 Location: The Neve is a 35 square km icefield located on the eastern flanks of the Mount Garibaldi massif. Drainage is to the east into the Pitt River, to the southwest into Ring Creek and to the northwest into Garibaldi Lake.
Terrain: The Garibaldi Neve is an area of substantial snowfall with more than 5 meters in many winters. This snowfall tends to choke the crevasses with snow. Thus it is ideal for ski traverses. Parties usually carry a rope for emergency, but seldom rope up on the actual crossing unless they are navigating in whiteout conditions. There are several peaks which jut out of the snowfield, such as the Sharkfin, and the Glacier Pikes. The Glacier Pikes are often climbed in the morning of the second day of the Neve traverse. The Neve is most commonly accessed from the south via the Bishop Glacier or from the north via the Sentinel Glacier. It could also be accessed from the Pitt glaciers, but this is not common since the Pitt River itself is not readily accessable. The Pitt is more likely to be used as an exit route to gain access to Gray Pass and Parapet Peak to the east. This steep descent, sometimes referred to as the "black hole" has worrysome avalanche slopes above one on either side, and would not be a good idea immediately after a heavy snowfall. On the normal traverse route, the main crevasses to worry about are in the center section between the Shark's Fin and the high point just east of the Tent. This section is also quite tricky to navigate in a whiteout.
Access:
1. From SW via Ring Creek: (Normal) Take the Diamond Head Road and Elfin Lakes Trail to reach the Elfin Lake cabin. From there, ski down into saddle 1 km N of cabin, then follow old road bypassing Gargoyles to the E. Drop down steep morraine into Ring C, then ascend to toe of Garibaldi G and up onto Bishop Glacier. Careful route finding is necessary in bad visibility due to wind cirques and crevasses.
2. From North via Garibaldi Lake and Sentinel Glacier: (Normal) Via Garibaldi Lake: Take the Garibaldi Lake trail to Garibaldi Lake, then ski across it to the foot of the Sentinel G. Lake is normally frozen till May. Head S on glacier to corner at about 010265, then swing west and ascend steep snow slopes. These slopes can be somewhat fearsome in icy conditions. The glacier is crevasse free.
3. From East via Pitt Glacier: (Rare) Descending either the N or S Pitt Glaciers is not part of the normal Garibaldi Neve traverse, but is used to gain access to the remote Isosceles and Parapet Peaks. These glaciers are relatively free of crevasses. The S Pitt is in a narrow gulley, with some exposure to random avalanche from above. Best in stable weather.
4. From S via Skookum Creek: (Rare) From Mamquam logging roads, head N up Skookum Creek to Eanastick meadows then Mamquam L. From here climb west to Lava Glacier. Interesting terrain.
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