'Failure'....

...Is one way to look at it. Then again, if I counted the times a trip didn't work out in terms of completing the 'objective' then my entire ski and climbing career would be pot marked with failure. Luckily for me and perhaps out of a penchant for somehow, naturally forgetting about most negative aspects of a day out and in the end, recalling only the positive, pretty much every day out with the exception of a few can be called complete success. New metrics start to emerge, outside of a summit or destination met; did everyone get there and back safely, did decision making and route planning happen smoothly and without anyone feeling negatively? Did we laugh? Did we enjoy each others company? and of course, did we have fun? It is always good to have a goal and I would say one of my many idiosyncrasies is that I am a objective based skier, not to say that I don't enjoy mellow days of pow skiing with large groups, only that it's the big days, with summits and interesting ski lines with maybe a bit more of a bite then we may be able to chew that keep me up at night, excited and mind racing for the day ahead. Balancing this goal oriented approach with the concept of 'enjoying the path' can be tricky and I must admit I don't always succeed in seeing the big picture but I want to. The path indeed is the most important, after all.

Here are a few would be missions so far this year that have ended in 'failure', failure only if the the outcome of the day in terms of success lay only in completing the objective. What I have noted in myself with age is that the destination or goal seems to fade and all I remember is the laughter of friends, smiles, great and interesting places visited and a new type of success measured more and more by good terrain choices and the safety and happiness of everyone in the group

North Shore Link-Up:

Julian, the skiing ambassador for the North Shore of Vancouver had convinced us to travel south to attempt a link up of a few lines and summits. We skied a very cool line indeed, walked on a neat-o ridge and had a few good laughs. We also couldn't see anything due to whiteout conditions and trouble with navigation so our day was truncated. We all called it a success when measured by our values.

Shannon Basin Link Up:

We had the idea to ski Co-Pilot and then head out for an unconventional circuit around some cool features and peaks. We got stymied by steep and rotten snow near the top of co-pilot and simply ran out of time for the larger link-up. We ended up skiing powder and truly enjoying ourselves in this special zone so close to home. The link up will be there next time. The cold snow and clear views are still seared in my mind.

Mt. Cheakamus, N Face:

I have lusted after this line more then many others. Its remoteness, entrance exam of corniced ridges and tricky stability calls and finally, a steep line with character followed by a 18km return to the car make it, to me, the crown jewel of the spearhead range. Our group assembled for the mission, making quick time to the base of the face, ascending the headwall and gaining the summit ridge. Here we slowed mainly due to uncertainty around the corniced ridge and only having minimal rope and harnesses between us.  Probing the ridge and second guessing, we ran out of time about 50 from the line and turned around to ski the upper steep glacier and apron down to the flats and continue home. One of our party caught a ski edge on the descent, wiping out and we all watched as one ski sped off towards the Mc Bride range. I chased it as fast as I could but stopped at the blue ice of the Diavalo Icefall, seeing clearly the path of the ski as it would have launched into the complex mess of seracs and crevasses. Just like dropping your keys into the lava flow, the ski was gone MAN and there was no getting it.

Faced with a long posthole out, which would likely have taken the upcoming evening in its entirety, we swallowed our pride and called in a helicopter for a quick pick up. 2 hours later we were at Samurai Sushi in Creekside having our usual post ski ramen feast, all feeling strange from the sudden change in environment. As with any ambitious (for us) outing, there were a lot of variables to this day and in the end, something none of us could have predicted occurred. I am proud of our decision making this day and I am glad it ended as it did, it was successful in some ways and not in others yet I would not trade the experiences away.

Not every outing happens according to plan but I think that is the reason we love to go into the mountains, you really have no idea whats going to happen, the art is being ready to change and adapt as conditions and other factors dictate while feeling OK with it.  As always, I am incredibly grateful to my partners for all of these highlights and outings.

Duffey Quadfecta

On Wednesday of last week, the team went out for an attempt of the fabled Quadfecta in the Duffey Lake environs, more specifically; climbing and skiing Mt's Joffre, Matier, Spetch and Slalok by their classic ski passageways.  The storm snow of the previous week had settled into a consolidated mass and the forecast was for a clear, cold day in the alpine. Calls, texts and 'whats-aps' where fired around in a froth of excitement and the decision was made,  at 3:30am we were to meet in the NW corner of the usual parking lot in Squamish and with a quick gear shuffle, were off,  5 jammed into one vehicle like cloves into a holiday ham. It is ALWAYS exciting to make a plan to head to this high alpine area.

Conditions were perfect for travel. The highway of Joffre Lakes trail served us well as we slogged up the initial approach, breaking up into upper Joffre lake after about 1.3 hours of effort. Sarah volunteered that she had done the math on the way up and broken the day into 13 separate sections, we had just completed the first one.

Travel up the Aussie Couloir was fast and trail-breaking easier then previous ascents with crampons creating more comfort near the top as the sun crust was hard and required care. The team assembled at the summit and looked around at our day to come, 3 more peaks to climb and 4 to ski, lets get going! 2 of the group skied while 3 chose to down-climb and ski due to the crust, although tedious and far from prime shape, the Aussie is key to the plan so we were all happy to arrive at the bottom to have a quick water making session on the glacier before moving on.

Matier and Spetch were next and no difficulties were encountered but we did find one thing: boot-top powder descents on the 40 degree faces, the best! I couldn't believe it! I think Matier's NW face is one of my favourite pitches of skiing I've done, this is the 4th time I've been up there and I just love it every time. Just classic in every way.

Finally, Slalok. New ground for all of us, we made the summit late in the afternoon and gathered together to look around. What a great group of good friends and what an incredible place. Ryan looked over at Joffre and said it felt like we were there the day before, a familiar feeling after a long day in the mountains. We ripped the skins and let the skis run down the humungous Stonecrop Face, this piece of terrain is really complex and to me is the crux of the day with multiple aspects and plenty of convexities with the added delight of cliffs below. Luckily, we had great snow and conditions and once again found powder to ski and finish up our last descent of the day.

Back at the car, Ryan had stashed some beers and as we stood around, tending to our feet and packing up, sipping our beers I couldn't help but think about how perfect this day was and to be with such great company in such a special place, all the better. I thought to myself, what step in Sarah's list would cracking a beer be?

Trip Data: 2883m of ascent / 21.9km / 12:40m
Chris Christie, Sarah Hart, Scotty Everett, Ryan Treneer, Ross Mailloux

Ascending the icefall above upper Joffre lake.

Chris crests the icefield and surveys the peaks ahead.

An established up-track lead right to the Aussie.

Upper reaches of the Aussie.

Scott making exacting turns on the hard surfaces.

Off to Matier.

Matier ascent.

Summit ridge, Mt. Matier

The always fun downclimb to the NW face of Matier.

Scott poking into the face, Aussie Couloir visible in front of him.

Heavy trail breaking up Spetch, ascent and descent via N aspect.

Turns visible on Matiers NW face.

Powder snow on Spetch, Ryan.

Chris

Final bootpack of the day (if you ever wanted to get your bootpacking dialed, this a great day for that)

Final ascent to Slalok summit area.