With 2 avalanche fatalities occurring just across the Smith Dorrien Trail at Burstall Pass while we were at Chester Lake last weekend, no one was interested in venturing past simple terrain. Avalanche conditions were still high in the alpine, so I figured we could get a good workout, and maybe a few turns, going up Cosmic Ray Road on the backside of Sulphur Mountain.
I had attempted this trail as a hike in the spring a few years ago with my mom, and I remembered it being a relentless slog. It did not disappoint! Unfortunately, there was scant little else that I could recall in any detail, so it was like a brand new trail.
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| Beautiful glades near the first switchback |
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Snow conditions were very suspect all over the trail, with cracking and whumpfing evident all over. I'm sure that had the trail been steep enough, or if we had ventured outside of the trail, that a slide would have been very easy to trigger.
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| Chilly at the top, time to go back down! |
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We arrived at the top to see that the gondola was running and that tourists were milling about the boardwalk. Some even took pictures of the crazy Canadians.
The ski down was pretty exciting! Conditions ranged from bulletproof snow to knee-deep powder. Extra care had to be taken to ensure that we didn't venture off the trail lest we trigger a slide or fall off a cliff. However, it was a fun ski down and I'd like to do it again when the snow is a bit friendlier.
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