The Rockies continue to offer opportunities for big lines.
I’m certainly not going to make any predictions on the weather this season! But if we’ve had this much good stability and “spring-like” conditions, how good is spring going to be?
Perhaps it is damning them with faint praise, but the Rockies have been the best skiing in Western Canada at numerous points this season and that usually doesn’t happen until April. Pictures of the high alpine faces like Mt Forbes and the Lyells caked fat with snow are circulating online and the avalanche rating seems stuck at LOW. It makes you think Biglines.com could be a busy site this spring.
Right now, variable surface conditions dominate the backcountry but you can find nice snow. Not deep, but shreddable. Lower elevations have poor coverage for sure but some high faces remain caked owing partly to a lack of big wind events.
This week the Aemmer Couloir on Mt Temple, Mt. Aberdeen, the Y Couloir on Stanley and the ¾ Couloir got skied, as did numerous others I’m sure I haven’t heard about. The Arch Chute on the French Glacier saw a few parties too, including one that needed a heli evac for a skier with an ankle injury. Generally though, it seems like everyone that’s been getting out has been having fun.
Birth Canal
One of the chutes on the north face of Mt Whymper was skied a couple of weeks ago by Lavigne, Wexler and friends. https://vimeo.com/120793315
If you haven’t checked out Andrew Wexler’s blog yet, Do It! And see what a real Rockies Mountain Man is all about. http://www.globalalpine.com/
The other Rockies blog to watch for spring time motivation is Ruari Macfarlane’s at https://ruarimacfarlane.wordpress.com/
These guys and their blogs show how much fun you can have out there these days and we’re all lucky they choose to share their adventures online for the whole world to see.
Monarch Mtn. Chute on the N side
I got out last week with Martin Lefebvre on Mt. Narao. Here’s a quick video of our day.