The alarm jump-scared me at 3am, and I shot out of bed.
I woke up feeling nervous, excited, and, of course, a lil’ sleepy. Today was a day I’d been anticipating for years—a plan that was finally coming to fruition.
I’dI’d wanted to hike Overlord Mountain ever since I first heard about it while hiking to Russet Lake in Whistler. A few hikers were chatting about their plans to tackle it that day, which piqued my interest. From that moment on, climbing it became a bit of an obsession. It was a quest I desperately wanted to cross off my list, but one I’d been too intimidated to tackle solo.
And now, I’d finally found a few people to do it with.
As I finished organizing my hiking gear and running through my mental checklist, I poured the rest of my coffee into a to-go cup and hit the Sea to Sky Highway, making my way toward Whistler in the pitch black.
The plan was to start early. I wanted to tackle Overlord as an out-and-back via Singing Pass, while Jeanette and Steve planned to tack on Musical Bumps and Harmony Lake before taking the gondola back down to the village. We needed to get moving early enough for them to catch the last ride down at 5pm.
Overlord is an intimidating one: roughly 2,600 m of elevation gain and 40 km in a single push if you take the out-and-back route I’d planned. It’s demanding from an endurance standpoint, but also a technical one, with a pretty intimidating traverse from Whirlwind Peak toward the summit of Overlord.
After a short, 40-minute drive, I rolled into the parking lot just after 5 am and spotted my pals getting ready to go.
We started around 5:30 am, headlamps on, ready to rock.
Almost immediately, I felt my nerves begin to settle as we made our way up the gradual incline of Singing Pass. I was fully engaged in the moment, and as the sun began to peek over the mountains, my excitement only grew.
I don’t think I’d been this excited about a hike in years.
Singing Pass to Russet Lake
Before we knew it, we’d emerged from Singing Pass and were making our way through Whistler’s stunning alpine terrain toward Russet Lake.
It was another 3km or so, but with views like these, the time flew by.
We reached the Kees and Claire Hut about three hours after starting, filled up our water bottles, and made a quick bathroom stop before continuing toward Overlord.
The trail started off relatively flat before opening up to a landscape that looked like something straight out of Mars.
It was breathtaking, and I was beyond stoked to finally be tackling the mountain I’d been dreaming about for years.
Soon, we were following a faint trail leading toward the summit of Whirlwind Peak, where the views really started to open up.
I stopped a few times to take photos of the gorgeous glacial waters below. The climb was relatively gradual and pretty chill until the final stretch.
Once we reached the top of Whirlwind Peak, we quickly understood how it got its name because, man oh man, was it windy as hell!
Steve spotted a mountain goat in the distance, practically flying across a steep mountainside. I seriously couldn’t fathom how it didn’t slide straight down.
The agility of those animals is truly wild.
From Whirlwind, we could finally see Overlord in the distance. But the traverse toward Refuse Pinnacle looked treacherous and, frankly, pretty unsafe from where we were standing.
My nerves started creeping back in.
Whirlwind Peak to Overlord Mountain
As we approached each intimidating section, though, we realized the trail was wider and more stable than it had appeared from afar.
The sketchiest part for me was the descent immediately after Whirlwind. Looking at the obvious trail, I wasn’t particularly comfortable with the consequences of a slip, so I chose to stay farther to the left, where I felt more confident in my footing.
There was some light scrambling involved, but plenty of holds, and I never got that stomach-dropping feeling that I was about to go over the edge.
As we made our way across the traverse, bit by bit, I became increasingly aware of just how present I was.
Technical terrain like this demands your full attention. There’s something almost cathartic about moving slowly and deliberately, focusing on each step, each handhold, and each section of trail directly in front of you.
When I’m on a big day out in the mountains, my worries about the world seem to fall away.
Looking out at the vast landscape of glaciers and mountains stretching farther than the eye can see makes me feel insignificant. And somehow, my problems feel insignificant, too.
I also like to keep my phone on airplane mode during these adventures so I can spend long stretches of time fully immersed in where I am. Aside from when I’m sleeping, it’s one of the few times I’m not constantly distracted by my phone.
There’s something incredibly freeing about that.
Eventually, we crossed the toughest section near Refuse Pinnacle, carefully navigating the exposed terrain before the trail widened significantly.
From there, we trudged across loose scree and boulders toward Overlord Peak, which was now standing right in front of us.
We were so close!
And when I finally reached the summit, I did a dumb little dance and genuinely didn’t know which direction to look first.
Everywhere I turned, the scenery was spectacular: glaciers, turquoise lakes, Black Tusk, Musical Bumps, and Fissile Peak in the distance.
Looking back along the ridge toward Whirlwind, I couldn’t help but think, Did we really just cross that thing?
Reaching the Summit of Overlord Mountain
We snapped some photos before I quickly threw on my puffy jacket and gloves. It was super windy and chilly up there, and after all that climbing, I was more than ready to sit down and eat some real food.
We found a little bowl of rocks that offered some shelter from the wind, set up shop for a while, and soaked in the views before beginning our descent.
The journey back was every bit as beautiful—and technical—as the way up.
Once we reached Whirlwind Peak again, Steve took the lead, and we started running.
I’d recently upgraded my trail runners to the Norda 001A, largely because of the mega grip from their Vibram soles.
And thank god I did, because those babies were amazing.
We were bolting down sections of loose dirt, and I only slipped a little once. Normally, I’d have been on my ass at least four times by then.
Before long, we were back at the Kees and Claire Hut and beginning the journey home.
When we reached the junction for Musical Bumps and Singing Pass, it was sadly time to part ways.
Jeanette and Steve were heading off to tackle some more elevation, while I was officially over the climbing and more than ready to run downhill for the rest of the day. going to tack on some more elevation, and I was officially over the climbing and wanted to run downhill the rest of the way back.
The Descent Back via Singing Pass
On tired legs, the roughly 11 km stretch down Singing Pass to the parking lot feels like forever.
It took me a while to get down, but I kept the pace easy and enjoyed the nicely graded sections where I could settle into a comfortable rhythm.
I finally reached the parking lot around 3 pm, feeling tired, happy, and incredibly satisfied with how the day had gone.
Not only had the hike lived up to my already high expectations, but it had far exceeded them.
And I knew before I’d even finished that I’d be coming back to do it again.
As I drove home to Squamish, I found myself reflecting on how I choose to spend my days.
Being outside, challenging myself, digging deep when things get tough, and witnessing landscapes whose beauty somehow feels amplified by the effort it takes to reach them—these experiences bring me a kind of happiness I’ve struggled to find anywhere else.
It’s one of the things I love most about living here.
What I Brought for the Overlord Mountain Hike
For anyone planning to tackle Overlord, here’s what I carried for my roughly 40 km adventure in August:
- Salomon Adv Skin 12 running vest
- Naked belt
- Garmin inReach
- Offline maps downloaded on my Garmin Fenix 6 and AllTrails (premium subscription)
- Emergency bivy and whistle
- Patagonia Nano Puff jacket
- Long-sleeve shirt
- Gloves
- Toque
- Goodr sunglasses
- Hat
- Trekking poles
- 2 L of water: two 500 ml flasks and an additional 1 L of emergency water in my vest
- Approximately 1,500 calories of food, including salted peanut butter pretzels, Cedar Valley pita chips, gels, mini Oreos, Chips Ahoy! rainbow chip cookies, and a bagel sandwich
- SPF 50 sunscreen and bug spray
Is the Overlord Mountain Hike Worth It?
Overlord was one hell of a journey.
If you find yourself in the Whistler area and have the fitness, experience, and confidence to tackle a 40 km day with significant elevation gain and technical alpine terrain, this is one I’d definitely add to your list.
That said, it’s not a hike to underestimate.
The distance alone makes for a demanding day, and the exposed sections around Whirlwind Peak and Refuse Pinnacle require careful footing, good route-finding skills, and a healthy respect for the terrain.
As with any big alpine adventure, make sure you’re adequately prepared. Bring offline maps, plenty of food and water, appropriate layers, and a satellite communication device such as a Garmin inReach.
And always have a safety plan. Let someone know where you’re going, when you’re starting, your planned route, and when they should expect to hear from you.
Overlord has officially earned a spot on my list of all-time favourite hikes.
For some (like Steve), it might be a one-and-done kind of adventure.
