Dec 16-21, 2012, Rogers Pass Redux
12/16/12
Canada BC
2439
3
Redux. Latin, returning, from reducere to lead back
And so it is for me, for 8-12 days a year. For the vital and sustaining friendships, the amazing Selkirk powder, the tree skiing in storms and the bluebird days in the alpine in high pressure and stability. Time at the Pass is where I connect with my ideal of ski touring.
It was in the late '80's that I first came here. Burnt out on a steady diet of waterfall climbing in the Rockies and in the company of a friend and his girlfriend. The deal clincher was a couple of gals in Golden who would join us at the hotel for the duration. The snow and setting AND the ladies were the beginning of the end of my dirt bag devotion to climbing. We skied Grizzly shoulder for two days in complete isolation and summited Youngs Peak when the skys cleared on the third. Some places become part of our identity, who we aspire to be and what bridges the years in continuity. Rogers Pass and the skiing there became one of those places for me.
On the latest trip, my buddy Mark-another former climbing bum turned avid skier- drove out from Bozeman and met me in Spokane. We did the long drive throught the BC interior and caught up on the gap of two years of not seeing each other. At the Asulkin trailhead we loaded the sled with a ridiculous amount of food and dragged our laden sled through 40 cms of fresh storm snow. As usual for this time of year, the Wheeler was nearly empty.
As an epic storm cycle slammed into the mountains of the west, we skied cold, blower powder in stable avy conditions. Ursa Trees, the Usulkin traingle moraine, Glacier Crest .....Massive breakfasts laced with fat fueled short exhausting days of deep trail breaking and runs down an amazingly deep snowpack.
Ursa Trees
Our trip finished with a tour up and over Avalanche Crest. A classic tour at Rogers Pass, skinning through beautiful forests for hours to break out into a stunning alpine setting followed by a 3-4 thousand foot descent.
In the basin below Avalanche Mountain
We topped out on the crest in the face of yet another storm front coming through. The high winds quickly created a lee side wind slab that I popped the weasel with a ski cut. A three inch crown tumbled down harmlessly into a steep gully on to an open glade.
(Video) https://picasaweb.google.com/102315573932734788126/RogersPassXmas2012#5825913971471539042
We enjoyed a long run down to the highway ...back to family, friends and the holidays. Merry xmas fellow skiers and boarders.
*fixed the image links - Marcus*
And so it is for me, for 8-12 days a year. For the vital and sustaining friendships, the amazing Selkirk powder, the tree skiing in storms and the bluebird days in the alpine in high pressure and stability. Time at the Pass is where I connect with my ideal of ski touring.
It was in the late '80's that I first came here. Burnt out on a steady diet of waterfall climbing in the Rockies and in the company of a friend and his girlfriend. The deal clincher was a couple of gals in Golden who would join us at the hotel for the duration. The snow and setting AND the ladies were the beginning of the end of my dirt bag devotion to climbing. We skied Grizzly shoulder for two days in complete isolation and summited Youngs Peak when the skys cleared on the third. Some places become part of our identity, who we aspire to be and what bridges the years in continuity. Rogers Pass and the skiing there became one of those places for me.
On the latest trip, my buddy Mark-another former climbing bum turned avid skier- drove out from Bozeman and met me in Spokane. We did the long drive throught the BC interior and caught up on the gap of two years of not seeing each other. At the Asulkin trailhead we loaded the sled with a ridiculous amount of food and dragged our laden sled through 40 cms of fresh storm snow. As usual for this time of year, the Wheeler was nearly empty.
As an epic storm cycle slammed into the mountains of the west, we skied cold, blower powder in stable avy conditions. Ursa Trees, the Usulkin traingle moraine, Glacier Crest .....Massive breakfasts laced with fat fueled short exhausting days of deep trail breaking and runs down an amazingly deep snowpack.
Ursa Trees
Our trip finished with a tour up and over Avalanche Crest. A classic tour at Rogers Pass, skinning through beautiful forests for hours to break out into a stunning alpine setting followed by a 3-4 thousand foot descent.
In the basin below Avalanche Mountain
We topped out on the crest in the face of yet another storm front coming through. The high winds quickly created a lee side wind slab that I popped the weasel with a ski cut. A three inch crown tumbled down harmlessly into a steep gully on to an open glade.
(Video) https://picasaweb.google.com/102315573932734788126/RogersPassXmas2012#5825913971471539042
We enjoyed a long run down to the highway ...back to family, friends and the holidays. Merry xmas fellow skiers and boarders.
*fixed the image links - Marcus*
Nice trip Father! You're right though, pictures not that great due to constant snowfall and powder skiing. Life's rough eh?! Look forward to getting those long legs of yours to break some trail next week in the lovely PNW!
Nice trip report! Thanks! :)
Great trip and great writing father.
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