Powder Time!

Its been a long wait for back country snow this year (or maybe we are just not that keen anymore in our old age?) but its finally here. And in rather unexpected places: we get the best turns of the season on Paul Ridge... our go-to place for OK early season turns.

Pete enjoying the pow on Paul Ridge

Spot Ben photo. He took us around Thar on the Coquihalla. The exit gully is for good stability days only.

Fall hikes and colors

Despite the dry summer there was an amazing display of great fall colors this year. Nice weather lasted throughout October and gave opportunity to many hikes. On the trail to Blanca Lake in the Elaho valley we discovered some huge King Boletes. We finally scrambled up Mt Jim Kelly on a lot of rubble and loose shale (not the greatest hiking). My favorite was the area around Mt Bake with easy access and well groomed hiking trails (Chain Lakes, Lake Ann, Yellow Aster Bute, Skyline divide and Railroad grade). Blueberries were fantastic too!

Blueberries and colors were better closer to Heather Meadows parking lot

Wedgemount Lake and Elfin Lakes (August 27)

In August it was time for some hiking and exploring closer to home. I had never been to Wedgemount Lake before and enjoyed the short but steep trail that got me on a glacier in 2h driving+3h hiking from our doorstep. Glorious views to be had but apparently lots of loose rocks to watch out for when scrambling the surrounding peaks.

A week later I went for a 3-day hike to Elfin Lakes and although there were other hikers at the campsites and cabin I had most of the place beyond this for myself. Great scenery at Elfin Lakes, Gargoyles, Opal Cone and Rampart Ponds in Garibaldi Park, a mix of moonscape, Haleakala and Nepal. And there was special light show for night entertainment. The northern lights. It wasn't very strong and rather pale so at first I didn't realize what it was - just wondered why there was this bright area to the north; there are no cities in this direction. But when I reviewed the photos on my camera the green was very obvious.

Seed Peak - June 6

We finally bagged Seed Peak last weekend on the third attempt. It has been on our list for a couple of years. Nice trail through majestic mountain hemlock old growth, along an alpine ridge with gorgeous views and up the still snowy bowl of Seed Peak. Photo shows us coming down from Seed Peak, Mt Gillespie in the middle and Judge Howay and Mt Baker on the horizon.

The only drawback were the many wash-outs on Mamquam FSR. Our trusty Tracker overcame several of the obstacles but in the end we had to hike more than an hour on the logging road to get to the trail head.
There was a major washout even on the main Mamquam FSR. Would have been another 1.6 km (one way) if the Tracker wouldn't have made it across, with more smaller washouts even before this. Maybe this was caused by the same rain event that caused the Seymour slide? We were in the area last fall and the roads were OK then.

Pete descending Seed Peak, Mt Gillespie in the middle, Robbie Reid left and Mt Baker on the right horizon

Squamish Gondola - May 24

We checked out the new Squamish Gondola this weekend (and saw an entirely new side of the Chief). Up top are well groomed trails worth an hour of wandering around that lead through amazing variety of trees to very scenic views, plus a suspension bridge and restaurant. Also a bunch of bolted climbs and longer trails, one going over to Habrich, another towards Sky Pilot. We explored the Sky Pilot trail but didn't want to do battle with snow/slide alder mess and turned around after 45 min. Later I checked out the Habrich trail which is much nicer as it follows a route over granite bluffs to great views and tasty berry fields (later in summer).

Drought and finally Pow

The snow pack is at record low in many areas on the coast. But finally we got fresh snow, and lots of it (80 cm)! To our surprise it was of nice fluffy quality at Red Heather/Paul Ridge and we had some nice turns. So did dozens of fellow snow-addicts. When we left the slope looked like Whistler after the first run. This may be OK for lift skiing, but is hardly acceptable when 'you earn your turns'. Must try for a semi-alpine start next time to get our runs in before the crowds show up.

Pete working hard on the up-track

Environment BC snow-water equivalent graph

First Ski Day - November 20

Great first ski day with very nice boot-top powder turns at Paul Ridge. Went up there with Alex. Could ski all the way down to the parking lot without hitting rocks. Only a few people out, but reportedly 25 cars in the parking lot on the next day (a Thursday). Unfortunately it warmed up before the weekend. What we didn't know... that was the last we would see of nice fluffy snow for a long, long time!