March Powder Fest

This season snow coverage was sub-standard for a long time but in March the white stuff finally started flying. Pete and I took a day off to visit the Needle Trees on the Coquihalla. We started breaking trail in 50cm fresh snow, getting deeper as we got closer to the skiing meadows at 1400 meter. Because it was so good I went again with a friend two days later. In two days it had snowed enough to cover our tracks completely. Skiing was even better so I went for a third trip with yet another friend. Only one or two other parties had been at Needle during the week and there were still plenty fresh tracks left for us. Yea to the weekday warriors (and sorry to everybody on a fixed work schedule).

Baker Pow Day - Feb 19

After a very slow start to the ski season now comes the snow! Two friends and I head to Mt Baker for an exceptional day of powder, as good as it gets for a busy ski resort. 270 cm fresh snow in 9 days. The North Shore mountains in Vancouver get their share with well over one meter fresh fluffy pow. On the weekend we visit the big trees on Hollyburn mountain. Although the snowpack is still on the shallow side the quality of the 40-50 cm fresh powder was excellent. The last weeks of February feel like ski vacation skiing on 10 out of 12 days. But its even better than vacation; with my season pass at Cypress I don't feel that I have to put in a full day to make it worth the expense of a ticket, I can leave when I'm tired or don't like the snow anymore.

We got so much snow that some highway passes had to be closed due to avalanche danger, including the nearby Coquihalla highway. The area received over 3 meters of snow in 9 days. The highway department set of huge controlled avalanches and there were a few surprises with natural ones too (including one class 4), luckily nobody got hurt.

This is reminding of the weather four years ago when the Olympics were in town. For the first week there was only little coverage and snow was trucked to Vancouver. In the second week it started snowing and some events like xc skiing struggled with too much of the white stuff.

Four years ago the avalanche conditions were so touchy that we even considered cancelling our ski trip to Fairy Meadows. Strange enough like a small island of safety the immediate area turned out to be rather stable. The high hazard made us stay on conservative terrain but not a group of young skiers on the trip who decided to ski a bunch of steep couloirs and triggered a sizeable slide. All they got was a big scare but it could have ended much worse.

Frozen Beauty - Gates Lake

Finally southwest BC is getting some of the cold much of Canada had to put up with all winter. Cold arctic outflow air is reaching our area. Lakes in the mountains around Whistler and Pemberton are solidly frozen and thanks to the lack of snow in prime skating conditions! I have only ever been on skates maybe half a dozen times and haven't been on a frozen lake since I was a teenager. In addition the views and conditions were simply spectacular. Pete and other paraglider friends played with different sorts of kites. I worked on my skating technique, first pushing a chair around, later with a hockey stick for balance.

The ice on some of the lakes was polished by wind and clear as glass. Amazing to glide over the dark water and near shore see green water plants and sunken trees under the ice. Even more mysterious are the occasional eerie creaking sounds from the ice. A totally new experience.

We also tried out another new activity: a friend took us ice climbing. Since the main ice climbing area was crowded with people we found our own mini cliff with a sunny belay spot. A belay spot in the sun must be very unusual for serious ice climbing but made our first foray into the sport extremely pleasant.

Frozen Gates Lake

Glass clear ice

Pete making lines on Brohm Lake

Ice Climbing!

Lack of snow makes skiing not an enticing option. Too many obstacles sticking out lower down to scratch ski bases and maybe even skin and bones! So we try something entirely new: ice climbing. I always wanted to give it a try and a (formerly) ice-climber friend offered to show us the ropes. Since the main climbing area on the Cheakamus was already packed with keen climbers we wander off and found a smaller cliff we had all to ourselves. The climb was short but it’s long enough to get into the rhythm of front point – front point – tool – tool. After the second lap I started to trust the placements and stopped hacking away at the ice. Bonus point: the belay spot was in the sun. Good fun and a suitable (but probably not very typical) introduction to ice climbing. Thanks, Ben!