Fortress

Spring is here!


The forecast called for a high of 8C in Kananaskis Country, with more warm weather coming in the week ahead. We've been blessed with beautiful weather on the weekends this winter, and this day was no exception.

I was also sporting a new pair of skis, a ScottyBob SpearHucker. The previous day was spent at the resort, trying to figure out their idiosyncracies. In the process, there were a few tumbles and lots of arm-waving, but by the end of the day things were starting to feel a little more comfortable. The real test was to be in the backcountry, and Fortress seemed like the perfect place for some safe, exposed skiing.

Sunrise over the Barrier Lake visitor centre

This time around, I was determined to find a way to get to Fortress "as the crow flies", as opposed to "as the drunk wolf stumbles". We entered the forest via the powerline clearing, bypassing the first switchback, and exited around the 3km mark. We then made another shortcut earlier than the previous week, but in the end didn't actually end up completing the skin up any faster.

Skis are skinned and ready to go!

Conditions on the hill were a bit of a mixed bag. Our main concern was to avoid the middle bowl as the chutes off of Fortress Mountain looked ready to slide, and with the warm temperatures we weren't sure what the stability up there would be like. Fortunately, the runs to the skier's left of the first chair lift felt pretty good, and while somewhat skied out, still held some virgin powder.

Her dying wish was to see the Fortress middle bowl

We ended up doing two runs off the resort lines (with several faceplants by yours truly), then skinned up the glades below Mount James Walker and did some tree skiing / bushwhacking to get back to the road. And thus ended ski day #37 this season!