Quick and to the point
Had an office morning, mailing and generally getting things done. Then off to Mt-Mackenzie for some quick and easy vertical. What I thought was going to be a stormy day turned sunny and I wished for my sunglasses. I guess its always better to have something and not need it then to need something and not have it.
!0 070 feet 4 hrs 55 minutes. day 69
Mt-Cartier
Perhaps Mt-Cartier is best done when you can ski the 7000 foot shot from the summit to the road as in mid winter conditions. Today was not mid winter conditions more spring /summer. Recognizing that it was not the best choice I still went with it since I had not summitted this mountain this year.
Tracey and I went for a jog at the base of Mt-Cartier and when I mentioned to her that I was going up there she sort of laughed at me. The first 2000 feet had no snow on it and the summit looked miles away from where we were. But I am a stubborn man and a nice walk through a Fir forest didn’t seem like such a bad idea.
I booted up the forest floor till I reached snow and then toured the rest up to the summit. Things on the south side were getting a bit isothermal but I managed to minimize my hazards and worked my way up to the summit. The vantage that Cartier offers is amazing, views deep into the Selkirks and the whole Monashee range. There is an old fire cabin up here, where the rangers would live and watch for forest fires. A cool little cabin with 360′ views of everything as far as the eye can see.
I then dropped around to the North bowl, which required a bit of creative touring but I managed to wrap around and ski the 2000 foot bowl. Great spot that I have never been and always looked at. The descent led me down and around the mountain setting me up for a great skin to the ridge. I have always wanted to ski a NW chute of the summit that my friend Scott skied years ago, it seemed like such a dramatic line and today when I toured underneath it I realised how easy a line it is.
When I reached the ridge I was at 9000 feet so I did a fast, cruiser back down the bowl and took my skin track back to the ridge. Skins off and I was on my way down to the valley and the frustrating walk out. While boot packing out the bottom I ran into a deer carcass that was in the process of being eaten. By what I wondered? A cougar or a Grizzly? I looked around and than hiked out of the area as quickly as possible. 7.5 hrs 10 200 feet
Forever Young
The weather is very warm right now with temperatures in town reaching 20’C. So all that incredible powder we had on our traverse has now pretty much disappeared. It is still hidden in north facing runs but even those are getting melted out. I still managed some great turns but more because of the situation rather than the powder skiing.
Today was a great day for terrain photos so I went out with the intention of getting shots of features that I don’t have already. So I went up Glacier Crest to get some angles on the Asulkan and Illecilliweat valleys. I got some photos I had been lacking and then skied down to the Illecilliweat glacier. I then skinned up to the summit of Young’s Peak and skied off the East side. Cool run that I have never been down before, nothing dramatic about the skiing just the ambiance.
I then toured back up to the top of Forever Young. Forever Young is a 2000 foot chute that is surrounded by huge cliffs and some have said close to 60 degrees! Regardless the chute is wicked and always worth a ski. Two skiers skied it about two days ago but they left me some powder on the walls and in the fan.
Then I skied to the bottom of the mouse trap where I ran into an old friend from University. I haven’t seen Heather in 8 years and managed to run into her in the middle of the backcountry, turns out she has moved out west and is keen on the recreation scene out here. So no doubt I will see her again.
To finish off my ten thousand feet I toured up the Sapphire Glacier until my watch ticked over and then I was down and on my way home. 8hrs 10130 feet day 67(not quite where I hoped to be?!?)
