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canada snow

ski tour: rockbound lake

Woah, it’s been a while… I haven’t been on the internet much, although I have found the time to make a pie chart displaying exactly how much time I’ve been spending at work and in transit and sleeping, leaving only 3 hours or so at home for laundry/dinner cooking/grocery shopping/going for bike rides/bouldering…. But anyway, prepare for an onslaught of backdated adventures. With lots of pictures and not many words no doubt.

 

Rockbound Lake, nestled underneath the ramparts of Castle Mountain

 

This one is more of a Nordic trail than anything else, with just one little steep section to get from the lower lake to Rockbound Lake. Optional to keep going to the top of Castle Mountain, but much higher avy risk as you go further. We just stopped and had lunch at the lake then flew down the packed trail home again.

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canada general snow

to the inkpots

The avalanche danger has been very high recently, so a lot of the more interesting backcountry skiing has to be avoided at all costs. And most of what’s leftover has to be approached with a healthy dose of paranoia.

So on my day off I went and did what was basically a hideously ungroomed nordic trail, with no avalanche danger whatsoever, as it was so flat and far from anything that could conceivably be viewed as a skiable slope. But still pretty.

 

 

We kept the mountains at a healthy distance, and there were signs of natural avalanche activity everywhere.

 

The Inkpots

 

But there was sun! And even if the downhill back to the car didn’t involve floating through fresh powder, well at least it was downhill.

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canada general snow

that strange source of light hanging in the sky

The sun shone on us feebly from far away.
 

 

But the snow was soft and fluffy.
 

Mt Assiniboine

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canada general snow trip reports

rogers pass

First trip out to Rogers Pass – three days in Asulkan Valley, staying at Asulkan Cabin. Below the glaciers, above the trees – it snowed the whole time we were there, so visibility wasn’t great, but the tree skiing was excellent.

Starting out on the trail – sorting out packs.

Skinning up to the hut

Alex, telemarking down again

Asulkan Cabin – the skin collection hung a lot thicker first thing in the morning, half of the people in the hut had already headed off by the time this photo was taken.

James contemplating the skin back up.

The view back down to the hut and Asulkan Valley

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canada general snow

storm mountain, Kootenay/Banff NP

A very silly day out on a ski tour by Storm Mountain, on the border of Kootenay and Banff National Parks.. We spent most of it climbing over and under fallen trees, before finally reaching this opening and actually going uphill for a while.