Ski Touring into the New Year

We spent the last two days of 2012 and the first day of 2013 working for our turns, with great success!

December 30th, 2012 - Fairview Mountain

Fairview is a wide open slope that is usually not recommended in the winter, but given the snow conditions lately, we decided to go take a look.

Chateau Lake Louise and Mount Hector

The parking lot was bustling with activity, as a couple of groups were headed for Surprise Pass and another group was heading towards Mount Victoria. The thermometer read -26C, which was a bit colder than expected, so we took advantage of the heated washrooms and started up towards the Saddleback.

Tree facets

Just below the pass, there was a pocket of cold that felt like it was -30C, but once on the pass we were in the sun and things were much more comfortable. The slopes off Fairview Mountain looked a bit scoured, so we decided to go a bit closer to check out the conditions.

Getting ready to ski down

We stopped about 2/3rds of the way up as the group was getting tired. The ski down was pretty exciting, quite narrow in some parts, but pretty fun overall. I got a couple of new gouges in my skis.

There was quite a lot of interesting terrain accessible from the pass, so I will go back sometime to do some more exploring.

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/116480458

December 31st, 2012 - Hilda Ridge

Staying in Lake Louise, we had an opportunity to go somewhere we wouldn't normally go for a day trip, so Hilda Ridge near the Jasper park boundary seemed like a good choice. I also love the drive along the Icefields Parkway, especially along the Big Bend. It brought back memories of our bike trip from Jasper this past summer.

On top of Hilda Ridge

I've always found the snow on Hilda Ridge to be of better quality than the more popular Parker Ridge, and it did not disappoint on this day. There was a bit of a wind slab up top, but only a few metres off the ridge it was nice and soft.

Rare shot of the two of us

We went fairly far along the ridge, but not all the way as it was difficult skinning on the wind slab.

The skiing was fantastic, and at the bottom we skinned through the moraine onto the Parker Ridge side. However, the wind was stronger on that side so we only did a half run before heading back to the car for warmth.

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/116480433

January 1st, 2013 - Vermilion Peak

I had attempted Vermilion Peak twice before, but never even made it to the summit ridge. That was our goal today.

The summit through the burnout

It was another chilly day, but things were calm in the trees and there was certainly no letting up on the uphill.

Frost on branches

The main avalanche gully on the west side was quite skied out (some of those tracks being mine from a week ago ... it hasn't snowed since), but we were hoping to get some fresh lines higher up.

Diamond dust

Two guys attempting the summit

This was the first time I had ever seen the summit ridge. The two guys pictured above turned back, but we weren't sure why until we got onto the ridge itself. It was then obvious that there were HUGE cornices on the northeast side of the ridge, and I was not prepared to rope up and walk the ridge, so we turned around as well.

Last little bit before the summit ridge

Mount Assiniboine and the Kootenay valley

The view from the summit ridge was impressive, with a thin layer of cloud covering the valley floor. I've also always had a soft spot for Mount Assiniboine.

We skied down through the glades on the southern side of the peak where the snow was fresh. Only a couple of lines had gone through, so we had plenty of virgin powder to cut.

In the end, I've decided that the summit ridge is as high as I need to go, as any day where the snow conditions are good will also be a day in which the cornices are large. However, getting to the ridge is definitely worthwhile and opens up a huge amount of terrain along the southwest side of the slopes between Vermilion Peak and Mount Haffner. This will be a place to come to during our next drought.

3 days of touring to cross into the new year was a good way to start, but it is good to be back home.

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/116480469