Dome Glacier

Perhaps the last outing of the season? We'll see. We've been skiing for seven months now. There wasn't much snow in the Asulkan parking lot on Saturday morning. There still is lots of snow of course. But it's getting to that stage where you wonder if the 200 meters of good skiing you find at the end of five hours of slogging is really worth the effort. Still, as always, it's just good to be out.

Our destination for the day was the Dome Glacier. It's on the opposite side of the Asulkan Valley from that pitch on Young's Peak that we skied last weekend. It also faces mostly north so we hoped there would still be some dry snow once we got high enough. The Dome Glacier is on the sky line straight above Brenda here.



Fred suggested a short cut. We followed like lambs to the slaughter. 752 million groin-busting kick turns later we broke out of the trees and onto the open slopes beneath the dome.



We came across a small tree in the middle of nowhere that had been adorned with prayer flags. It was really strange. Strange that the prayer flags were there in the first place of course but also that of all the possible routes which we could have taken in this vast expanse of snow and trees we happened upon this one little tree that someone else had already chosen to adorn with prayer flags. It was nice.



A rare photo of me! Free-pivot tele bindings rule. Mount Castor in the background.



We topped out on a feature called The Cleaver which is a rocky rib that separates the remnants of the Asulkan Glacier from the Dome Glacier. It was tempting to scope out the Dome-Rampart col for a future trip but the motivation wasn't quite there for another 20 minutes of climbing. It was hot.

The skins came off and down we went. The snow was really nice for about 300 meters. Just on the edge of soft. Then all of a sudden it transitioned into sloppy wet goo and wham! The faceplants were thick and furious. I captured Steve on video hitting the deck as though he'd been shot.

The farther down we descended the nastier the snow became. Where it was steep we could deliberately set off small sluffs that slowly oozed downhill. Occasionally one would gather enough momentum to develop into a full blown wet snow avalanche. We'd hear it crash down noisily down into the valley a few minutes later.

At the end of the day we were visited by a curious pine marten. He was darn cute. I'd only ever seen martens before in huts where they are much less cute and much more noisy. This fella entertained us for a few minutes by climbing around in a tree and peering at us from only a few meters away. He then nonchalantly bounded away.

If this was indeed the end of the season then it was a nice way to end it.

Young's Peak Traverse

Huzzah! We've wanted to do this one for ages.

The traverse goes up the Illecillewaet drainage and onto the Illecillewaet glacier, up Young's Peak, and then descends the 'Seven Steps of Paradise' into the Asulkan Valley. Guidebook time is 8-10 hours. Probably within our powers -- just!

The forecast for Saturday was brilliant. We spent Friday night at the Asulkan parking lot and made an early start the next morning. It was a stunning day. Blue skies, no wind, fresh snow.



We'd never been as far across the glacier as we were planning to go today. Navigation would be a challenge if the visibility deteriorated. There was also some concern about a possible cornice which we may have to tunnel through (we'd brought ice axes for the purpose) and also the super steep and often icy slope right off the summit.

So it was with a spirit of adventure that we made our way towards the Illecillewaet. However we're not the fastest climbers around. It wasn't long before another couple caught up with us. We chatted and discovered that they also had the traverse in mind. After they had passed us we both felt a little deflated. That spirit of adventure that we'd started out with was somewhat diminished knowing that there would be others only a short distance ahead of us doing exactly the same route. In many ways the decision making would be out of our hands. There would be a track in the snow ahead of us pointing out where to go and which slopes were safe. Stuff like that.

Anyway we plodded on but it wasn't long before we grew to appreciate having them ahead of us. The higher we climbed the deeper the snow became and the tougher the trail breaking became. Actually we only imagined how difficult the trail breaking got -- we weren't doing any. It looked rough! They went on and on for hours. We caught an occasional sight of them in the distance.

The views opened up and we began to see some of the other places we've skied this winter. This is the route on Video Peak that we skied in March.

 

The Illecillewaet glacier is a rolling sea of ice and snow that disappears into the horizon on all sides. I couldn't imagine trying to do this traverse in bad visibility. It would be so easy to get turned around. Our friend, Steve, who has accompanied us on many of the trips that we've written about this year, once spent three days and nights on the Illecillewaet struggling to find his way home in a storm. Shudder.

Eventually we got our first look at the ridge that would lead us up Young's Peak.

 

It was at this point that we noticed that the other party had turned around and they were now coming back towards us. Doh. Perhaps there was no way through.

When we met them on the track they told us that they'd done the traverse before but that today the cornice looked bigger and nastier and that the upper ridge looked too icy. After hearing this we didn't think much of our own chances but we thought we'd at least go check it out for ourselves. They wished us luck and we went our separate ways.

It was a bit odd but it was the best outcome for Brenda and myself. They had done all of the tedious trail breaking across the glacier and then left us to our own devices for the more interesting bits at the end.

We descended a short way and then re-ascended onto the ridge. Getting past the cornice was no problem in the end so we didn't need the ice axes. Would have been cool to tunnel up through a cornice though! We made a steep and narrow track upwards along the ridge trying to avoid the cornice on one side and the steep west face on the other side.



The top seemed just minutes away but every time we looked up it didn't seem to be any closer. Brenda, all 105lbs of her, broke trail all the way up the ridge. Finally we topped out at around 2 o'clock.



I can't believe I posted that photo. I look like I've just been hit on the head. Brenda looks like a seagull shat on her nose. We were pooped.

Now what? We thought again how diabolical it would be up here in bad visibility. It helped that we'd scoped out the route from the Asulkan side many times before but it still wasn't completely obvious where to go. We headed towards this wind role and peered over the edge.



We knew what we were looking for but the convex slope made it really difficult to see what was below us. There was a party climbing upwards from the Asulkan hut and we must have looked comical as we zig-zagged back and forth craning our necks. To them it was obvious what was below us but we couldn't see a thing.

Soon we got our bearings. We made a good long examination of the slope. It looked fantastic but it didn't exactly instill us with confidence. It was cross-loaded by the prevailing winds and there were 30-40cms of dense storm snow that had now been in the sun for a couple of hours.

However we decided it was okay and after only half-jokingly mumbling to Brenda "If it goes, be quick", I dropped in.

Yee-haw! It was fabulous skiing. After the first few turns my thoughts changed from worrying about the snow stability to concentrating on not providing a crowd-pleasing crash for the gawkers below! The slope is foreshortened in this photo and doesn't look all that steep. Brenda's track is on the left. She wins the award for kicking off the bigger sluff (and getting the biggest cheer from those below).



 

Feeling pretty chuffed about the whole thing we decided to try something else new and descended behind the Pterodactyl rather than past the Asulkan hut. Again, fabulous skiing. It's thrilling to be skiing down through unfamiliar terrain, not quite knowing what you'll find next. (To which I should add "in good light".) The Asulkan hut is at center right of this photo. The Pterodactyl is the feature between the hut and our descent route.



Looking back up at the route from the Asulkan Valley.



The always cool GPS track in Google Earth.



And, finally, it was 9 hours car to car (inside guidebook time!) and 1770 meters of climbing on the day.

What's on for next weekend...anyone up for a ski?

Icefall Lodge

I think this was my 9th hut trip with these guys over the past 10 years. I wouldn't miss it for anything.















A helicopter-centric video (there wasn't much ski footage) and
some more photos.

The Hourglass

After skiing yesterday we stopped at the hotel for a congratulatory pint. This time of year Granville Island Brewery makes a fine Winter Ale which just so happens to be available at the hotel. Combined with some greasy fries and...well, needless to say I didn't feel much like driving back home to Kelowna on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning we wandered over to the visitor center in falling snow. We learned that all of the permit areas would be closed for the day but this was fine because we only wanted to get out for a few hours.

The Hourglass is a gully on the north side of Cheops which descends into the Connaught drainage just a short distance from the hotel. We'd never been there before and it's a short trip so we skied up Cheops to check it out.

There had been a lot of skier traffic and it was pretty chewed up. Still it was really good just to be out and it always adds a little something extra to the day when you can visit an area you've never been to before.

I hope it stays cold in the pass for just a few weeks longer. Come on old man winter hang in there.

Tupper Traverse

After three previous attempts we finally got up and over the west ridge of Mount Tupper. This time we started early, had plenty of daylight available (hooray for daylight savings time), found the best route through Hermit Meadows, and then got lucky with the weather too.

Fred, Steve, and Junko met us at the visitor center at 7:00. We got our permits, dropped off a car 8K down the road at Stone Arch, and were tromping up towards Hermit Meadows by 8:00.

On our previous trips we had always been too far to climber's left and lost time and elevation traversing back right over the rolling terrain to get below the big slope leading up towards Tupper. This time we forced ourselves to stay to the right at all costs and it worked out well. It helped that we could actually see for a change too!

This is Steve below the Swiss Peaks Mount Rogers. Up and right leads to the west ridge of Tupper.



With a haughty cheer (not really) we crossed over the west ridge at around 12:30 and started down the other side of Tupper. Our first reward for perseverance was this great little slope. It was so nice that when Brenda reached the bottom she claimed that here smile muscles were sore



We traversed across some flats until right up against Tupper. From this point there is a long and very steep gully that leads down to two lakes. In this first photo we're heading towards the top of the gully. The second photo was taken later in the day and is looking back up at the gully which is just left of center.





Helluva run. One where you need to ski the whole thing in one fell swoop and then get the heck out of the way. We were all happy but knackered at end of it. From here with a mixture of contouring and then dropping down the fall line we eventually arrived back at tree line.

At this point there were two options available. The first is to continue descending down the same side of the ridge and to then contour around the end of the ridge and bushwack out to the highway. The second option is to ascend to the top of the ridge and to then cut across to the Connaught slide path which leads down to the railway and eventually to the car.

After checking the map and altimeter to make sure that we were in the right place we decided on the second option and started climbing up the ridge.



Oh man it took ages. The snow was riddled with depth hoar which sometimes made it seem more like swimming than climbing. Anyway we struggled to the top and back into the sunshine.

Steve points out roughly where the car is. Still a long way down.



We cut across to the slide path and spent a good long while assessing it's stability. Eventually we decided that all was well and, one at a time, down we went...

And down. And down. And then down some more. It was a long run. The snow, which began as really nice dense powder, first became slightly crusty, then diabolically crusty, and then at some point changed to full on wet spring-like snow. It was hard work.

After what seemed a really long time we hit the CPR rail line which was our guide back to the highway. In the second photo you can just make out the entrance to the famous tunnel which goes through Mount MacDonald. When talking with Luc at the visitor center he'd said "if it gets dark you'll know that you've hiked too far along the tracks".

Edit March 2013:
This post is getting a few views lately. Where do you people come from? Anyway I should note that our route along and across the rail tracks back in 2008 was acceptable (sort of) at the time but is strictly forbidden now. Here is a more recent post on the Tupper Traverse and proper exit instructions on the Parks Canada web site.





1550 meters of climbing and 9 hours car to car. Not too bad for a bunch of weekend warriors.

More photies here Update 2017: Google killed Picasa. Thanks Google. New link: https://goo.gl/photos/9i3VDzRTXJY4XamRA

8812 Bowl

Steve joined us on Sunday morning and we once again skied up into the Ursus Minor area. After much hemming and hawing we veered away from our previous day's route, which had taken us into the Ursus Minor bowl, and instead headed left and up onto Bruins Ridge.

It was a stellar day with mostly blue skies but the wind was howling across the ridge. The 8812 Bowl is just before Bruins Pass and is accessed from the col in this photo. You can just make out some old tracks.





It was a terrific run that went went on and on until we were forced to stop and give our aching legs a rest. The bowl doesn't look overly steep in this photo but as you make those first few turns from the top it's enough to make that little voice in your head say "gee I hope this all holds together".





A great day in the mountains. Brenda and I were each sporting a good sunburn on Monday morning. More photos here and maybe some video later. And happy birthday to my Dad and my brother Ian.

Oh and edited to add that we ran into Diana and Al, who we know from Ottawa, and their friends Carole and Ray. In the pub they regaled us with epic tales of some of the long ski traverses they've done over the years. Good luck on the Churchill traverse you guys.

Video Peak

We finally went skiing this weekend after spending the last two weekends at home. A good thing too otherwise I may have started another "little" reno project. (How can one small bathroom consume so much time and money?)

We weren't sure what the weather would do so we toured up into Ursus Minor Bowl where there are some options available depending on the visibility. From a distance we spotted an up track on Video Peak and headed in that direction. The light changed from clear to murky and back again and we weren't sure which way it would go. We were lucky and found ourselves at the top of the peak and ready to ski down just as some blue sky appeared.

Wow what a great run. It was that type of dense powder snow that makes skiing absolutely effortless as you simply bounce from one turn into the next with a ridiculous grin on your face!

Video Peak


Ursus Minor Bowl


Just below the summit of Video Peak


Brenda dropping in


Our tracks seen from Hospital Bowl

Perley Rock part deux

A nice day on Sunday and we opted for Perley Rock. Most of the terrain here is north or north-west facing. We hoped this would help us to avoid the nasty crust. It worked for the most part but it was amazing how even a tiny change in aspect would make a huge difference. You could be knee deep in lovely powder on one turn and then fighting for your life in death crust on the next.

Occasionally, just occasionally, I question the wisdom of telemark skiing. Tight trees in breakable crust is one of those occasions...stuff'll make Donald Rumsfeld cry.

We traveled as far as the last slope just below Perley Rock proper where we kicked off a small slide and called it a day.



The most open and direct run down was crusty and so we were forced to ski a line to skiers left from what would have been optimal. Still it was all good fun and we each took a turn entertaining the others with good skiing punctuated by spectacular face plants.

I don't think I'd venture up this way with any less stability than what we had today. From a distance the trees tend to suggest a somewhat safer route but in reality there are broken off stumps and every tree has had it's uphill branches ripped of.

Sir Donald (r) and Uto (l). We've climbed Uto. Sir Donald awaits


Ross near our high point

Hermit Meadows'ish

We met up with our good friend Ross on Friday night at the Rogers Pass hotel. We know Ross from our days in Montreal. Since then he's moved to Edmonton and started his own business called Springboard. We hadn't seen him in...well, far too long. It was great to catch up. We'll be seeing him again in April on the trip to Icefall Lodge and then again in June when he passes through on his way to Oliver for a half-ironman. When it rains it pours.

So where to ski this weekend? It's a rare day when you have to hunt around for good snow in Rogers Pass. But after receiving two meters of snow during the first two weeks of February there has been almost no snow since. This combined with a temperature inversion and bright sunny days has formed a crust on any aspect that saw the sun.

Our cunning plan was to do the Tupper Glacier traverse. Mount Tupper has a long east-west ridge and we thought the crust wouldn't have formed on the north side of the ridge.

The forecast wasn't great and as we climbed up through Hermit Meadows the clouds got lower and lower until soon we couldn't see a thing. By one o'clock or so we were positioned just below the Tupper Ridge and it was really clagged in. There was however an occasional sucker hole so we decided to hunker down to wait and see. If the light improved we'd commit to going up, over, and down the other side. If not...right back the way we came.

To make a long story short we headed back down. Rats. The clouds did lift as we skied down but it would have been too late if we'd waited an longer. Next time.

Brenda taking advantage of a break in the clouds


Ross


Mount MacDonald. Lots of north facing stuff here!

Asulkan Cabin

The plan for the weekend was to spend Friday night at the Asulkan parking lot and to get an early start on Saturday morning perhaps meeting the crew somewhere around the Asulkan Cabin. However the road conditions were diabolical east of Sicamous. There was heavy snow falling and visibility was near zero. It was a white knuckle drive as far as Revelstoke where we decided enough was enough.

Turned out that we weren't the only ones. The pull-off just outside of town was packed with rigs. We threaded our way into a quiet corner and settled in for the night as the snow continued to pile up. I love having a vehicle that we can sleep in.

A pre-dawn start on Saturday had us at the parking lot by first light.



There were already a few early risers departing from the Wheeler hut. We helped them to extricate their cars from the lot (one guy twice) had a quick breakfast and hit the trail by 7:30.

There was some trail breaking but it wasn't too bad. We ran into our group on the steep slope just below the hut. After lightening our packs of some of the overnight gear we joined them for a short run and then continued on up. A quick lunch and there was still just enough time for a quick jaunt above the hut before it got dark. The days are certainly getting longer now.



The strange thing about the Asulkan Cabin this weekend was that there was almost no wind. Virtualy unprecedented. Check the video in this post from November to see what it's normally like up here. A visit to the outhouse was practically a pleasure (if you could overlook the threat from the barrel "stalagmite").

We woke to a beautiful sunny day on Sunday and enjoyed some of the best skiing we've had this season. On this trip we met Dave and Henry and we look forward to skiing with them again some time soon.







Video below and more photos here.