I had planned to go for an overnight trip but my mental space is changing to summer activities now and I changed the last snowshoe outing for a day trip for the better weather day of the April 15 / 16 2023 weekend. Only one participant was able to join and she does not have a car so I decided to meet her in North Vancouver and explore the mountains of the North Shore. There is plenty of adventures to have at the limit of the city and it was an opportunity for me to check it out for information gathering. It was going to be a light precip day with low clouds so a well marked trail was my preference, or simply an area that I am very familiar with. We met at the JJ Bean on Brooksbank, which is a charming cafe. We drove together to the resort parking lot. The resort was closed to it was easy to find a parking spot. Once out of the car at 1000 m, it was cold and stormy. We had all our layers to start the trail. We did not put our snowshoes, just micro spikes. Over the first hour, some of us lost our microspikes while walking.... Hmmm another lesson in sticky snow, have an occasional look at your boots to make sure all spikes still attached.

We climbed along the slopes of the resort. It was windy and the snow was falling furiously. We got to Brockton point and we could not see much more than a white haze of fog. We tentatively walked to the back country sign and found that the trail has bright red reflective wands every 20 meters or so all the way to Pump Peak. We followed the trail and wands to the end and turned around. IT was a good work out, and a good challenge with the vicious storm and steep up and downs. We saw a few brave souls ski tourers and hikers. We could have chosen to use our snowshoes but we kept it simple by just hiking. Our total elevation gained was just below 600m (well we had to turn around and search for one lost microspike, which gave us a bit more vert!) I see why this is a popular spot. I will come back to look at the other peaks in that area. We were happy to get back and warm up in the car... It was no picnic but it was a worthy outing. It seems that every time we met for our mentorship trips the weather was unleashed! Sideways snow, deep drifts and cold wind has been a theme for our group!