Home > Trip Reports > Jan 14-17, Shames Mountain, Northern BC

Jan 14-17, Shames Mountain, Northern BC

1/15/08
Canada BC
3325
6
Posted by Scotsman on 1/18/08 6:10am
Im in Terrace BC for a few weeks house sitting for a fellow TAYER called NWBC'r while he is away in Europe. Drive was 23 hrs of snow and ice and logging trucks with an attitude.. On Sunday when I arrived Gary took me to the ski hill and introduced me to all the BC skiers. Shames mountain has an old triple and then a t-Bar to the top. 1600 VF and some nice runs. The real secret is the BC access from the top of the t-bar.
The ski hill is closed on Monday and Tuesday but on Monday I was invited out on a tour with two locals Dave and Bruce. We skinned to the top of the Tbar and then skied a BC run they call Prayer Flags  to the valley bottom in the drainage on the backside of the mountain. About 700 VF of trees with 2+ft of powder, very nice! Skin track back up, move 100' to the left, repeat.
Yesterday, we went on a longer tour, down Deliverence Trees across the valley and up an area they call No Dogs. At the ridge at the top of No Dogs is a big face dropping down into another valley and they call this area CATS. It was late so we didn't ski Cats but skied a line they call Iron Curtain to the skiers right of NO Dogs. Like the Paradise area, every line has a name and if you know where to look there is a website with a map showing all the lines.

The BC behind Shames is enormous and very steep and there are huge avy chutes everywhere.
The local BC skiers are numerous, very avy savvy and very friendly and I have had no problem hooking up with experienced locals willing to show me around. I am know locally as " Scotty the Tour Slut".

There is a heli-skiing operation in town called Northern Escape that runs out of a lodge and I've been tying to wrangle a price out of them for a standby seat, so I'm hopeful that I might get a local rate.

There are two backcounty huts run by a non profit called the Mount Remo Backcounty Huts. The huts sleep 4-6 persons and have stoves and you can book them for $45 a night but have to heli up to them and back and that costs $100 per person for the return trip.I've already been invited on a four day trip in the first week of Feb but may not be able to go.

My son Stewie, JW and Jen are arriving tonight for a weeks touring so we'll get some photos posted although, just as Murphy's law predicts, as soon as you have guests arriving the snow quality goes down. Today it is warmer and the snow has turned to coastal snot but hopefully it will improve while they are here. The local people are amazing.

Thats aboot all I have for now Eh.
Scotty.
I have to admit that the reason we where unable to ski Cats due to latness of the day was I had left my skins at the house and had to go back to town to get them ( 1.5 hrs return) before we started the tour. My Canadian partners where very patient with me but soon everybody knew what a goof I was. Last night everybody I met said, " are you the American who forgot his skins?.

I will try and do better  in the future and be a better TAY ambassador. :-[

Sounds awesome Scotsman.  Can't wait to see some pics.

If you're gonna forget your skins, Chris, you should do it in July so you can boot it like I did on Unicorn last summer.  ::)

Chris,
Con't worry, there will be freshies when you return.  In the meantime be careful, eh.

Make sure and show those Canucks how us Washingtonians rip it! See you when you get back.

Chris

Hiya Scotsman! greetings and salutations from the land of Joyce and Wilde. Forgot skins eh :) well it happens to us all, no worries - usually it's my rasta buddies though! Hope you're doing well, glad to see a posting from home. Things here are great, although snowpack is minimal the foam on top of the Guinness is really creamy. Enjoy man enjoy.... do say hi to my buddies for me!
Oh, and remember your skins when you plan on going touring:) Cheers, Gary.

ps last time I checked - the chair was a double, don't want to go overselling our hill man!

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jan-14-17-shames-mountain-northern-bc
Scotsman
2008-01-18 14:10:08