Sherbrooke Lake

After a long drought, we're finally getting some snow in the Rockies. There is a price of admission to access this snow, however.

A starting temperature of -27C would not deter us getting out for the first tour of 2014. Our goal was the Paget Glades, the last "challenging" tour in Chic Scott's Summits & Icefields that I had yet to do, although that plan was flexible as I had never been in the Sherbrooke Lake area before (summer or winter), so exploration was a likely option as well.

Narao Peak from the West Louise Lodge

We saw two other groups, both choosing to ski the slopes off of Mount Ogden into Sherbrooke Lake. We toured past the Paget Glades, curious about what lie ahead.

Crossing Sherbrooke Lake

An old set of tracks led us through the trees beyond Sherbrooke Lake and towards Niles Meadow. Eventually, we realized that this might be tracks from a party doing the Wapta traverse and exiting out via the West Louise Lodge.

A scrambly creek (and some small waterfalls) are passable due to the snow

We were also curious to know if it were possible to do a loop around the small peak just east of Mount Ogden. Unfortunately, the trees remained thick and blocked our view of the terrain. It may be interesting to come back and take another look in the spring, when the days are longer, although cornice danger will be greater.

Snow witch

Every once in a while, we encountered pockets of cold which dropped the temperature to what felt like -30C. And the times we found the sun, it felt like spring!

A hawk or owl preyed on something under the snow

We stopped short of Niles Meadow, as it would have made for a long day, and the sun was starting to set. Clouds were rolling in as well, making for flat light conditions that would be awkward to ski in.

Cathedral Mountain

The run back through the trees was exciting at times, but coverage was great and we encountered no one else on the trail.

Heading home

It's good to finally get some snow, but the poor early season will cause some avalanche headaches for the rest of the winter. Be careful out there!

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