“Where fire meets ice”, is an apt description for Garibaldi Provincial Park. Much of the park and its features are a result of fairly recent volcanic history. Some of the volcanic peaks include Mount Garibaldi, Black Tusk (listed as an Earthcache), Price Mountain, The Table, and Cinder Cone. Also “The Barrier” (listed as an Earthcache) is a recent volcanic flow that dams Garibaldi Lake. Much of the higher portion of the park is glaciated. One of the unique features of the park is “The Table”. For a region that has seen its share of volcanic events and both its present and past is filled with glaciers, this is truly where the fire met the ice. When the local glaciation receded (last 10,000 years) the result was that The Table was left to jut above the surrounding terrain by approximately 250 metres to an elevation of 2000 metres. The Table still has a very flat top but the sides consist of very rotten rock that makes climbing extremely hazardous and difficult.
The Table is a tuya, which is a result of a volcano that erupts initially beneath a glacier, melts through the ice, and develops an upper, subaerial part, which commonly consists of a flat-topped form capped by a lava flow.
A local climbing book (A guide to Climbing and Hiking in Southwestern British Columbia, Fairley 1986) describes the first ascent by stating that when the second party scaled the Table they removed the top pin by hand that had been placed there by the first party.
As of November 20, 2006 to log this Earthcache:
You must e-mail me some unique bit of information regarding the site that you learnt while there. This can be done by answering the following question: What do you estimate the height of the cliffs that surround "The Table"? Posting a photo is not required but appreciated. You do not need to get right up to the cliffs as they are quite unstable so anywhere close enough to clearly see the cliffs and estimate their height will be sufficient. I will monitor logs and check my e-mails for appropriate information. Unfortunately, any log that does not meet the requirements will be deleted. Thanks for visiting an Earthcache!