Vermillion 1 and 2

Had a nice tour with Jeff and John yesterday in the Vermillion 1 and 2 slidepaths, west of Vemillion peak logging about 1900 meters. This is big country.
Met some friends along the up-track.
2nd run, dreamy tree shot reminiscent of Japan.
Whats wrong with this picture?
On the way home.
You might notice an above average amount of the usually under represented colour of 'mango' in this picture. These gents had a very good attire day and showed me up with the lightest and fastest of the today's rando gear. I had to take this picture when the skis were upright to reveal, yet more mango.

Thanks for the great day fella's.

observation peak u - turn

Sunday was spent in the great company of good friends Zach and Guillermo in the alpine environs of Cirque Peak, chasing shadows, dodging storms and taking it all in step by step. Sunday was day twenty for me on the skis, I am hoping to beat my 50 some day personal best this year and aiming for 60 days of touring in these wonderful mountains of ours. If I am this stoked by mid-season it should not be a problem ;-).


On the up and up above Helen Lake.
One must remove skis and walk through the faceted steps to the summit ridge and soon after, the summit. It is amazing the lengths skiers will go to to avoid removing the ski and strapping on back, I am guilty of this and after a few rugged maneuvers, it was time to get smart and strap 'em on.

We turned around a few hundred meters from the summit it may have been because of night before: G made the trip from Red Deer, arriving for dinner, a bottle of wine and enormous talk at the Flatbread Company . This theme continued at home with a half bottle of Johny Blacks until Erin arrived home and reminded us it was very late and we should likely get to bed. 6 am came a little abruptly and with a staggering headache accompanied by friend, nausea. We rallied on but we didn't have the Jam for our assumed plan of rappelling the N side of Observation peak and continuing the walk-fest. I guess we needed a good night of drinking over a big day of skiing, sometimes these things have a way of working out naturally..
Thanks Zach for the picture, this is one of few on this blog of mine to show my readers (Hi Mom) what I look like.
Mystery surrounds..

Thanks to Zach and G, days like this remind you that the journey is nothing without brothers to accompany you.

carlyle

Our little town was rocked pretty hard today with the news of a fellow mountain lovers death in patagonia.

I met Carlyle a few years ago at a house party of all unlikely places and was instantly drawn in by her warm demeanor and calm, seemingly pragmatic approach to life. Over the years we never got out climbing or skiing but I always enjoyed our chats at different social gatherings. Within a few seconds we would be talking philosophy and going through some of the tough questions, shooting the breeze and laughing at the same time.

The last time we spoke she was getting ready for her expedition, reticent and modest about the scope of the trip and in receiving the Mugs Stump award for Alpinism - She told me how happy she was about the people involved and mostly that it was focused on having a good time above all else. She was a valued part of the community and will be missed by many.

Godspeed Carlyle.

youngs peak traverse

I have been wanting to do this traverse for a few years and just 'never got 'round to it'. Had a great time the other day with Yuji climbing and skiing this super classic of the Pass. The forecast was for snow and limited visibility so we waited until the last possible minute, meeting of the waters turnoff, to make the decision to go via the Illeciliwaet or the Asulkan. After basically flipping the metaphorical coin, we opted for the high country and the youngs peak traverse - oh so glad that we did, turned out to be a dreamy day.

The visibility was almost unlimited on the 'Illy'

Yuji kicking the final steps to Young's summit, first one of 2012.
Yuji shropping the Young-a-rama, putting on a clinic for breakable crust technique.
The trip was not complete without a night at the Asulkan hut where a good group had assembled. Scotch tasting, fireball, great chow and warmth was had in the alpine environs. The next day we had over the head powder during a storm cycle session, we had to time our breathing so that we could ski a run without choking on the pow. Hope you all are getting some of that stuff!

sleeping bear

Today Rob and I ventured into the upper reaches of a zone which can only be described as fantastical.

We put a track through the old growth forest and marveled in delight as it kept getting snowier and snowier as we neared our destination. We decided to leave the trusty guidebook at home and with the help of google earth, map studies and a bit of nose following, plot a course for the day into an unfamiliar place. It was not without the help of a fogged memory however, in the fabled 2006 season I was part of the 'bamzu powder posse' who had made a couple of pilgrimages to this most holiest of powder destinations...The posse gave the peak the title of 'preacher' and it has stuck, however for this trip a new working name surfaced; 'sleeping bear'. For more on that, please read on...


Rob in the upper "zone" during the sunset.
Great knee cap deep blower, great fall line and over all just a stunner of a day! Rob is putting on a clinic here in the white room.


A highlight of the day was skiing about 2 mind altering feet away from a curious black bear sticking its head out of a tree well as if to say - WTF? - I was busy blabbing about something (likely coffee) when Rob casually pointed out the evolving situation. We continued on at a slightly hurried pace, periodically checking back to make sure he hadn't picked up on our trail of left behind cashews and tea splashes. Exciting.

After a great day of professional development we were quite satisfied and ready for the Laggan's portion of the day, thanks sleeping bear for letting us pass and godspeed.

Enjoy ski friends.