BC Interior Jan 6-8

My original plan last week was to do a dawn patrol on Monday to Mt Herman or across the Saddle somewhere. I wasn't sure.  But,  after a personal reality check I decided not to go.  It was going to be a low visibility day and the conditions were still marginal at best because there just isn't a lot of snow.

But the snow had arrived and there was the promise of more to come.  I was also keeping my eye on Whistler for Monday but the freezing level was supposed to go to 1800 m Monday and then 2900m on Tuesday.

With all that in mind and with freedom to move I decided to go up to Vernon and ride 2 days at Silver Star and then carry on into Revelstoke and beyond.  My objective was to tear the guts out of the resorts and when there was not a single shred of soft snow to duck the rope or find some other wilderness objective.  That was the general plan when I shut my eyes sunday night.

I left home at 2:30 am and drove through the most miserable conditions imaginable on the Coquihalla. I encountered monsoon rain, freezing rain, flooding on the highway, trees down from heavy snow, fog, heavy whiteout snowfall, and black ice  There was a point where I thought I wouldn't make it and if I did, I wasn't sure if I would even have the energy to ski because the drive was so exhausting mentally.

But Monday morning did materialize and I arrived at the ticket window down at the base of the Comet at 9:15 am to find great coverage on the mountain, a foot and a half of -5C powder, and storm conditions. The heavy snowfall pretty much cleared the mountain and left only a handful of hardcores to lap unimpeded on the comet from noon onwards.  It was truly a top day. I texted my wife Monday night that Tuesday was going to be even better.

Flash forward to Tuesday morning.  I was sitting in the Silver Grill looking out the window while the woman next to me donned her plastic rain jacket. Thinking to my self and pondering climate change. It is making victims of us all.  Especially us winter folk who live for adventure in snow.

The town of Vernon was shut down Monday. They got 40 cm of snow in town.  The most since 1949 and fourth highest on record.  and yet it rained to the peak early Tuesday morning.  I didn't even buy a ticket but instead hit the road for Revelstoke.  I had my doubts I was going to be able to outrun the warm front that was pushing in from the Pacific but I went anyway.

For those of you coming to Canada to ski you can get fairly updated road information on  www.drivebc.ca.  This is critical in winter, more so if you are running in front of a massive storm cell.  Be advised that if there is a major event the drivebc site gets overloaded and the page won't load.
That is kind of what happened as I stopped at Starbucks in Vernon.  I checked the road conditions, but the page wouldn't load.  But I went anyway.

I arrived way on the outskirts of Malakwa at the back of a truck line up that was miles from the gate at the confluence of the P