- Callaghan Valley
The Callaghan Valley is a wilderness recreation area in the
Sea to Sky Country of southwestern,British Columbia , located in thePacific Ranges of theCoast Mountains 90 km 1 north ofVancouver . On its western perimeter is thePowder Mountain Icefield , and the potentially active [cite book | last = Etkin | first = David | coauthors = Haque, C.E. and Brooks, Gregory R. | title = An Assessment of Natural Hazards and Disasters in Canada | publisher = Springer | date = 2003-04-30 | location = | pages = | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=kaJz_SNNuKMC&pg=PA569&lpg=PA569&dq=wells+%22gray+clearwater%22+volcanic+field+earthquakes&source=web&ots=3-cpYxu0uM&sig=OsW3GQ5BQLaHN3HZRdzQfObnx6A
isbn = 978-1402011795] [ [http://books.google.ca/books?id=HHoOlKqsFn4C&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=Mount+Cayley+active&source=web&ots=EGmj-K8-31&sig=pUO5uE7BACocSGQZHaf6_fla5hs&hl=en&sa=X&ol=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result Life in Stone: A Natural History of British Columbia's Fossils] ] volcanoMount Cayley , which lies at the valley's southwestern extremity.Mount Callaghan , at the head of the valley, is a dormant volcano because its last eruption was not as recent as Mount Cayley's, nor does it displayhot spring or seismic activity. The valley is the basin ofCallaghan Creek , at the head of which is Callaghan Lake and associated provincial park. Midway down Callaghan Creek is the confluence of Madeley Creek, just above which on that creek isAlexander Falls , which lies just at a bridge on the road to Callaghan Lake.The valley's eastern wall is the small range formed by
Mount Sproatt and Rainbow Mountain, which lies in the angle of theCheakamus River and Callaghan Creek (which in the past has also been known as the West Fork of the Cheakamus) and east of which is the Resort Municipality of Whistler. The valley's mouth and road access is at McGuire's on BC Highway 99, 14kilometre s south of downtown Whistler, inBritish Columbia . the location is also known as Northair, and the road as theNorthair Mine Road, after a mine located a few miles north of the junction, which is marked by aquarry pitcolumnar basalt lava rock on the opposite side of the highway, and which are the northern end of a smalllava plateau between the highway and river south to and includingBrandywine Falls .The valley has seen some logging, though not in its upper end, and some mining, but today it is primarily a
backcountry skiing ,telemark skiing ,cross country skiing , andsnowshoeing area in the winter. it is also used for access to the alpine areas surrounding it - in good seasons, skiing andalpine touring in the alpine last well into the spring, and in the Powder Mountain Icefield virtually year-round. It is the most easily accessible of all the major Coast Mountains icefields by road and a number of heliskiing companies using it on ar regular basis from bases in Whistler, Squamish. Snow-cat and snowmobile companies have also used in the valley and to access the icefield.Common summer activities are
hiking in the valley and on surrounding mountains, which are also used by heli-hiking companies, andcanoeing on Callaghan Lake are common summer activities.The valley was to have been the star feature of the aborted
Powder Mountain Resort project, which was discontinued during the regime of the Social Credit regime of PremierBill Vander Zalm ) and would have also seen a smaller version ofWhistler Village built at Callaghan Lake as the ski hill's basetown. The valley, thenCrown Land , has since been absorbed into the Resort Municipality of Whistler, which opposed the Powder Mountain project, and was chosen to be the site of theWhistler Olympic Park , which will be theNordic events venue for the2010 Olympics .Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.