group hadn't ever done any intense snowshoeing like this - she'd only snowshoed once before, and it was on a fairly flat, groomed trail.

At about km 4.5 our group was split into two: five ahead, and three (including myself) in the back. We couldn't see the group in front, and didn't know how far ahead they were. We assumed they were waiting for us at the hut. I and one other in this group of 3 could tell that the 3rd was struggling, and we stopped for a wellness check. We could tell she wasn't sure about continuing, but she didn't want to hold us back or let us down. An old injury was really affecting her, and she couldn't continue.

Something I always try to instill and facilitate within our community is a foundation of trust, safety, and open communication. Nothing is more important than our health - physical, mental, and emotional, and I want every member of this community to feel safe to speak their truth when something isn't going well, and to have the confidence that we will support your decision to turn around. Our objective (in this case, spending the night at the Elfin Shelter), is never more important than your health and wellbeing.

So during this wellness check we asked how she was doing, and what she thought was best for her. Without hesitation, we ensured she felt supported to make the right decision for her body, and we made a plan to get her home safely. I offered 3 options for her, all of which included my going down the mountain with her. While she didn't want me to sacrifice my plans, I didn't want her going down alone, especially when she was already feeling so much pain.

Now the thing is, the road up to the trailhead is not one just that anyone can drive up. By law, you are required to carry chains in the winter, and on this day, we were required to put them on. The woman who drove the injured person and myself was ahead in the group of 5, and we couldn't call the injured woman's safety contact to come get her because he doesn't have chains for his vehicle. What we ended up deciding is that I would get in touch with my safety contact (who has a 4x4 with chains) to come get us (a 2 hour drive each way), her and I would start our descent down, and the 3rd in our group would go on ahead to let the rest of the group know what was going on.

Little did we know, the other 5 were literally right around the next corner. So just 2 minutes later one of the women in the group of 5 came running down the trail to catch up with us. She had originally driven up with us, and didn't want us to leave without checking in. We told her our plan, and she decided to come down the mountain with us. She wanted to support the injured person and ensure she knew she was cared for and that she made the right decision, and that completing our objective was not the main goal; spending time together, was the main goal.

As I shared this story on Instagram, I was flooded with stories of other hikers making the tough call to end a hike short due to varying circumstances. I've decided to share this to encourage everyone to prioritize their health and to never put an objective ahead of their wellbeing, and the stories I've heard from others commenting on that post share the same sentiment.

The mountains will be there when we're ready to return, but your health is something you may not be able to get back in full. If pushed too far, some injuries can not be undone.

Stay safe, Wild Woman.