Albert Icefields Trip: A Week In The Deep Freeze

Earlier this year my friends, Justin, Gavin and I had planned a week of ski touring up on the Albert Icefields, below Selkirk Lodge for February.  We had set the dates aside in September but little did we know the dates we had chosen was going to be one of the coldest weeks of the winter, with temperatures dipping below -30 degrees C each night.  But stubborn as we were, the skiing and terrain was going to be fun, so we committed to cold nights and cold days.

(Video:  Justin Ormiston)

We were flown in, with the gracious permission of Grania who runs the lodge, with Selkirk Tangiers helicopters.  After quick flight in and we were in the expansive area of the Albert Icefields for the week.  Big glaciers, amazing consistent fall-line ski runs, and steep terrain.

(Photo Above:  Home for the duration of the deep freeze.  Credit:  Justin Ormiston)

We had brought one tent for sleeping, and a small floor-less cook tent, which we excavated a nice seat and trench out of for the week.  Tons of great food for dinners, fuel, and of course a few bottles of high end Scotch.

(Photo Above:  Alex Wigley and Gavin Enns on the skin track up on the way to "Unholy."  Credit: Justin Ormiston)

Our goals for the week were only to ski tour great loops, not yo-yo terrain, and ski some fantastic dry snow.  We were able to get up on to some of the glaciers, which were impressively large, and ski some of the most classic descents the area had to offer.

(Photo:  Still obscenely cold, Alex Wigley about to drop into Campion Bowl. Credit:  Justin Ormiston)

The cold though was a touch tricky.  Of the three sleeping mats I had brought, two had holes I discovered the first night (and were the large luxurious and warm Exped Mats, that a friend had punctured while performing a rescue with), and it seemed that every morning getting out of the sleeping bag was a big effort.  The cook tent, was truly amazing though, as the two XGK stoves warmed it up significantly and made the process of making food bare able until the sun hit us.

(Photo Above:  Justin Ormiston on the Unholy Col.)

(Photo Above:  Gavin shredding another line below the Unholy Col.  Credit:  Justin Ormiston)

It was a great week, but we ended up running away as it so cold, and all of us were becoming very concerned with frost bite.  I would recommend Selkirk Lodge to anyone who wants to head out for a week of ski touring in big country.  The lodge looked great from our cold tents, and the sauna was a tease, knowing it was just up the hill.  We had a great week, and was a great break from guiding to go skiing with some friends.

TLH Guiding Season

I will open this post with one image, found below.  When it snows 5cm an hour, starting as fast as a you can flip a switch, you know the skiing is going to be good.... providing you can scrape the ice of the rotor blades before you can go skiing.

(Photo Above:  The whole group pitching in to clean ice of the rotor blades so we can fly!  Credit:  Andrew Doran)

This winter season started on an interesting note.  We had a few challenging days trying to find high quality snow, but were still finding good quality, so began exploring more.  Not just exploring, but adding more fun to the package, and making sure people got the full experience of the mountains.  We decided that if it wasn't going to be the best snow in the world, each descent had to be special.  So, we went ski-mountaineering via helicopter.

(Photo Above:  Guest rapping in, Scott Flavelle ferrying gear for the descent.  Heli-Skiing at it's best!)

So after a day of ski-mountaineering from the helicopter, it started snowing, and lots.  My friend Vince Shuley, who I've skied with lots and who also happens to be a talented photographer and writer in Whistler, showed up for a week with us to shoot photos so we focused on mining only the deepest snow possible.  The snow ended up being so deep, many shots were thrown out due to the skier being completely invisible from the immense amount of blower pow around them.  Can't really complain about those problems.

(Photo Above:  Jeff our ski model mining white gold in the Slim.  Credit:  Vince Shuley)

(Photo Above:  When's it starts to clear, go to the alpine, Chad harvesting.  Credit:  Vince Shuley)

Fast forward to later in the season, and we're dropping into 50 degree lines with hero snow, and skiing perfect 38 degree slopes and dry snow.  Skiing was so good, we parked our photographer's Randy and Andrew across the valley to shoot some great photos from across the valley, while skiing in the Leckie zone.

(Photo Above:  Guiding an amazing line with perfect hero snow in the Leckie.  Photo:  Andrew Doran)

(Photo Above:  Rolling the steep couloirs with the group finally!  Photo:  Andrew Doran)

Finished my last shift Heli-Ski Guiding, but so stoked on a great season, ready for more next year!

TLH Setup 2014

The Guide's work is never done, and it's an interesting year out there, as British Columbia has definitely seen so far.  We just did a shift working on setting up TLH Heliskiing, focusing on getting everything ready, but more importantly sussing out the snowpack and checking out glaciers.

I think the one thing many people can take home from a few of our observations is that we need more snow, but not as much for our snowpack depth, but for the coverage on glaciers.  Crevasses have started to bridge, however, with the winds they are bridged very thinly and very discretely.  This was discovered very quickly, when we descended down a pocket glacier (probing our way down), and found a few crevasses that were perfectly smooth on top with no visible sagging.  So with that discovery, our goal was to find runs that either had smooth glaciation with no holes, or simply no glaciation at all (at least until we get a number more big storms coming through).

(Photo Above:  Scott Flavelle probing a unknown width but deep crevasse, perfectly concealed by the wind and snow, only a small amount of snow bridging it.  Notice the clues on the rib in the background, where the crevasse goes up to, and subtly suggests it's there.  Too bad those clues aren't everywhere.)

(Photo Above:  Deciding we don't want to ski down a glacier riddled with slots that we are unable to see.  Erika Flavelle and Conny Amelunxen escaping to a new pick-up.  You can go Ski Mountaineering when hell-skiing!)

The other main goal while setting up is to establish a strong understanding of what is going on in the snowpack.  We go out, dig multiple profiles, in different elevation bands, different terrain features, and different aspects to learn what's going on.  During the guides meeting, we focus on what we don't know, and then form our field objectives around learning and shedding light on those concerns.  By the end of the week, we've got the snowpack pretty sussed out, and understand the variety of changes though out the tenure which is a touch larger than Switzerland.  This process is key for us, but the process is standard even for recreationalists.  Find our as much information as possible, if you have questions about an aspect, elevation, or layer, answer those questions.  Just don't go ski something if you are unsure.

Overall, it's great to get out check out the terrain, travel through the mountains, and of course heli ski with friends in between "working."

(Photo Above:  Alex Wigley on White Cross, "working".  Photo Credit:  Conny Amelunxen)

Closin' It Down On The Last Week At TLH

I just got back from the last week of operations at TLH.  Great group, actually fantastic, and probably some of the best conditions we've had all year.  Dry deep snow, sunshine, and a single helicopter to use in an area bigger than Switzerland.

(Photo Above:  Alex Wigley (left) Ken Gray (right) flying laps in The Gun.  Credit:  Andrew Doran)

Guiding this week wasn't as simple as most spring weeks, as there was a hair trigger layer of 20mm Surface Hoar buried 30-75cm down on a hard Melt Freeze Crust.  The snow on top of it was high quality dry snow, but continued to build a slab with multiple convective flurries dropping 10-25cm each day on top of it.  Needless to say, anything above 2350m steeper than 30 degrees was avalanching when we walked or landed on ridges.  It took careful planning to negotiate through and avoid run outs.

(Photo Above:  One of many remote triggered avalanches on Surface Hoar)

(Photo Above:  Alex Wigley leading another line in The Gun.  Credit:  Andrew Doran)

As for our guests, one in particular spent the time to create an amazing video of his trip, and it turned out great.  Check it out.

Heli Boarding BC, Canada, April 2013 from Niki Luysterburg on Vimeo.
Great season, stoked to be out exploring such amazing terrain with such great people.

Lucky 13 - TLH Spring Work Shift

Week 13, lucky 13, at TLH was on.  And when it's on... it's on.  46,000m skied in a week, with some down time and hanging out at the Meager hot springs, 11 First Descents (1 more may be confirmed), major peaks and aggressive lines skied every day, teetering landings with the helicopter no wider than 140cm, bluebird skies, and making ice cream at lunches.  I can say, wow, what a week.

(Photo Above:  Jonny Simms standing on top of Toba Peak after a knife edge landing. 50 deg roll in!)

When conditions are so good you can simply point to the line you wish to ski and be there moments later.  Exploring massive ranges far from any signs of human life, and white expanses as far as the eye can see, the feeling of being "out there" can be hard to achieve with a helicopter; but for the time spent last week we felt... "out there."  So out there we could even see Mt Waddington and the Tiedemann Range all week!

(Photo Above:  Tiny knife edge ridges after balancing the heli to land, Jonny fired up for the down climb.)

(Photo Above:  Alex Wigley warming up on Bridge Peak North. Photo Credit:  Randy Lincks)

Among some of the lines we skied, was Thor.  Mt Athelstan's massive couloir dropping from high in the alpine down through a usually ice filled couloir, and large avalanche chutes to the valley below.  The line hasn't been skied by a group in 11 years, but this week it was in condition.

(Photo Above:  Mt Athelstan and "Thor" as seen in February this year, waiting for a descent.)

(Photo Above:  Jonny Simms dropping into the legendary Thor)

One more week to go up at the lodge, hopefully it will be sunny so we can crush more lines!

(Photo Above:  Mt Magaera.  Waiting for some skis to paint on it's white canvas.)

New Spearhead Traverse Record

Well, it finally went down.  The new record for the Spearhead Traverse is now 3 Hours 10 Minutes, completed yesterday (March 25th, 2013) by Eric Carter and Nick Elson.  The previous record was held by Greg Hill at 4 Hours 1 Minute.  Congrats boys!

Check out their Trip Report Here.

TLH Work Shift: Exploring

A few years ago I remember starving, surviving on cans of soup, no money in my pockets, and weeks away from any decent sum of money that would help correct my starving belly.  I skied in white-outs on huge broken glaciers that week, while stressing about the snowpack on the slopes ahead, and training for guiding and avalanche exams in the future.  This week of guiding made me remember back to that week as I've given so much towards guiding, skiing, and especially the mountains; but know how they give back more than you could ever expect.  This week filled my craving for exploring new areas, that feeling of being way out there, the need for feeling small in big places, and the feeling of the ground moving quickly beneath my feet.  

(Photo Above:  Mathieu smashing pillows on Trinity, The Matrix)

Starting out our week we began by taking our guests to ski pillow lines, 1000m tree shots with hundreds of diving boards to launch on the way down, and some big high speed alpine runs.  The snow felt creamy, and had that fantastic feeling of never ending length to each run, even though we skied comfortably as fast as our skis would allow.  

(Photos Above:  Conny shucking Oysters for Lunch, the view out Jervis Inlet from our lunch spot)

Taking a step beyond the norm of eating lunch below or on top of some massive mountain face, we stepped outside of the large glaciers, and flew to Jervis Inlet to land on the beach and pick Oysters.  A completely different landscape than what we were skiing 20 minutes ago, complete with seagulls flying over calm salty waters with steep mountains fencing the inlet on all sides.  It was too hard to believe we had skied a 1200m run on Mazerati Highway moments before, and now were standing with the ocean lapping up against our ski boots, while we picked Oysters straight out of the water at our feet.  After eating our fill, we were out through the Clendenning Range and back through to the Manatee for more enormous runs and pillow lines.

(Photo Above:  Mathieu speeding through the side of Mazerati Highway, in the Manatee Range)

(Photo Above:  Conny Amelunxen cruising through an endless glacier of interesting snow bridges and remarkable features.)

On the morning of our first group of guests last day, we had been skiing big curling glaciers, with beautiful and stable snow.  Conny spotted a line between two regular runs, that had never been skied, but with the conditions at hand looked like it went without too much fuss.  Within 2 minutes we had flown by and dropped off the top.  We threaded our way down between two patches of exposed ice, and to the helicopter, naming the line "Treaty of Ghent".  Another first descent on the list, and weirdly done without punishing ourselves climbing it first, a first for me (so I guess to the true pure FD is still up for grabs!).

(Photo Above:  Alan dropping in through the ice on the First Descent of "Treaty of Ghent")

(Photo Above:  Conny Amelunxen leading the charge down The Fasp)

Skiing with another group of guests, on a bluebird powder day, we lucked out and ended up spending a day in "The Gods".  The Gods are a massive array of broken glaciers, summit to valley ski descents, spines, and everything a real skier could ever ask for.

(Photo Above:  Alex Wigley warming up on Nectar, before heading to the Gods.  Photo Credit:  Randy Lincks)

Spending time in the mountains away from home helps keep my demons away, and keeps others close, as perfect conditions allow us to step into terrain that force us to realize how small we truly are.  I'll always give everything I could ever give to the mountains, because they give back more it so many ways, and sometimes in ways you would never expect.  This past shift made me remember that.

(Photo Above:  Mount Athelstan, The Gods)

Work Block At TLH

I just finished up a two week work block at TLH Heli-Skiing.  For our first group, I was surprised when I greeted the guys from Mountain Life whom I know from Squamish, and some people from Europe at the helicopter.  I could tell it was going to be a great week with our crew.  In true Canadian style after doing the beacon training, we played hockey out on the lake with the sun setting in the mountains, and beers in the cold.

(Photo Above:  Mountain Life Magazine Crew and TLH Guides and Staff Hockey Tournament)

We had tricky conditions to find snow, but we made it work, skiing some of our biggest tree lines and some really cool big features.  We managed to find pillow lines, cliff hucks, half pipes, and fall away rollers immediately.  Even more amazing is the area's we made it into that don't get skied on a regular basis such as The Matrix, and some steep runs called African Tribesman.  Check out the great online feature on Mountain Life from their trip here.

(Photo Above:  Your's truly around the White Cross area.  Credit:  Todd Lawson)

(Photo Above:  Heli Landing underneath some of TLH's "smaller" alpine features.  Credit:  Todd Lawson)

Fast forward through the next group cruising big alpine bowls, blasting steep trees and skiing fast open runs to the third group.  With new snow falling and the storm still going we went searching for long tree runs.  Those snow geeks out there will note that the storm came in covering the January 23rd Surface Hoar and Facet layer, and within our tenure we didn't see a large amount of natural activity, although one avalanche failed on the January 04 Surface Hoar layer.

(Photo Above:  Snowboarder shredding 'Puerto Rico' in the Taylor area)

(Photo Above:  GoPro's, mountains, and really big toys  Run:  Tahiti Bite.  Thanks Lorenz Muggli!)

When the sun broke again we were lucky enough to have amazing views, and good stability, which translated into shredding really cool runs!  It's important to know that every week at TLH is steep week, if conditions permit, and we got on stuff that was steep and aesthetic.  Chutes, big faces, massive alpine features and bowls, stoked to be out so far in the coast and have the chance to ski all this amazing terrain.  Especially happy when the conditions lined up to drop into a line that was 45 degrees, full of pillows and great cliff hucks, in perfect thigh deep powder.

(Photo Above:  One of our guys squeezing in the last of our light for the day)

(Photo Above:  Heli-Ski Sightseeing while skiing between Ethelweard and Icemaker Mountains)

Now, I got a week off for some rest and relaxation, along with some Ski Touring!  Stoked on shredding at work and at home!
Vertical Skied on Shift:  62,025m (203,494 ft)

Guiding At Whitecap Alpine

There are a few places where everything lines up; terrain, location, snow quality, storm and good stability skiing, good food, etc.  I had the chance to get up to Whitecap Alpine to guide last week and spent an amazing week skiing blower snow in a deep cold Coastal storm, and also under the blue skies of an Arctic Outflow cruising around the high alpine.

(Photo Above:  One of our guests taking his skiing to new heights, Melissa's Run Area, Whitecap Alpine)

The first group of guests were lucky enough to see a solid amount of snow fall under perfect conditions, with little to no wind, on top of a well settled snowpack.  It was exactly what every guide hopes to see from a storm, with little issues in stability and thus able to get high reward skiing in on the steeps.

Among our guests were two professional photographers who took every chance they could to capture amazing images, and also got some amazing lines into their photo spots.  Jonathan Hayward from the Canadian Press had his shots published in the Vancouver Sun (see them here), and Paul 'Harv' Wright was nice enough to toss me a great photo; seen below.  Check out his website at wrightmoment.com.

(Photo Above:  Owner Lars Andrews hard at work, photo Paul Wright)

Our first group of guests were lucky enough to be snowed in at the lodge for an extra day, so while we waited for the helicopter we snuck in some of Chef (and amazing rock climber) Kinley Aitken's amazing food and sampled more deep deep powder.  Each run more amazing than the last.

When the storm finally lifted, and we managed to transfer our new group in, the weather really improved.  Lars Andrews, Joey Vosburgh, and myself ended up taking the crew on a huge loop up one side of the range, around, down, and back up the other side for a mega tour to really visit as much of the tenure as possible.  Conditions were stellar with cold powder, blue skies, and still yet deep trail breaking.

(Photo Above:  Group skinning up for another summit bootpack)

(Photo Above:  Group arriving up high in the alpine on the first day, amazing views in every direction)

Each day we skied thousands of feet of vertical, in an area that could be described as a ski and snowboard touring playground.  If there is one place I am stoked to work and ski, this is it, the possibilities are endless.  Guests were stoked, guides were having a blast, it was the way it should be.  Now after a few days off it's off to TLH for some Heli Skiing!  I'll miss ski touring, Whitecap was amazing.

TLH Setup

Just got back from an incredible few days up at work.  The goal of the week wasn't to guide but to get everything ready for when guests arrive.  We ended up flagging helicopter landings throughout the entire tenure, dug snow profiles everywhere possible, and "tested" the snow with our skis as well.

(Photo Above:  Snow info exchange, then.... skiing)

The goal of digging lots of snow profiles is important, and I like to do this myself throughout the beginning and rest of the year so that I can make better plans in regards to avalanche hazard, weather, and terrain.  Areas such as the Whistler Blackcomb area are very different than say for example the Steep Creek Area, Brandywine, or Coquihalla even though they are all in the Coast.  They are all subject to different weather, see different temperatures, snowfall amounts and weights, along with wind and sun.  So flying around the massive tenure is important, just the same as travelling throughout all your regular mountain ranges to gain relevant snowpack information is.

(Photo Above:  Yes this is work, what line to ski?)

(Photo Above:  Ski Tech and Aspirant Guide Ben in the early morning light, already way out in the Ochre Range)

Day 1, we saw a bit of snow around 2cm, and the rest of the day was mostly broken sky.  But we still got lots of stuff done, skied some runs, and dug a bunch of profiles.

(Photo Above:  Our Operation Manager cruising off after we finished our test profile, North of the Dickson Range.)

(Photo Above:  Fasp Peak Couloir, Salal Creek Area)

Day 2, was stellar.  Unbelievably beautiful weather, high quality hero snow, no wind, cold temps, and fuel to burn.  We skied runs in nearly every sub range, dug 10 profiles, ski cut, ate amazing food, checked out some great terrain for potential ski descents, and flagged a large part of the tenure.

This year is looking up to be a great one!  Happy New Year everyone!

Mt Howard Couloir

As some may have read in a previous post, I have thought of one of the top ways to have a great season is to ski somewhere new every week, which is exactly what we did yesterday.  Christina Lusti, Jason Kruk, Paul Cordy, Jeff Van Driel, and I all headed out, expecting a bit of sun, to Mt Howard to check out it's impressive face and couloir just beyond the Vantage Matier Col.

And rather than the typical trip report, I thought I'd try something new, with primarily just photographs from the day (many of which didn't come out since we were whited out after climbing to the top).  Enjoy!

(Photo Above:  Skinning over the Vantage Matier Col with a very broken Twin One Glacier ahead of us)

(Photo Above:  Jason Kruk transitioning beneath the looming Mt Howard)

(Photo Above:  The crew finding the way through a small wind curl to gain the Pocket Glacier guarding the summit)

(Photo Above:  The Upper Face of Mt Howard, as seen from the Pocket Glacier halfway up)

(Photo Above:  The crew on the skintrack making our way on a shelf 3/4 of the way up the face)

(Photo Above:  Skinning up the upper shelf to the base of the couloir, stoked to be somewhere new.  Photo By:  Christina Lusti)

(Photo Above:  Transitioning from skins to bootpacking at the mouth of the couloir.  Photo By:  Christina Lusti)

(Photo Above:  Jason Kruk crushing the bootpack up the Couloir.  Photo By:  Christina Lusti)

(Photo Above:  Finishing up the climb and topping out on an incredibly windy ridge)

(Photo Above:  Christina Lusti showing how it's done, even in a white out)

(Photo Above:  Alex Wigley finishing up the Couloir.  Photo By:  Christina Lusti)