Alpine zone in Strathcona Provincial Park

The concept of this treeline, as it is called, is a complex one. It is not a simple matter of elevation; trees can live at high elevations. The colder temperatures of higher altitudes play a part, shortening the growing season so that tree seeds cannot successfully germinate. But even in warmer alpine areas in southern B.C., the trees are kept in check. In some cases, it is warm winds that draw life-sustaining moisture out of the exposed branches. Only the shrubby krummholz trees, covered in insulating snow, survive.

The snow is sometimes an enemy, too. Heavy snowpacks in the wet coastal ranges linger long into the growing season, preventing new trees from becoming established. This is perhaps one reason why Vancouver Island's alpine areas are lower in elevation than the norm. Treelines are not hard lines. They are affected by sheltered pockets, and tend to be higher on south facing than north facing slopes. They also change over time, affected by climate change.

Where trees are unable to grow, there is still a brief but wondrous flurry of life above the treeline. Plants which have adapted themselves to the austere conditions of the alpine regions live their lives in a brief window of summer.

Before the snow is completely gone, green shoots appear, the first act in a floral display that is as dazzling in its beauty as it is brief in its glory.

Starting in late July, snowmelt permitting, these alpine areas become wildflower meadows. Patches of blue lupine join white valerian and yellow arnica among the ground-hugging heathers. The vermilion or red "flowers" of the Indian paintbrush are a ruse; but they serve well to attract pollinating hummingbirds to the true flowers hidden at their bases. Lacy phacelias grow in moist crevices, and mounds of moss campion carpet the rocks.

Plants are not the only inhabitants of these alpine zones. Industrious pikas collect stores of grasses to take into their rocky burrows. The small rodents spend much of their lives in hibernation. Their larger relatives, the marmots, are closely related to the groundhog. The Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) can be found in alpine regions throughout the province, and it often gives away its common name, Whistler. This species is replaced on Vancouver Island by the critically endangered Vancouver Island Marmot.

The treeline is home to the Mountain Goat, Oreamnos americanus. Actually not a goat at all, but more closely related to the antelopes, the Mountain Goat is found at treeline or above throughout much of British Columbia, but does not occur on Vancouver Island or Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlottes.

In many ways, the habitat above the treeline resembles the northern tundra, and some of the same bird species are found in both. British Columbia is home to all three world species of ptarmigan, members of the grouse family uniquely adapted to life in the cold. They change their plumage seasonally, from mottled browns during the hide-among-the-rocks summer, to white in the vanish-in-the-snow winter. All three species are alike in having feathered feet, which are partly for warmth, but also for easier walking in soft snow.

The Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) is widespread through the western half of British Columbia, spending the summers at or above the treeline, and the winters at lower elevations. Rock Ptarmigans (L. mutus) are most abundant in the far northwestern corner of the province, and are less frequently encountered elsewhere. The White-tailed Ptarmigan (L. leucurus) is the most widespread of the three species, and also is found at the highest elevations. It is the only ptarmigan found on Vancouver Island.

During the whirlwind alpine summer, Horned Larks (Erempohila alpestris) and American Pipits (Anthus spinoletta) arrive to raise families on the open slopes. Gray-crowned Rosy Finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis) may also be seen.

The summer season in the alpine extends until the first snows of autumn. The wildflowers should have set seed for next year, and die back to their roots. Most of the birds will fly into warmer valley bottoms, or further south. Ptarmigan spend much of their time under an insulating blanket of snow. Small mammals use a variety of tactics. Some enter the long sleep and slow metabolism of hibernation. Others rely on food stored in their burrows. And except for the wind, the alpine regions are silent again for another winter.