Skating to Guard Mountain

Date: January 27, 2026

Distance: 38.02km (14.25km skating, 23.77km hiking/scrambling)

Elevation gain: 1574m

Guard Mountain is a striking-looking tower at the far end of Garibaldi Lake. From the popular Garibaldi Lake viewpoints, it stands sentinel over the lake guarding the taller peaks beyond, hence the name. 

It isn’t ascended very often. Any approach will require a crossing of the lake or some difficult bushwhacking. Most ascents take place in the winter or spring when the lake can be crossed on skis or snowshoes. 

In January 2026, some very unusual weather turned Garibaldi Lake into the world’s most scenic skating rink. I went up there with a VOC group to do some skating. The weather was meant to persist for a few more days, so I made plans to return, skate across the lake, and climb a mountain. It was a last minute weekday trip but Joseph and Julien from the VOC were able to join. We decided on Guard Mountain, which had been on my list for a while after reading Alex and Trevor B.‘s trip report from last year.

We hiked up the trail in the dark and crossed the lake just past sunrise. There was a thin layer of snow on the ice at the western end but it faded away as we ventured onto the lake. It was cloudy but the clouds were well above the mountains. Weirdly, the strange booming sounds from the previous trip were absent. 

The Guard-Deception col can be accessed from Sphinx Bay to the north or Sentinel Bay to the south. We took the Sentinel Bay approach, which led us past the Table as we skated into the bay. 

The snow level was shockingly low, with bare rock around the glaciology huts, which are normally covered in snow by January. It was quite alarming…

We walked inland for about half a kilometre, passing a few gullies which might have been usable routes to the ridge, but we weren't sure if they would go. Instead, we went up the standard route, taking a natural ramp to a less steep gully. Along the way we crossed an avalanche path with frozen snowy scree. 

The gully led us to the col, with views of the Table and Garibaldi improving as we ascended. 

As we approached the col, we saw movement in the distance. A family of mountain goats was running along the ridge! We gave them lots of space and watched as they climbed towards Guard, passing out of sight.

It was time to continue to the summit. Our first obstacle was a broken section of ridge that Alex and Trevor had skipped by coming up from Sphinx Bay. This involved some scrambling, with one class 4 move on the descent.  

From here it was mostly a walk up to the base of the summit block. A few short scrambly moves and a small chimney led to the south summit. 

The views were incredible, with the frozen Garibaldi Lake directly below us and the giants of Castle Towers, the Sphinx, and Garibaldi surrounding us. The Black Tusk could be seen in the distance. A spindly volcanic pinnacle lay between us and the lake. 

Far below us, a VOC group was skating to Burton hut. 

There is a northern summit, which some have claimed is taller, although the most recent trip report claims otherwise. Joseph went to check it out. This required a steep exposed downclimb, a traverse along an arête, and then some class 4 moves up the summit block. 

We returned to Sentinel Bay, skipping Deception Peak due to time constraints. On the way down I ended up too far to the west but quickly corrected course. At the bay, we spent some time looking for our stashed skates, then got back on the ice.

We completed a lap of the lake, jumping over a few cracks in the ice. We stopped at the Burton Hut on the way but the other VOC group had already left. As the sun set, we arrived at the trail on the west side of the lake. We hiked down in the dark.

Snow began to fall as we reached the parking lot, marking the end of this unseasonably good weather. I think we made the most of it.