Black Tusk Inukshuck

Black Tusk Inukshuck

Subject Mountain: The Black Tusk
    Photo Value: 14 *R
Date: 2005.07.24
Vantage Point: From ridge north of Black Tusk, 1.0 km NW of The Black Tusk   49:59:00 123:03:00
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 Photographer: Ron Enns

I've always enjoyed the creative inukshucks people build on the ridge between the microwave towers and the Tusk. Some people may say it's an unnatural part of the park/wilderness experience (as if the microwave towers aren't); in fact, I have been told that BC Parks supervisors tell the rangers to tear these down (can we call the rangers inukshuckoclasts or cairnoclasts?). Personally though, I like them (maybe in our litigious society BC Parks considers these structures to be a safety hazard).

Access: We accessed the area via the Black Tusk microwave towers road (turn off Hwy. 99 opposite Function Junction just south of Whistler). The road is driveable (4WD, high clearance useful for rocks on road, although none of the waterbars are that deep) right up to the microwave towers. The gate about 2 km from the top is off its hinges and lying on the side of the road. Two guys in a truck with monster tires and a North Shore Off Road Club sticker asked us how steep the slope was looking left toward the Tusk down into the bowl right below (north of) the Tusk. I told them it was a steepish scree slope but easy enough to negotiate. One of them followed up with a question of "We're going to bring our ATV's up here next time -- would we be able to get up and down the slope on our ATV's?" My response, to which they were taken aback, was: "What are you thinking? This is a park." Fortunately my 10-year-old daughter was with me, because my comment, not purposely, made them rather upset, and I got the impression that they wanted to slug me. There is evidence of motorized traffic ripping up the alpine meadows below the microwave towers. While the broken gate saves 2 km and about 1,100 feet of walking, maybe it would be better if it was reinstalled.

Technical: Canon Powershot A510 digital camera.