Mountain climbing on Mount Garibaldi is fairly difficult; it is fairly steep-sided and involves climbing very loose rotten lava and volcanic ash. Fortunately, Mount Garibaldi has large areas of massive glaciation and extensive snowfields. The eastern and northern flanks of the mountain are smothered by the Garibaldi Névé where the finest climbing opportunities exist, making the easiest route a glacial travel or snow climb. Routes keep mostly to the alpine glaciers and snow slopes, which are abundant in winter and spring, but eventually melt in late spring and commonly vanish after June or July of most years. After the snow and ice melts, fissures and fractures can pose difficulty and danger, and avalanches from higher peaks of the mountain are a hazard. For this reason, early season, cold-weather ascents are recommended for most routes up Garibaldi.