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.
Ski and Sail Spitzbergen – 22 May – 1 June, 2018 – $7330/person – FULL. This is a truly exploratory ski…
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!
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.
Today I did three Burnie runs I’d never done before — Mystery Rib Left and Right, and Thataway Far Right…
At Burnie Glacier Chalet, or anywhere for that matter, what’s better than tree skiing on a powder day? Well, nothing,…
That was my best powder day in years. We hit Tom George hard. Heavy trail breaking slowed things down but the ski quality… wow. Deep dry powder in -15° temps meant face shots every turn top to bottom. Nothing like 700 m tree runs with a beautiful lodge to warm up and refuel in between.
Yesterday a temperature inversion meant +1°C. This morning we woke to more snow and -4°C. Throughout the day the temperature has been dropping and by the time we returned from our day of skiing it was -14° with 10 cm new fluffy snow on the ground and still falling! Today we skied up the ultra classic Solitaire Ski Peak, which offers a 1200 m run directly back to the hut. Half the group, despite the challenging visibility, decided to do a hot lap on The Pinörkel, which one of the guests noticed strongly resembles the run down from Sapphire Col at Rogers Pass. Of course here there are no crowds, and no tracks in this vast wilderness apart from those left by our own group of 13.Another 20-30 cm in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Let it snow!
The weather cleared for an uneventful flight into the Chalet. Well not quite uneventful — after takeoff the passenger door on the A-Star popped open twice so we had to return for a quick repair. An inversion today meant -6° in a Smithers and +1° at the Chalet. Moist snow is forecast to freeze into a thin crust with tonight’s colder temperatures, -10° by breakfast!
Today I’m flying to to Smithers for two weeks of skiing. In the past two weeks they’ve got well over 200 cm of storm snow and it’s forecast to keep coming down hard this week. High Avalanche hazard, storm, crazy amounts of snow! But I’m stoked, I’ve worked Burnie in all conditions and the beauty of the area is that it has always delivered a good week of skiing, every time. That’s saying something — I’ve skied and guided there almost every winter since 2004.
Today we did a short ski tour up onto the East facing Molars, the backcountry accessed off Kicking Horse Mountain…
Wow what great ski touring conditions at Rogers Pass this weekend. The avalanche situation is still tricky but the ski…
I’ve been ice climbing in the Canadian Rockies since the mid-90s and have guided many of the hardest lines as…
I spent this past weekend in Rogers Pass finishing the second part of an AST-2 class. We had a great…
The best of both worlds: lift accessed powder backcountry skiing at Sunshine Village! January 4th I headed out with Rohan,…
I completed a 4-day Yoho Traverse yesterday with a very hardy group of Saskatchewaners. We experienced very cold temperatures, ranging from -35C to -17C. Face protection in the form of buffs and goggles were essential at times, especially on the glaciers, and toe warmers helped keep things as comfortable as possible.
On my birthday I like to go for a ski with the family. This year on December 23rd we headed…
Hero’s Knob is a super popular destination for classic loops and powder backcountry ski touring descents, both moderate and fairly…
Today was a multi-sports day for me. I spent the bulk of the day teaching an AST-1 field day at…
THIS COURSE IS FULLY BOOKED You have taken your AST 1, you have solid experience in the backcountry and you…
Owen Short, looking out towards the Septentrion Spires. April 12, 2010. Photo: Conrad Janzen Nirvana Pass Ski Camp March 9-15,…