Rainbow Mountain BC

8/17/26

Day 1 of 2 of my time climbing in Whistler, BC.

Rainbow Mountain (7,592') is a prominent peak a few miles outside Whistler. I left Bellingham around 6 a.m. and rolled into the Whistler Biathlon Range just before 9. With trail work on the usual route via Rainbow Lake, I took the backdoor route via Hanging Lake.

After walking through the Biathlon Range (weirdest start I've ever had to a hike), I took a few old forest service roads before cutting through the forest and reaching the unmaintained Hanging Lake trail. I was shocked to see an official sign. Once on the trail, I followed a fairly nice dirt path as it headed northeast. The only annoying section came when the path entered marshy terrain. Two miles in, I broke out and reached Hanging Lake, nestled at the foot of Rainbow Pass, with Rainbow Mountain towering behind.

Hanging Lake -Rainbow behind

Rainbow Pass

What a site

Pretty Pretty

I traversed Hanging Lake before meeting up with the Rainbow Pass trail, which I followed through lush meadows. Pretty, but the bugs were unbearable. After a quick break, I ascended 400' up to Rainbow Pass (5,000'). The views really opened up here, even with the fire haze. The Tantalus Range, like usual, stole the show. I dropped off the Pass toward the gorgeous Rainbow Lake, then turned onto the Rainbow Peak climber's trail.

I left the lush meadows behind and entered the high alpine meadows lining Rainbow Mountain's lower slopes. As I ascended, the terrain grew rockier, and by 6,000' I was surrounded by rock and snow. I was thoroughly impressed with the scenery; a cylindrical tower to the northwest dominated the skyline, and Rainbow Mountain lay behind. At 7,000', I found myself staring at Rainbow Mountain's upper ridgeline. I was surprised to find a good-sized unnamed glacier sitting to my left. After crossing an easy snowfield, I traversed the ridgeline to reach Rainbow's backside. This was the most technical section, with a lot of air below my feet, but still nothing more than easy class 3. Once off the ridgeline, I ascended the backside, navigating boulders all the way to Rainbow's flat rocky summit.  

Looking back down

Loving the rocky terrain

Pretty sick

Glacier and summit ridge

Even with limited visibility, the views were spectacular. The Tantalus and Garibaldi ranges were both visible in the distance, and the heavily glaciated Ipsoot Mountain was my personal favorite. The descent was straightforward, and I made it back to my car just before 5 pm.

Many sub peaks

Glaciated side

A tad bit cold up top

Overall, this one surpassed my expectations. The lower meadows and lakes are stunning, but the rugged rocky ridges and subpeaks, mixed with the multiple glaciers on Rainbow Mountain's upper slopes, blew me away. Definitely worth checking out, even as a simple day hike from WA. As always, stay safe and Happy Hiking!

Stats: 11 Miles - 5,200' Gain - 8 Hours C2C