This was our first of two Ski & Sails this past May, 2019. We had really calm weather this week, with cloud bands that made travel interesting but never impossible. It’s hard to beat the day we toured up into Tinayrebukta, my favourite little fjord. Or the traverse across the peninsula into Ny-Ålesund, a tiny research outpost at 79 degrees north, on the south side of Kongsfjord.
This spring I ran another two Ski and Sail weeks in the arctic archipelago of Svalbard: the first on the s/v Rembrandt van Rijn, the second on the s/v Noorderlicht, both traditional gaff-rigged schooners and perfect for exploring the coastal fjords of Spitzbergen.
Svalbard has spectacular scenery, massive tumbling glaciers, and abundant wildlife. It also has innumerable, perfect ski peaks rising from the sea that make for some of the best skiing anywhere.
Svalbard has spectacular scenery, massive tumbling glaciers, and abundant wildlife. It also has innumerable, perfect ski peaks rising from the sea that make for some of the best skiing anywhere.
For spring skiing it does not get better than Sorcerer Lodge. While it’s at the top of my list of recommendations for people to head to extend their ski touring season, it’s also one of the best places for high alpine ski mountaineering anywhere, and the end of April is the perfect window. With a great snowpack and no interruptions from heliskiing (the heliski season ends the first week of April) I’ve had consistently excellent experiences with Sorcerer in the last week of April and this was no exception.
The Bow Yoho traverse has in recent years become our most popular trip, and for good reason. This hut to hut traverse takes you through some of the most spectacular scenery and is an excellent variation on the Wapta traverse with superb, varied skiing.
This was the second of my three weeks of ski touring at Burnie in 2019. Burnie is one of my favourite lodges — and one of my favourite places to be period.
Mt. Carlyle Lodge in the southern Selkirks is a beautiful lodge surrounded by great ski terrain. I spent a week there this past winter with a group of regulars from Vancouver.
Here’s a selection of photos from this year’s January trip. We were actually able to complete the seldom-done Polemic Pass circuit, which might have been the earliest it’s ever been done successfully. We also made it to the top of Middle Solitaire, Loft Peak and Solitaire Ski peak and skied off the back side of Tom George. So even in January there’s much to be done with the right group and the right conditions — but the same can be said about any other month of the year!
The ski season has begun — make sure you’re stong so you can get the most out of your winter and stay injury-free. Check out Chelseas Deschamps’ online training programs at Omnia Movement and Performance!
Our Ski and Sail trips to Svalbard this spring will enjoy around the clock sunlight in the Land of the…
The Selkirks have a great snowpack right now, with the recent problems of windslabs and the January 2 freezing rain layer well settled.
This winter I got to take out three of my favourite kids ice climbing: Ruth, Rohan and Slade. Here’s a collection of photos of our adventures together!
If you are using BC’s backroads then you should really be carrying a VHF radio with the Resource Roads (RR) Channels programmed in so that you can call your location. Here’s a list. Your dealer will also be able to program these in for you.
This past week has been wintery in the west, with overnight lows in the alpine nearing -20°C and little storms bringing in small but constant amounts of snow in the Rockies and Columbia mountain ranges. In the Rockies, treeline snow depths are now above threshold for avalanches (50 cm+) and in the Rogers Pass area you can expect up to double that. Alpine snow depths are over a meter in the Rockies and over 150 cm around Rogers Pass.
Phantom from DPS promises the death of traditional wax. Over 800% of their goals were raised in a Kickstarter campaign so seems like everyone’s buying it
Another beautiful autumn week in the Rockies and Interior BC, but looks like we’re returning to a more typical colder weather pattern in the days to come. If snowfall amounts in the high Rockies and further west are substantial we will be back to early winter mode again with avalanche concerns rising back to the top of our list of hazards for mountain travel.
I’ve had a few questions from people who are either recovering from leg injuries or who have some kind of…
There’s about 20 cm of snow on the ground from the storm that landed on the Rockies today. That’s way…
Three techniques for making your own topo maps will be discussed here with a focus on learning to use Quantum GIS (QGIS).
Smartphones, despite their convenience, do not render GPS units obsolete. This summer’s Disaster in the Alps, is a case study.
Black Diamond’s First Light Tent should be First Waterproof. It works fine for winter ski touring, but not great for summer use with rain. Here’s my review.
The Alpine Club of Canada’s General Mountaineering Camps (GMCs) are a very old tradition, dating back to 1906 and the dawn of mountaineering in Canada. They have always been pretty big affairs, attracting mountaineers from all over.
I know what you’re thinking — Tom, it’s summer… the Wapta traverse? Well it was a lot more pleasant than my experience 6 months ago leaving Bow Hut in the dark at 8:00 am with -35°C temps and clouds and wind. And the snow was pretty good too — from Sunday to Tuesday it was great spring ski touring conditions.
Svalbard, or Spitzbergen as it is also known, is made for skiing. Countless ski peaks rise 500 to 800 m or more directly out of the ocean, blanketed in snow and rugged glaciers as far as the eye can see.
Just back from a sensational week up at Sorcerer Lodge. Epic spring powder ski mountaineering for the first four days, then three days of backing off in the face of the big meltdown — but still excellent steep skiing with extra early starts and back to the lodge for beers by 1 pm, then noon, then 11 am!
Today I completed a week-long guided Bow-Yoho traverse from Bow Lake to Field, my 3rd and final Bow Yoho of the season!
This winter I ran a ski camp out of Nirvana Pass. Located just a short distance from Mount Waddington, Nirvana is a hybrid between Coast and Chilcotin terrain. The glaciers are massive and tumbling, but the relief is not as severe as the neighboring peaks. And, while there’s a ton of snow, it’s not as intense and the weather is generally better than further west.
I just spent a week at the unbelievable Valhalla Mountain Lodge, where we had over 140 cm of storm snowfall with very little wind. Needless to say the skiing was perfect, day after day after day. The only day was the snow shoveling to keep the lodge and sugar shack from disappearing!