Training Log Archive: revy

Up and down Cartier.

Last day at the lodge - made the call to fly out a day early as snow quality was poor and chance of flight delays tomorrow. I went out in the morning to check out the snow conditions and the overnight clear skies had left a breakable crust. The first descent off Cabin Knoll was just back and forth survival turns. Later I went out with Courtney, Anne-Marie and dad to McKean Pass. Had a nice view down the other side and actually some decent turns in the bowl as the snow was softening and just hit the window before they got really soft again. Made it back just in time as the first helicopter flight arrived.

Well the good luck with snow conditions ran out today. Another 10 cm overnight but warm air was in the forecast. We made the most of the day and had some good runs but every run it seemed that the elevation where the snow became un-skiable went up until only the top third of the run was still skiable. It was pretty comical trying to ski the wet schmoo as it felt like my skis had suction cups on them. At that point we called it an early day (air temp was 5 degrees at 2pm when we stopped). Checked out some new runs (Surprise, Cabin Bowl, Cabin Fever) so still felt like an enjoyable day.

Was supposed to be a mix of sun and cloud today so aimed for Mckean Pass and down into Hoder Creek but we arrived to the pass in a whiteout so headed back down Mainline to McKean Lake. As it was snowing and windy we headed back to the trees above Twilight Lake. Connected three good lines that we hadn’t done before. All of them finished with some sweet steep trees. The snow was quite deep today although that may have been my perception due to using skinnier skis today. They skied well and seem a lot more versatile than my previous skinny set up. Snowed about 10 cm throughout the day so a pretty wet day. Very happy with the Neoshell jacket I am using this year. Waterproof but a lot more breathable than goretex. Did a couple of runs off Windy Knoll today as well.

Small system moved through overnight and woke up to 15cm of new snow which freshened things up nicely. Back up Windy Knoll to ET and on towards Gateway Pass. Skied Under the Rhino however had a nice scare when I ski cut a Size 2 slide on a convex roll. It went on a layer that I was not expecting to be reactive. I was trying to ski cut shallower wind slab and instead triggered the mid-Feb layer and had a 50-100cm thick slab. This layer has supposedly been dormant in the region but I must have hit the sweet spot. Luckily it fractured just above me and I was left on the bed surface a few feet below the crown as the slide slid down. Biggest slide I have ever triggered and glad that everything turned out OK.

Managed to ski down to 1850m below the slide and then climbed up to Sunbeam Pass. The cloudy weather once again improved as the afternoon went on and did a nice exploratory run into Hoder Creek on Sundance. Could only ski down to 1900m here. Back to Chico Bowl and an extra run from JJ’s Knoll. North facing snow was great. East and west were getting a bit wet later in the day. Good day that felt more like a tour compared to yesterdays laps.

We got about 9cm of convective snow overnight and it was still cloudy in the morning so headed towards the trees above Twilight Lake with a run down ET along the way. Two fun runs then headed back to Windy Knoll for a few more runs. After the girls arrived via helicopter we did Sky Dive in the bowl below Mt Mckean and the upper part of Half Pipe. The afternoon was sunny and hot: 10 degreees in the sun but the snow on north faces above 2000m was holding up. Quite pleasant touring with gloves and hanging out on ridge tops in the sun.

Valhalla Lodge ski trip with Mike/VJ/Russ/Vicki/Anne-Marie/Rich/Andrea/Sean/Dad and of course Courtney. It has been a pretty dismal winter for snow this year but it seems our ski trips this season have been timed pretty well. After several weeks of drought winter seems to have returned… No skiing on day one as the visibility was too poor at the lodge to fly until late in the afternoon. We arrived to find 25cm of new snow and freezing levels (FL) below the lodge (which is at 2070m).

Today started blue-bird so did some south and west facing runs before they got sun hammered. One run in Cabin Bowl, then Praise Alley, long traverse to Gateway Pass, a couple runs down Rumplestiltskin and a final run on Twilight Zone. Couldn’t ski much below 1900m so runs were a little shorter than they could be and the snow got a bit warm in the sun later in the day but overall super ski quality and fun runs. Felt tired after today but often do on the first day of trips. Also lugging the heavy skis around as my dad is using the lighter ones.