2018 Ski Season :: Photos from a Long Winter

It’s almost summer solstice and you have given up on my promise to send you photos from the ski trip we did this past season. But here they are at long last! Scroll down to find your trip and click on the image for the full set. They’re on Flickr in full resolution. A number of them are not mine; credit should be found under each photo in the EXIF data.

Apologies for sending all trips in a single email, but a) it’s easier for me, and b) I’m hoping that looking at some of the other trips will inspire you to sign up for another trip with me next winter.

All the best this summer!

Tom Wolfe

Early Winter November to January is when I do single day and weekend ski trips, avalanche skills courses, and family outings. Here’s a selection of photos from the shortest days of winter.

New Years Bow Yoho I’m not going to fluff it up, much of my first Bow-Yoho this year was a grim march through bitterly cold early winter arctic frozenness. Overnighting at Stanley Mitchell was not the cozy cheeful experience I was looking forward to with -32 outside and -5 inside. But our group of hardy Saskatchewaners thought it was pretty balmy; the skiing was excellent; and the skies cleared up beautifully after the first snowy day.

Burnie #1 So good to ski at Burnie again. Unfortunately I came down with the coughing fever cold mid-week. Thanks to co-guide Nicolas and the group for putting up with while I struggled through the week. Still, I have memories of some of the sweetest turns of the season, and a best-ever run down Loft to Lower Ptarmigan.

Burnie #2 I kicked the coughing fever cold and was able to thoroughly enjoy my second Burnie week, with my friend and colleague Rob Coppolillo and crew.

Valhalla Mountain Lodge The Kootenays is world renowned for its powder tree skiing. This week did not disappoint, with over 140 cm of new blower storm snow, a cold and snowy February brought March in like a lion. With my friends from Vancouver Section.

Nirvana Pass It’s called Nirvana for a reason. This legendary zone has some of the best ski mountaineering anywhere, within easy access of our beautiful fly-in treeline camp. No, March isn’t too early for a ski camp in the Coast Range!

Bow-Yoho #2 Yes, I did the Bow Yoho more than once this season. This time with my friends from Vancouver Section ACC and much milder temperatures! Fantastic conditions if a bit stormy at times.

Bow-Yoho #3 What could be better than doing the Bow Yoho twice in one season? How about doing it a THIRD time, in late April, with splitter, perfect conditions?! Oh yeah, April Pow laps down Isolated Col north side — again — and even down the south facing Des Poilus runs!

Svalbard Ski & Sail At the end of may we spent 12 days in Svalbard, 7 nights on the lovely double-masted gaff rigged schooner “Noorderlicht” and the remaining days skiing out of the arctic town of Longyearbyen. Here’s a short write-up of our week skiing north of 78 degrees latitude.