The Overlook Bowl

Almost hidden below the southwest ridge of Eagle Peak is a narrow feature called The Overlook Bowl. We had never been there before. A little research showed that there was a route into the top of the bowl from the vicinity of the Sir Donald-Uto col. Alternatively it seemed possible to sneak into the bottom of the bowl by climbing up the Avalanche Crest trail and then cutting across the lower part of the ridge on Eagle.



We chose the Avalanche Crest option for the novelty factor. There hadn't been much new snow since the January melt down. Or maybe there had been and this was just the latest big melt down? Can't remember. That probably says a lot about this weird winter. Either way the Avalanche Crest trail was an icy gong show.

Using the map and GPS we navigated through the trees and popped out in just the right place giving us a first view into the bowl.



It was so hot it felt more like April than February.



We got high enough to scope out the entrance from the other side before calling it a day.







Back at treeline we took a leap of faith and went hard skiers left in an effort to traverse across into the Practise Slopes above the Illecillewaet. It wasn't pretty but it worked. Definitely worth another visit.

From 15.02.22.overlook

Vaux Moraines

Day two of Brenda's trip organized for the ACC. We headed up to the Vaux Moraines with a much diminished group. The first day's outing had proven to be plenty for a few folks. Despite the pre-trip screening that we do and a certain amount of group seeding it's still tough to choose a destination that's suitable for everyone. In fact we didn't get too high before it became clear that there were some very tired legs. So before exiting the trees we took break, had lunch, and called it a day.

Lookout Traverse

This was the first day of a two day trip that Brenda organized for the ACC.



Thankfully we got 10-15cm of fresh snow overnight which helped to take the edge off the diabolical death crust. We headed back to Lookout Col while the other half of the group went to the Vaux Moraines.



We were glad to have checked out the route the previous day because it clagged in pretty badly for a couple of hours before clearing again near the col.



There was a wide range of skill levels so there were some tired legs at the end of the day but people seemed happy overall.



Doing a traverse and returning by a different route always adds something to the day.

Lookout Traverse

This weekend Brenda would be leading a two day trip out of the Wheeler Hut for the ACC. It was set up to be a next step for folks who had previously participated in one of her Beginner Backcountry trips. Unfortunately it had rained during the week again so we went up a day early to get a handle on the conditions.

Yup, dust-on-crust up to 2200m.



With some reasonable skiing above that.



Wolverine tracks at the col?



The upper part of the descent down into the Asulkan side wasn't too bad. But once we hit the Ravens? Oh man bad doesn't begin to describe it. It was the worst most diabolical breakable crust you can imagine. Full survival mode from top to bottom.

Oh well. No one got hurt which was a minor victory in itself. At least we could laugh about it over beers in the Wheeler Hut that evening.

Vaux Moraines

Still scruffy!



We climbed as the high as the moraine and called it a day.



The skiing was good above the shrubbery-line.

NRC

We had been camping at the Visitor Centre for the past three nights and the camper was just about buried by now. We headed to NRC for a couple of quick laps to take advantage of the new snow before heading back home to reality.

Loop Brook

Still pretty scruffy up in Loop Brook. Where's the snow this year? That rain in December didn't help.





It was a strange day. It took us forever to break trail up through the trees and get on top of the middle moraine. Then by the time we got there it was time to go home! The days are short in January. Oh well, as always it was great to be outside in the mountains in winter time.

Dispatcher Bowl

Dispatcher is the high bowl between Ursus Trees on one side and the Frequent Flyer Ridge of Grizzly Mountain on the other. We had never been in here before probably because whenever we come this way the visibility is crap and we're heading into the trees on Ursus. Today the clouds lifted by mid morning so we decided to drop off Ursus Ridge and climb up into Dispatcher. The bowl is wide open, rolling, and mostly gentle terrain with steeper aspects on all sides and of course the waterfall exit down to Connaught Creek which we gave a wide berth.





We enjoyed the mellow turns in some often tricky light and then climbed up into the trees on the Frequent Flyer side for one more run.



A fun day. We look forward to returning on a nice sunny day.

Rossland

Between Christmas and New Year we spent a few days in Rossland with our friend Mark. I worked with Mark several years ago in the tech industry and we have kept in touch through the years.

Rossland is a beautiful little mountain town and it really grew on us during our time there. The big draws are Red Mountain in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. And of course evening growlers from the Rossland Beer Company at any time of year. By the time we left there was a well beaten path leading through the snow from Mark's front door to the brewery.

As for skiing there wasn't much snow on the ground but we explored the Old Glory area just enough to stretch our legs and work off some of that beer.

NRC

A glorious sunny day at NRC. In what became a pattern for the rest of the season it rained to 2200 metres shortly after this weekend. It was great skiing while it lasted.

Balu Pass

Behind the hotel with Val and James and friends on a dark and dreary December day...but no worries there cuz James owns the brightest orange jacket ever created by human kind!

Asulkan Cabin

The 10th anniversary of our annual November trip to the Asulkan cabin. There was a little less snow than usual this year but come along anyway...

Cuz there will be snow. I promise.


See. Snow! Kind of...


No problem. There will be snow.


Ya see? Snow!


More snow than you can shake a misery stick at.


With good friends and good times.


Until next November

Shuswap River Salmon Paddle

Our annual Shuswap canoe trip to see the salmon run. This time with Ashley, Fred, and Floyd on a paddle board.



Like last year we put in at Dale's Hand Launch, but unlike last year when we used bikes, this time we dropped a car at Trinity Bridge for the return shuttle.









Salmon are amazing.

Markhor Needle Traverse

We had done this traverse a couple of times before in August 2011. The first time was a gong show, the second time was better, but this time we really got it sorted out by taking the route marked in yellow.



Just beyond the top of the first slab, rather than thrashing up and left as we did on attempt #2, we instead followed a treed gully on the right up onto the ridge. It's steep and brushy but easy. Otherwise this was much the same as the previous time with lots of scrambling, avoiding the off-width crack by moving to skiers left, and a bit of rope work for peace of mind at crux #2.