In the Dogtooth Den: Back Country Skiing, Christmas 2013

Ryan and I were lucky to have his Mum stay with our daughters for a few days over the holiday season so that we could sneak away to find some snow!  And we talked Mark S into joining us too, while his expectant wife looked on in envy. 

The Rockies are a little short on snow this early in the year, and with the wind slabs that were forming in the snowpack, we were nervous about conditions.  On our first day, we drove from Calgary to Rogers Pass, hoping to find a "safer" space.  A quick chat with the very helpful Parks staff at the visitor station wasn't encouraging: the only place that might even be an option was the Ursa Trees, but to get there you had to traverse several avalanche paths; it was a bit like traveling up the barrel of a loaded gun.  And to top it off, it was snowing heavily.

We had approx 5 hours of daylight to work with, so we quickly kitted-up, and headed up the creekbed.  As you can see, the snow is not very high yet.  We encountered alders in the gully, and there were drops and ditches that would normally be full of snow.  In the gully it was "slushing" and as we made our way up the tracks - which, BTW, were full-on agressive up-tracks that I am okay to skin up, but I draw the line when you purposely set a track through the middle of a tree! - the slush turned to big, fat flakes. 

Heading up the barrel of the gun at Rogers Pass: we need snow!

 At one point we caught up to a few other parties on the mountain.  Everyone was in the Ursa Trees, it was the safest risk that day.  But we were also passed by a dude going mock-5, who was followed a few minutes later by his companions, who pointed out that they were on lap 5 - and yet they were blowing past us!  As it turns out, he's a pro mtn biker from the coast, and we humbly ate their dust.

We skied one lap at Rogers Pass that day.  My right foot was cramping, I could hardly put weight on it.  We managed to link some turns together, but the early season conditions meant that we cliffed-out over and over.  Mark had some wicked wipeouts, Ryan found the pointy stick, and I suffered with my bruised foot.  But it was fresh tracks in a stunning location, and we were looking forward to the next couple of days in the 'Den!

Back in Golden at the hotel, we discovered that everything in our bags was soaked from either sweating or the slushing.  We cranked the heat and hung jackets, sweaters, pants, hats and boots off of all available surfaces! I also spent quality time icing my aching foot, ah, the glories of ski touring.

The Chinese Laundry in our hotel room in Golden, BC

Icing my bruised foot.  Ah, the glories of touring.

We woke early, ready for the excitement of the next two days!  We had arranged with Scott Belton of Adrenalin Descents to spend 2 days touring the Dogtooth Range, staying at a secluded, hide-away location that he affectionately calls, The Dogtooth Den.  We met Scott at the local diner, then headed up to a snowmobile trailhead to begin our journey.  When the big machines arrived and started their high-performance engines, it changed the mood at the trailhead - we we anxious to get rolling so that our "high powered engines" (aka: self-propelled ski touring) could get underway!  We loaded up some sleds with our simple kits - touring equipment, change of dry clothes, and a toothbrush - and strapped our skis to the sleds.  We were towed approx. 14km into the backcountry, into a secluded valley that has been designated for non-motorized equipment.  We parked the machines and set off on foot in search of the 'Den. 

Mark's first ride on a snowmobile: let's play crack the whip!

Of course once we left the snowmobile tracks behind, the solitude was sublime.  Despite the low snow volume for this time of year (end of December), there was plenty of snow for me to push around! 

The view back down the valley.

Scott, an experienced alpine guide and adventurer on many continents, joked about putting on blindfolds as he guided us to the hidden 'Den.  When we arrived, we discovered a 5-star tent!  He offered us a variety of sizes of down booties for wearing around the tent, we helped unroll the plush -30C-rated sleeping bags onto the 3'wide cots (the tent comfortably sleeps 6), and he got the fire roaring inside: when we returned after a day of skiing, the temp inside the tent was close to 20C!

Entering the Dogtooth Den

We didn't dally - short daylight hours were pushing us up to the alpine, time to make tracks in search of the pow!

Up we go!

On the Ridge

Scott sets a great uptrack - lots of uphill at a reasonable pace with amazing space for kickturns.  Pretty posh.  My first downhill of the day was a bit trepidacious: Scott's binding broke so we spent extra time on the exposed ridge finding a solution.  By the time we were ready to descend, I had had too much time to think about the pitch.  In reality, it was perfectly skiable, well within my abilities - I just had to put on bit girl panties and jump in.  The ride down was amazing! Even with the small trees sticking thru the snow, the snow felt great. 

Cindy on the Ridge, view of The Clamshell in the background

We managed 2 laps - one on the ridge, then another long climb up to a couloir that offered a few choices.  We picked the simplest way down, a slope of approx 49 degrees with a few rocks that needed more snow coverage.  No prob.  This time, I was ready to jump in. 

Ryan on the way UP - awesome view of the valley below.

We arrived back at the tent at dusk.  As we munched on snacks and arranged our clothes around the tent to dry for the following day, Scott got busy prepping dinner.  We enjoyed an excellent chicken stirfry, he prepared all the meals on our trip, excellent nosh! It was worth the weight of carrying in a wineskin to match his culinary efforts!

Mood lighting inside the tent

When the generator died and the lights went out, we stoked the fire and tucked into our extra warm sleeping bags.

The next day was snowy and overcast - not ideal conditions for an already unstable snowpack.  We got rolling and headed back up the couloir.  This time Mark elected to get a bit higher, and descended a very narrow, rocky, +50degree slope - Ryan and I took the same route as previous day, still plenty of room for fresh tracks, and watched from below.  On the ride back to the tent we noted how easy it is to pop off an unexpected hidden rock - we found the one that Mark launched off yesterday and applauded his ability to stick the unexpected landing!  Nice one! We ended up with 3 laps on this day, each with fresh tracks the entire time.

Outside the 'Den

Switch up the skins, ready for another lap

We finished the day with a cruisy, snowy, pillowy run through some trees.  It brought us level with the snowmobile, so skinned up and headed for home.  The ride out was entertaining, we attempted to be towed by the snowmobile to avoid the flats trail sections.  Some of us were more successful than others..... but we made it home safe and sound.  Great food, unique accommodations, fun guide, new terrain, powdery snow, and great friends = wonderful getaway! 

Snowy Day on Bow Summit

On Sunday, March 11, we planned to do an AT trip with our UK friends Mark and Liz.  The original plan was to set a somewhat "ambitious" goal, something we wouldn't normally tackle on our own (like Mount Hector, or A2), and hire Yamnuska to guide us through the tough parts.

Mark on our first descent

Liz loving the powder!

Well the weather changed all that!  It SNOWED for 7 days in a row, dumping more than a metre of fresh powder on top of hoar frost.  This created a very unstable surface, with avalanche ratings all week in the high-high-high area.  Our guide, James Madden, contacted us to suggest alternate plans.  We all agreed on one thing: safety first.

The morning of our adventure was still a white sky, and it continued to snow ALL. DAY. LONG.  Which made for awesome ski conditions!  James said the conditions reminded him of powder in the Nelson area, and he was right, lots and lots of powder.  EVERYWHERE.

James did a great job of guiding us to some great snow, very few people, while keeping us safe.  He also did a great job of helping us understand some of his route choices, making our education of safety part of the day.

He guided from the Bow Summit parking lot, across the B-U-G (Big Ugly Gulley) to ski some untouched snow.  After a couple of tangles and equipment issues, we were back on track.

Back up Bow Summit for another lap

Unfortunately, Ryan's knee had other ideas, so we contoured back across the BUG to deposit him at the car for a restful day.  Meanwhile, Liz, Mark and I did laps on the Bow Summit.  Although the weather wasn't clear, it was a wonderful day to play in the snow!

Loving the powder!

A bit foggy, but what a great ride!

Powder, powder everywhere!

Lake O'Hara Lodge trip report: Feb 2012

February is time for our second annual winter trip to Lake O'Hara Lodge!  We had SO MUCH FUN last year - five-star dining, incredible snow, expert guiding, beautiful accommodations - that we simply had to book another trip!

Day Zero: Ski-in the 11km road.

Getting there is half the battle!

We left the parking lot approx. 1pm, took 3:45 to ski up the 12km road. 1.5km into the uphill slog, I determined that I wore the wrong socks and had a nasty blister on inside of right ankle. It was the only foot incident the entire trip, so I was smart to change my socks right away. 

Otherwise, nice day to ski up a mountain, good conversation with love of my life.

 En route, we passed the Lake O'Hara campground, one of our favourite summer destinations.  It is still possible to camp here in the winter, but the running water and outhouse aren't available.  The cook shed still has access.  Lots of snow!

One of two cook sheds at Lake O'Hara Campground

But in wintertime, we ski past the campground to the Lake O'Hara Lodge!  Our hosts Bruce and Alison, along with their team, welcomed us with afternoon tea goodies.  Perfect!  We were shown to our rooms (a bit rustic, but warm and comfortable!), and said hello to some familiar faces from last year.  After a scrumptious dinner we turned in early - I managed to get 10 hours of sleep in preparation for the next 4 days.

Day One: Feb 10

Bright and sunshine, blue sky, some gossamer clouds hugging the peaks.

After a knife and fork breakfast we geared up and headed from the Lodge to Schaffer Meadows, past the Elizabeth Parker Alpine Hut, and up Oderay Mountain to the big boulder in the middle of the snow.  There were approx. 15 of us that set out for the day, 7 AT skiers and the rest on snowshoes.  I was surprised by the large number of snowshoers - I think they sometimes have an advantage going uphill, their gear is much lighter, but nothing beats flying through powder on skis coming down!  At this point in the day we split up: the skiers stayed with experienced mountain guide James Blench, while the snowshoers hooked up with Bruce.  As skiers, we were able to go up and down several times, taking advantage of fresh pow on slopes like Sunny Boy and Buzz Wall.  

Oderay Mountain

Lake O'Hara Lodge cabins under Wiwaxy Peak

View towards Oesa

Looking back at our tracks on Sunny Boy

Looking at the Boulder on Sunny Boy

Climbing up to Sunny Boy

My Boy in the Sun

Lake O'Hara

We ended up in the same place at the close of the day: Easy Slut near Linda Lake.  Easy Slut is a huge, wonderful, open bowl with plenty of snow to go around! 

After we regrouped the skiers, it was time to contour the edge of the mountain back past the Alpine huts, then down to the Lodge, where afternoon tea goodies were waiting, along with a fully stoked sauna, then another five-star dinner! 


We skied approx. 12km over a 5.5hour time period today. 

Day Two: Feb 11

This morning we saw low clouds over the lake, with the sun pushing its way through.  It made for some cool lighting, lots of yellows and blues. 

Skiing across the Lake

James led us towards the Opabin Plateau, where sunshine and glittering snow waited for us.

 Our objective for the day was to summit Opabin Glacier.  We stopped to fuel up on the Plateau and were surprised how quickly the sun traveled across the col.  After a quick bite of gourmet sandwiches, we headed UP. 

There were several sharp, steep switchbacks that we needed to make on the steep pitch.  The final 50m we took off the skis and toe climbed to the top. 


The view over the edge was jaw-dropping! The temperature was quickly dropping, so we had to pull out the down and thermal gear! 

The view from the top was worth every step:

Opabin Glacier and Plateau looking towards Lake O'Hara

I was nervous on the initial few steps of the downhill: the snow was sugary and moved underfoot, and the exposed rocks made me nervous.  I was also carrying my pack and skis and poles - and I fell.  I didn't go far, but I managed to crank my knee on a rock.  Ouch.  Get this: I have a scrape on my knee, but no cut in my pants.  Weird.  The knee got my adrenalin pumping, so my nerves got the best of me for a few minutes.  Then one of the other guests reminded me to just point my skis downhill for a split second - she was right, after the first turn, I was back in business! 

The ride down was fun - lots of fresh snow, lots of speed. A quick slide across the lake, then back to the Lodge for more tea goodies! (and a sauna and more food - this is the life!)

Today we skied approx. 12km in 4.5hours.  Up the Glacier.  Nice. 

Day Three: Feb 12

Most of the guests were leaving today, back to reality in the city.  Lucky for us, we had booked an extra day!  Two other guests from Calgary were able to stay for the morning, so we had some snowshoers join us for part of the day. 

James guided us up to Schaffer Meadows, and beyond McArthur Pass to overlook Lake McArthur.  We have been here a couple of times in the summers, it's usually ice-bound well into July.  The day was overcast, so the scene looked like a black and white, digitally enhanced photo! 

Overlooking Lake McArthur

We played around in the snow on the ride home, watching for the thin layer of snow, hoping to avoid the barely covered rocks.  We headed back towards Oderay Prospect at the Bear Closure, where the snowshoe crowd headed home and James took us over to Missing Link, a glade-filled run full of powder mushrooms and fun!

The Missing Link spit us out at the bottom of Easy Slut, so we knew the route home: contour the mountain for 3km, past the Alpine Hut and down to the lodge - and yes, more tea goodies, sauna, relaxing, delicious dinner! 

Today we traveled 15km over 6.5hours.  Whew!

Day Four: Feb 13

Our departure day arrived too early!  We had time to sneak in a couple of quick runs on Schaffer Bowl and Larch with James before heading down the road again. 

Our travels today total 5km in 2 hours plus 12km ski-out in 1:15.  A much faster ride home!

More of our photos from this trip can be found on my SmugMug site:
http://graphixdiva.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Lake-OHara-Winter-2012/21487629_mDCt7D
 
Yes, we can hardly wait to return to Lake O'Hara and are busy planning our next adventure!

Bluebird powder day on Crowfoot Glacier: A Little Piece of Heaven

On Sunday, February 5,  Ryan and I experienced some of the most stunning views we've ever seen as a reward for a long climb up the Crowfoot Glacier.

We began our day in Canmore, at the office of Yamnuska Mountain Adventures, where we met our guide, James Madden.  His expertise in selecting a route, helping us to understand our avalanche gear, guiding us up the mountain and glacier, and finding us untouched powder for the descent was amazing.  The office staff at "Yam" were great too - helpful in determining an objective for the day, and matching our physical fitness and ski abilities with a guide that could help us achieve some cool stuff.

James suggested the Crowfoot Glacier backcountry skiing trip.  The guide book says it's a 14km round trip with approx. 850m elevation gain, but my Garmin tells a different story (18km with over 900m elevation)!  We loaded up extra gear that, thankfully, we didn't need to use, stuff like a collapsible shovel, probe, and climbing harness for crevasse rescue.  That said, we still had to carry everything!  I managed to put all of those things, along with a hearty lunch, down jacket, fleece, extra gloves and hat, sunscreen, camera and other accoutrements into a 40L bag that ended up weighing in around 20lb.  I need to work on carrying less weight around!  We loaded the gear and skis into the car, then set off on the highway bound for the parking lot at Numtija Lodge on the Icefields Parkway.

We arrived at the parking lot in -20C.  The hoar frost made everything extra pretty, and the ice crystals in the air shone in the early light to create beautiful rainbows (I'm sure there's a technical word for this).  It was a crisp morning.

We skinned across the lake, staying in the sun most of the way.  James called a halt to our progress, in order to give a brief tutorial on the use of our avalanche rescue gear, and how to use the beacons to locate a buried person.  (note to self: time to sign up for an class on avalanche safety)

With our beacons operating at full battery power, we finished crossing the lake, and entered the gravel flats area, leading to the river bed of the Saskatchewan River.  Despite the cold temperatures, we could see rivulets of water in some areas,  surrounded by thick hoar frost.  We continued a gradual ascent to a slot canyon, where the snow had blown into thick drifts.  Finally, we emerged out of the canyon in an alpine meadow.  Another thirty minutes of climbing, and we stopped to fuel up in a picturesque picnic area.

 You can see the Crowfoot Glacier, along with acres upon acres of awesome ski terrain; James was getting giddy at the thought of it all!  He could see plenty of untracked routes, and we were all anxious to get moving again.

At this point in the day, the temperatures had substantially risen to a balmy -2C.  We shed some layers, donned our sunglasses, and eagerly set forward.  The balance of our climb was quite exposed, and we were fortunate not to have any wind.  The views were stunning, I had a permanent smile on my face in spite of the burning in my legs.  Three-hundred and sixty degrees of splendour.

The view from the top makes all the effort fade into bliss. 

This is the view from The Bump overlooking Crowfoot Glacier, with a view of the Wapta Icefields for good measure!

And yes, the ride down was blissful, too!

We rode down the gully on the left of the photo, skiers right.

To see more of our photos from the day, check out the album at: http://graphixdiva.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Crowfoot-Glacier-AT-Skiing-Feb/21354286_nBhVpW

I wonder what our next adventure will hold?  Stay tuned.....