Planning The Adventure
Preliminary Considerations 2016/2017
This
adventure was initially conceived on December 12, 2016
with Anders sending out a proposal to
a few of us over the hill friends suggesting we consider a spring ski
trip in 2017.
His proposed adventure was to reprise a ski traverse he had done 32
years
before. The Wapta Icefield is a very popular winter/spring ski touring
venue. There a many routes on and off the Icefields, with six Alpine Club
of Canada (ACC) huts located there that facilitate travel and
exploration of the area. The proposed route starts from Highway 93 near Bow Lake, crosses the lake, heads up the canyon of the creek that emanates from the Bow Glacier(the headwaters of the Bow River) then onto the benches above and to Bow
Hut. From Bow Hut the tour crosses the Wapta Icefied ,
Yoho and des Poilus glaciers, then up and over Isolated Col and down to the Little Yoho
Valley and Stanley Mitchell Hut. From Stanley Mitchell Hut the exit is generally via a 23 km valley
slog to the Trans Canada Highway near Field, although the more adventuresome can exit to Emerald Lake. The plan was to stay in three of the ACC huts and possibly
relive a bit of our past glories. Hey, the older we get, the better we were....
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| Bow Yoho Traverse Route |
I have
experienced many very memorable backcountry ski adventures with the proposed
participants….. Mt. Columbia in 18 hours with Mark, Skyline Eight pass with
Anders in 3 ½ days….. Mt. Balfour in a day from Takakkaw Falls with Dave…. among the many, many
other fine mountain adventures “enjoyed” over a lifetime of playing in these
Rocky Mountains. The proposed plan was very seductive.
I hadn’t
done much skiing in last couple of years, skiing very rusty, but might be
fun. Bookings were made for late April at Bow, Guy and Stanley Mitchell huts, Anders,
Dave, Mark, Wietze and I are in. Game on to get prepared.
It was
somewhat motivating to have a goal several months out, I got out on the Telemark(tele)
boards for a few trips, Shadow Lake cabins, Burstall Pass, etc….the standards in the area.
Fitness was decent enough, skiing less so.
Mid April
arrived, due to injuries and family commitments a couple participants had to
bail. The remainder decided also to bail. In retrospect it was the correct
choice as weather was crappy over the booked time…. Anders suggested could
maybe regroup for another run at it next year
Further Preliminary Considerations 2017/2018
Fast
forward to end of December 2017, Anders bravely sends out the request to try
again. Within 24 hours the same 5 of us are signed up for the April ski
adventure.
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| Ancient Ski Gear |
Again it
was very motivating to have a challenging goal out there to chase. This time I
had a little more fitness to gain (and weight to lose). I had not participated
in a ski traverse that lasted more than a day since 2008. Several years of
working too much, not particularly watching diet closely etc found me at an all
time weight high at Christmas 2017, this of course goes hand in hand with a
deteriorating level of fitness. Fortunately? I came down with flu in late
December that was a catalyst for life changing measures. Since it is little fun
to consume alcohol when sick, alcohol was banished after December 27. By mid
January we revamped our eating to a Paleo/Keto diet. The gym became a 2-3 times
per week event for first time in a few years. By mid February I had lost 15
pounds and had to start drinking beer again to keep from fading away
completely. In March my weight had stabilized about 18 pounds less than
Christmas. Back to a weight I hadn’t seen since the 1990’s. All good.
I also
felt the tele gear likely was not the best choice at this stage of my life and my
existing 3 sets of A/T(Alpine Touring) gear were between 12 and 22 years old
and perhaps were no longer considered state of the art.
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| Surplus boots |
I tossed the old gear in
the truck and dropped them off at Switching Gear in Canmore for new owners to
enjoy (should have done this 10 years ago!), they wouldn’t even bother to take
2 pairs of old tele skis or a pair of Tourlite Tech boots, too old to waste
floor space on they said.
I then sought out what was new in the A/T gear.
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| Volkl VTA88 Lite |
Armed
with clear direction from my friend Shawn on the latest and lightest equipment, I
located Volkl VTA 88’s at Vertical Addiction, Kreuzspitze titanium bindings and SkiTrab
skins at Ski Uphill and a pair of Scarpa Alien 1.0 boots at MEC. For under $2500! (much sticker shock was felt)
I was equipped with gear made from the proverbial hummingbird foreskins with holes drilled through
them (the lightest material known to man)!
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| Kreuzspitze Titanium |
All in the new gear weighs less than 2 kgs skis/boots/bindings/skins! The sale
of the used stuff helped offset about 25% of the costs of new gear and made
Elaine very happy with me clearing some unused gear out of basement ‘B’.
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| Scarpa Alien 1.0 |
The
boots were the hardest choice as I have an ankle scar from a 2005
surgery that
is very sensitive to rubbing. I tried a number of pairs on at MEC, none of the current year models felt comfortable. On the way out I noticed a pair of Scarpa Aliens from the previous year on the discount table. My Scottish heritage required that I have a look. They fit reasonably well so I took them home to try out. The 20% discount was a nice unexpected touch. I have found it difficult to locate a boot
that won’t
cause an injury by rubbing the thin scar tissue over the ankle bone,
which tends to fill my right boot with blood by the end of the
day. I cautiously tested the boots out. I skied around our White Post Lane neighbourhood initially, while not
exactly bedroom slippers, the boots were comfortable enough and did not create
any problems with my right ankle. I find out later that there is a high probability that Anders actually was a prior owner of my "new" Aliens. Seems he ordered a pair in the previous year but took them back as figured not materially better than what he had. Good chance there was another owner in between as big toes in both boots had been punched. Go figure.
Anders carried out a one on one in person ‘circle the wagons’ with all the participants in late
February. Taking our pulse to confirm interest. Mark,
Wietse and I reported we were still keen to go, however Dave indicated
he was
unable to attend. Anders recruited another friend, Kevin to take that
spot. We exited February with a full complement to fill the booked
spaces.
In March
and April, Mark and I got out for a couple training days. A tour up Healy Creek
to Simpson Pass and over to Sunshine was a
delight. A tour I hadn’t been on in close to 40 years, and never in that
direction. Next we went up into Twin Lakes area to just below Gibbon Pass. Another great, classic Rockies ski tour. Boots and skis performed
well. So far so good.
Anders got the group together for a face to face over beer in early April, we
confirmed who was bringing what group gear and meals… good process (and good
beer)
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| Kicking Horse CPR Ridge |
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| Kicking Horse Eagles Eye |
In mid
April my friend Bruce invited me up to Kicking Horse for a couple days of
on-piste resort skiing in last week of season. Delighted, I joined him for some
time on the new boards and the chance to work on locked down heel technique.
Most of my prior ski touring career and, in fact resort skiing, had been on
tele gear. Can’t say I was there to tune up my alpine downhill technique,
rather, my skills with locked down heels never really were developed very much.
Bruce had rented a condo on the hill, nicely located with easy access to hill
and the pub. Day 1 was a nice warm day. Armed with the $88 half day pass we
found winter snow at top of Gondola giving way to butter near the base, enjoyed
4 fine runs before calling it a day and heading to the pub. Fortified by a few
beers at the pub (and a few more later) a delicious dinner was prepared and
consumed, followed by stimulating conversation which stopped just short of
solving world hunger. Day 2 was cooler, the snow more stiff, the Volkls
with me at helm struggled some in the more challenging conditions, a couple
runs was enough for me. "Mission accomplished", I headed back to Calgary figuring I could link at least one
turn….
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| Pigs Back Summit |
A few days
later, just 10 days before our planned trip, Anders, Wietse and I got out for a fine ski tour around the Pigs Back south of Spray Lakes. Pigs Back is a fabulous short ski
tour, great views, excellent snow, highly recommended except for the approach road
from Canmore could use some serious maintenance work. Wietse’s car likely
needed a wheel alignment after the round trip on this pot hole filled cart
track. We were back to Anders’ Canmore residence by mid afternoon for beer and a
slice of delicious birthday cake from the previous night’s celebration of
Anders’ Mom’s day. A little later I noticed a slight rub had developed on my
right ankle, not serious but annoying;
I put it off to not loosening my boots
enough for end of tour where we had some flats and slight up/down to negotiate.
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| Mt. Birdwood - Burstall Valley |
Elaine and
I were out to Burstall area on the Friday before the big event. I test out the Toko spray on
universal klister that I had purchased at a ski sale. The feet seem fine in the boots,
the klister worked well, even put spray-on type on one ski and conventional on
other, compared well. I’m ready!
On the
weekend the gear starts to pile up in the woodroom floor. I choose to use Elaine’s
Z-Pack (less than 500 g) to save a bit of weight. In the end the pack is about 13.5
kgs (30 lbs) fully loaded, very manageable I hope.
The
weather forecast shows the next week to be awesome, clear skies, more snow on
the ground than we have seen in decades. Woohoo!. There is last minute concern
as to possible lower elevation avalanche issues so as good risk management we
decide a very early start from Bow Lake is prudent. We get to the eve of the adventure and still have 5 keen participants. Appears that maybe nothing will go wrong.
Experiencing The Adventure
Day 1 - April 23, 2018
Bow Lake to Bow Hut
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| Bow Hut Approach |
Pumped for
adventure, the appointed morning arrives. I’m up at 3AM and out the door by 3:30 and on the way to pick up Wietse
and then Mark. Seems I’m about 10 minutes early at Wietse’s place, but he is
ready to go. Same at Marks’s place, we are all excited enough to actually be
ahead of schedule. By 4:30 we and the gear are in the truck on
the road to meet Anders and Kevin at Lake Louise.
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| Bow Hut (Photo courtesy Wietse Bijlsma) |
From Lake Louise we head down the Field hill to drop
Kevin’s car at Yoho Valley Road, then back to Alberta and up to Bow Lake. We are on the skis by 7:30, it’s -10C in parking lot. No worries
of spring avalanches at this temperature. There is much snow in the Bow Lake area this year, perhaps a top quartile event?
It’s a frozen snow surface
from previous warm day. No sign of melting at edges or water underfoot as we ski across the lake.We wander up the canyon and onto
the upper valley benches.
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| Saint Nicholas Peak |
The side hill is tricky on the hard surface and my
right ankle starts to complain with a familiar ominous response. Hmmmm….
Many memories of past adventures in this area pass through my mind, one day Wapta tours on and off / up and down from Bow, Peyto, Hector and Wapta Lakes, a few overnight trips, a frozen play ground to challenge yourself in.
I try to ignore the ankle issue.....
The snow softens as we approach the gully that leads to the hut, 2 ½ hours out of the parking lot we arrive at the hut.
Many memories of past adventures in this area pass through my mind, one day Wapta tours on and off / up and down from Bow, Peyto, Hector and Wapta Lakes, a few overnight trips, a frozen play ground to challenge yourself in.
I try to ignore the ankle issue.....
The snow softens as we approach the gully that leads to the hut, 2 ½ hours out of the parking lot we arrive at the hut.
A large
group had just left and we placed our gear in some of the vacant spaces. When
sorting my gear for a day trip to Mount Gordon, I notice that I have apparently
forgotten my snack bag with chocolate,
nuts, coffee and water flavour crystals…. Oh well…. As it turned out didn’t
miss much other than coffee and Wietse was kind enough to supply some to me.
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| Mt Gordon |
Slopes
above where old Bow Hut was once located (about a 10 minute ski above the
existing location) were covered deep in snow, no obvious crevasses, had never
seen that in the numerous times I have been there in the past 4 decades. Saint Nicholas Peak stands guard over the landscape.
With no wind and warm temperatures we skied up to the summit of Mt Gordon. A fine summit on a clear day. Brought back memories of the last time I was on Mt Gordon with Duane (probably 30 years ago), we skied a delightful run that day on the west side of the mountain down to the Yoho glacier, apparently known as the Gordon Tongue…..
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| Anders, Mark, Kevin and Brian On Summit of Mt. Gordon (Photo courtesy Wietse Bijlsma) |
Wietse,
Mark and I reversed our route down the up track back to Bow Hut. Kevin and
Anders took the opportunity to go down the skier’s right side of Mt Gordon and
then onto Mt Olive where they climbed one of its peaks. They then skied a
lovely run back to the glacier, up and over Nicholas/Olive Col and down an
even more outstanding run on skier's right of Saint Nicholas Peak and back to Bow Hut. Brilliant!….
A big day for all, what was initially anticipated to be 6.5 kms to hut became
20+ kms and a peak or 2, worth the effort to get an early start.
On
arriving back at the hut, we found that other guests had a fire going in the
air tight stove in the sleeping room, said needed to dry the room out? Never did get
cool overnight, but it was dry except for the sweat. An 11 person guided group led by Jorg of OnTop arrived late in afternoon. The hut
would be nearly at rated capacity (30). We counted 27 pairs of skis against the
building. Could probably sleep the additional 3 bodies with minimal difficulty,
but there really isn’t adequate space to seat that many in the cooking area at
one time. Bow hut is really two separate buildings, one for cooking and one for
sleeping with a connecting corridor and adjacent outhouse building that is
accessed without going outdoors (nice touch).
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| Mt Olive |
I had
taken the opportunity to cook dinner the first night. Logic being I could
unload significant weight (5+ lbs) after only a 6.5 km ski. We enjoyed soup
followed by coleslaw and then a main of Lasagna with Garlic Toast. Decent fare
in a backcountry hut.
In bed by 9:00PM after an 18 hour day. A fitful
sleep was had by most, what with the elevated temperature and guys like me
snoring off key..
Day 2 - April 24, 2018
Bow Hut to Louise and Richard Guy Hut
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| Mt. Gordon from West |
Breakfast
works better than dinner at Bow Hut as groups are leaving at different times. The guided group
was up by 5 and most were away a little past 7. We are up at 6:30, and on the boards by 8:15. Not surprisingly, my breakfast of
champions; sardines and a boiled egg, did not seem to be favoured by most
observers? Works for me, provides energy throughout the day in combination with
periodic carb. snack injections
Soon we
are retracing our steps from yesterday afternoon back to height of glacier
above Bow Hut and following a good track that the 11 person OnTop group was
beating into to snow.
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| Ascending from the Yoho Glacier |
From the
height of glacier we skied down to and across the Yoho Glacier and up toward Mt
Collie. The guided group turned up toward Mt Collie where some would head to
the summit. Wietse, Mark and Kevin followed them up. With Jorg kicking steps 6 from the guided party and 3 from ours summited Mt. Collie. I chose to forego Mt Collie,
having been there many years ago in a day trip one January from the highway. My
feet were causing me pain as they had been suffering greatly from an attack by
the boots while crossing the Yoho Glacier. Worse, now as the pain was radiating
sharply into right shin and the left ankle was sympathetically now losing skin
in the same place as the right. Good Grief!
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| Mt. Collie Summit Ridge (Photo courtesy Wietse Bijlsma) |
Anders and I headed on and over to the Guy
Hut. It is not a far ski from the base of Collie to the Guy Hut, about 4.5 kms.
However, the route finding can be tricky. Even with an excellent GPS track file loaded in the Gamin and
a bluebird clear day, we inadvertently (foolishly? Incompetently?) followed a heavily tracked
route to a point where a small cliff blocked descent from the ridge, we should
have been about 100 feet lower… in the end no harm done, we retraced our steps
and got back on track in a few minutes. We then carried on to the ridge below
and SE of the cliff. From there one follows the ridge crest directly down to
hut. Anders put in some nice turns, I boot packed down to the hut to avoid any
mishaps that might be caused by poor ski technique and to avoid any further
pain in my ankles.
The Louise
and Richard Guy Hut is a very new modern structure, not quite 3 years old. Richard
Guy instructed math for Engineers when I was a freshman in 1973, I hear at 101
he still goes into the office every day and does the annual Climb for
Wilderness… If anyone needs a hero look no further. In the ACC summits series about Louise and Richard Guy lives, the quote below echos how I see myself.... Always shocking to look in the mirror and see my grandfather when in my mind the self image is still from my youth.
“I know that it’s ridiculous. I
clearly look like an old man and
I no doubt behave like an old
man but I feel like a kid.”
—Richard Guy
Richard was in the news as recently as last week
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-centenarian-climbs-tower-for-wilderness-association
http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/calgary-centenarian-climbs-tower-for-wilderness-association
Chic Scott has prepared a fine tribute this remarkable couple, link below.
http://acc.uberflip.com/i/546627-ss14-guy
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| Anders on ridge approaching Louise and Richard Guy Hut |
The
downstairs cooking/eating area is well designed, lots of room for cooking and
eating for the 18 capacity. Lots of burners, counter space, sinks etc. A minor
improvement could be achieved with a few cubbies for food like Bow Hut sports. This
would be a nice addition as food storage is currently in floor level cupboards
with no shelves.
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| Louise and Richard Guy Hut (Photo Courtesy Mark Balog) |
The
remainder of our group and the guided group soon arrived and plans were made to
ski Yoho Peak, an adjacent bump along the ridge.
The combination of our parties made for a diverse group, we enjoyed interesting
conversation on wide ranging topics. No one was injured from having a
politically incorrect opinion…. Or maybe we didn’t have any incorrect opinions?
Another
excellent meal was prepared by Anders, a delicious chili with Nan bread and chocolate courtesy of
Kevin later on as dessert. Mmmmmm….
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| Kevin descending Yoho Peak (Photo courtesy Anders Renborg) |
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| On deck at Guy Hut (Photo courtesy Anders Renborg) |
There was
a sign on the door when we arrived warning us of a renegade Pine Marten that
apparently liked to frequent the hut and is difficult to evict once inside. To
ensure it stayed out the windows could not be opened. OUCH! We enjoyed an even
hotter night than we had a Bow Hut, no need for the sleeping bag… To add to the
joy of an overly warm sleeping area there are two windmills attached to the
structure on the west side (appeared that only one is functioning). I once put a
similar Air 303 on the roof of my Payne Lake cabin. Quickly it was determined
that windmills on roofs create noise and vibration that makes sleep difficult.
It did not stay up long. Apparently whoever operates this cabin does not spend
much time there. We enjoyed the vibration and furling noise throughout the
night, as well as what seemed to be the sound of a failing bearing? This hut is
not likely to see a repeat visit while this equipment remains. Windmills are
not necessary here anyway, or at least could be disabled at night as there are 3000W of solar panels on the south roof,
assuming a decent battery pack this is lots for the small loads. And lighting
is backed up with propane.
Day 3 - April 25, 2018
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| des Poilus Glacier toe (Photo courtesy Anders Renborg) |
Louise and Richard Guy Hut to Stanley Mitchell Hut
I consume
another breakfast of champions. The guided group is planning a day of turns in
the des Poilus basin, figured Mt. des Poilus not in shape as not sufficient melt
freeze cycles. I overhear the Aussie guide Stuart saying that they didn’t need any
more lunches and then saw him feeding the Ravens sandwich meat, seemed odd as
they still had several days to go? We are out the door by 8:45, Wietse and I decide to boot pack
the steep slope below the hut.
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| Isolated Col from North (Photo courtesy Wietse Bijlsma) |
The snow surface is bullet proof on the decent
of des Poilus Glacier. It takes me only a few minutes to step a little too
close to a rock and plunge through the crust. A MICROspike is lost in the
process. Furious excavation yields nothing and I move on sans ‘icer’. (later to
be replaced by Katoola for $10US postage). Onto the skis I finish the
descent, the bindings release from chattering on the boiler plate. It’s 6 times
or more a charm getting back into them on the slope. (thanks Anders for
stabilizing….) marking the entry points would have been helpful. Mercifully we finally get
to the frozen lake at the toe of the des Poilus glacier.
Delighted that we didn’t
ski down the middle of it and over the ice cliff as seen in photo above…. (note Guy hut on ridge above skiers in photo)
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| Brian approaching Isolated Col (Photo courtesy Wietse Bijlsma) |
Across the
lake and it’s a short climb up to Isolated Col. There is a good track from
previous group(s) earlier in week. We are reminded spring conditions are
imminent as balls of snow roll by us at one point on the ascent, carrying on
we are at the col before noon. We hang around the col enjoying
the spectacles of the Little Yoho Valley ahead and the des Poilus behind,
awesome. Wietse and I boil up a coffee, the rest head over to take a run at
Mt.McArthur. I take opportunity to consume a whole tablet of Morphine as both
ankles and right shin pain is getting intolerable. Sadly again no perceptible
effect…. Maybe this shit does expire?
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| Isolated Col (Photo Courtesy Kevin Baggot) |
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| Wietse at Isolated Col |
Those ahead observe that the snow
pack is rapidly deteriorating to near the isothermal stage below the col, they shout
back that we should get a move on. It’s about a 500m descent to Stanley
Mitchell Hut, I boot pack the first 50m then put the skis on, survival skiing
and falling in soupy snow gets us into the thicker trees above the hut where I
boot pack the last section of the summer trail. WooHoooo… we are at the hut. (and
no one else is there … yet)
It's just a
pleasure to be at Stanley Mitchell Hut again. The last time I was there was
more than 20 years ago. Wietse and I and relax on benches enjoying the sunny
afternoon while the others head out to Kiwetinok Pass. It seems more skiing was in order
as the morning workout was insufficient.
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| Isolated Peak from South (Col on lookers right) |
We build a
fire to warm up the venerable hut. This building is old school with minimal windows
and dark wood. The wood stove is needed most months of the year to keep warm.
We leave
the door to the custodian room (known as the meat locker in earlier days when
staying there in January) closed so it doesn’t overheat the sleeping area.
Kevin is
up for dinner and doesn’t disappoint with a fine spaghetti. Anders provides a
delightful fruit dessert. Good food, good friends, good fun….. AND nobody else arrives, we have the
hut to ourselves!
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| Mark approaching Little Yoho Valley |
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| Stanley Mitchell Hut (Photo courtesy Wietse Bijlsma) |
A great sleep was had in the Stanley Mitchell meat locker. The cool temperatures and quiet were heavenly, almost unheard of with more folks taking advantage of these ACC backcountry facilities.....another best sleep ever…..
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| Stanley Mitchell Hut (Photo courtesy Mark Balog) |
Day 4 - April 26, 2018
Stanley Mitchell Hut to Trans Canada Highway
We are up before 7AM to prepare to get out of Dodge. We see Anders and Kevin
off on their ski up the President Glacier and ultimately as it turned out the
summit of the Vice President. For breakfast, I finally ate one of the wrap sandwiches
I had brought for lunch. I hated the thought of carrying all 5 of the wraps the
entire distance.
We leave
the hut about 8:30, the snow is boiler plate. Side slipping and snow plowing
are the best tools I have to start. Wietse suggests that the skins go on, good
call for awhile, until we take the boards off to walk down the Laughing Falls switch backs.
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| Yoho Valley Road (Photo Courtesy Mark Balog) |
The trail
gets better after Laughing Falls, sadly there is still elevation to
drop on the long traverse toward Takakkaw as well as some up. We try putting on spray Universal
Klister for some grip but it has no effect (damn) maybe the snow is not soft
enough yet? I almost lose a ski on the
descent toward Takakkaw Falls,
must have had a "luck side up"
horseshoe in my ass as the ski tip stuck in snow as it left the trail
headed toward Terra Incognito. The only time I can recall being happy
about a buried ski tip…. Whewwww….
Sometimes you get lucky, even when you do stupid things….
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| Yoho Valley Road Parking - the end of the tour |
We are at Takakkaw campground by 11:00. A toboggan type pull sled is sitting in the middle of the trail with bags on it? We are hoping it has a motorized sled somewhere to pull it. Not so, turns out to be porters schlepping supplies and drinks up for Jorg’s guided group at Stanley Mitchell... That’s why the Ravens were gifted the goods the previous day….
We try the
Klister again and still is ineffective. Lesson learned, stay away from the discount bin. It’s still 13 kms to the highway. The
skins go back on to get up the hill coming out of the fall’s area. We then
enjoy a bit of downhill and double poling to the switchbacks.
There is much avalanche activity in the valley, onto the road in a number of places. Spring has arrived!
I try the Klister again for the last flat ski out, still useless. We skin up and slog the last 5kms or so to the car. Out at 2:30, a 6 hour sufferfest.
There is much avalanche activity in the valley, onto the road in a number of places. Spring has arrived!
I try the Klister again for the last flat ski out, still useless. We skin up and slog the last 5kms or so to the car. Out at 2:30, a 6 hour sufferfest.
Still not
done though, we head to Lake Louise to top up the gas (as well as soft drinks and junk food)
then onto Bow Lake to get the truck. The truck is
stocked with celebratory malted beverages which we enjoy and have a passing tourist take a
few pics with my phone.
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| Enjoying Celebratory Beverages at Bow Lake Parking |
And still
not ready to head east as need to shuffle the car back to Emerald Lake for Anders and Kevin to enjoy
tomorrow. We wait an hour for highway avalanche control at ABC border,
arriving at Emerald Lake after 5 where we drop the car and
head east.
Getting
hungry as we pass by Canmore we stop at A&W for a burger. Great deal on
Teen burgers! As a bonus we are solicited for cash by a native gentlemen, who
threatened us with violence when we decline. We are back to ‘civilization’.
We drop Mark
off, Wietse and I pick up a bottle of wine each to enjoy with wives later. I am lucky enough
to meet Wietse’s wife Tessa prior to heading home, arrive at White Post Lane at
9:00 PM. The 6 ½ hour car ferry / drive home after a 6 hour ski…. A long day,
fabulous last best ski traverse ever.
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| Summit of Vice President (Photo courtesy Kevin Baggot) |
While we slogged out the Yoho Valley road, Anders and Kevin enjoyed a fine day in the Little Yoho Valley. They ascended the Presidents Glacier to Presidents Col and went on to summit the Vice President!
The next day Anders and Kevin navigated the Iceline Trail toward Yoho Pass. Kevin describes it as "somewhat more challenging once we dropped down towards Yoho Pass". He goes on to say that "we made it out safely and skied the last 5K in our shorts and t-shirt!!!" and further that they 'Were met by 3 Chinese ladies who wanted their picture (rotated around for all 3 of their phones for pic) with "mountain guys and their skis" '
Hard to experience a more spectacular exit from this or any other adventure.
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| The Iceline (Photo Courtesy Kevin Baggot) |
Five days of perfect weather, blue bird days, warm temperatures, yet manageable avalanche risk . Hard to imagine we could have been luckier. Just happy to have experienced this fantastic adventure.
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| Emerald Lake (Photo Courtesy Kevin Baggot) |
Snow shoes and crampons/icers will have to suffice for winter adventures, not as fast as skis, but much less challenging to manage. Had a great time both in lead up and on the tour, but would now seem appropriate to accept reality.....
