Located at the head of the Connaught Valley, Cheops North Bowl is a classic intermediate ski tour at Rogers Pass. With the mighty Cheops Mountain towering above, the descent offers 550m of north-facing skiing. Exposed to large overhead alpine slopes, you’ll feel small skiing down this route, especially when traversing under the notorious STS Couloir. The bowl’s shape often preserves the snow when the rest of Rogers Pass is experiencing high winds. If you’re looking for some extra excitement, the bowl can be entered from the skier’s right, down a corniced fan, and exited through steep, wind-loaded chutes that are frequent avalanche performers. The access to Cheops West Bowl is straightforward. It requires a gradual climb to Balu Pass and up the Cheops West Ridge, rewarding you with a unique perspective of the glaciers, south of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Related: Balu Pass, Rogers Pass: Old Faithful Ski Tour

Report from November 27, 2025

After two days of heavy rain to 2300m, Freddy and I figured now was a great time to kick-start our ski touring season at Rogers Pass. Fortunately, the tail end of the storm system brought 20cm of dense powder, burying the burly melt-freeze crust. With a forecasted warm spell settling in over the day, we hoped the warm snow would stick to the crust and cushion our turns. We planned on skiing a classic of the Connaught Valley, the Cheops North Bowl.

We followed the standard Connaught uptrack, aiming to gain Balu Pass. With the low elevation coverage, we stepped over rocks, roots and cautiously maneuvered over gaping streams. In the early season, it’s best to budget some extra time to navigate the valley bottoms. Surprisingly, the fresh rain crust helped shield our skis from the rocks on the trail. After two hours of continuous side-hilling, we gained Balu Pass and stumbled into old friends, Chris and Will, who happened to share the same objective.

We took a breather at the pass, snacking on granola bars and dehydrated mangoes – my all-time favourite in the backcountry. Looking south, we could see the Loop Brook, Asulkan and Illecillewaet Valleys in the distance. It got me excited about our upcoming winter and all the epic terrain at our fingertips. We mosied across Balu Pass, arriving at the foot of the Cheops West Ridge, the next leg of the ski tour.

As we climbed the broad shoulder, I probed for potential wind slabs and evaluated our snowpack. For a heavily wind-scoured feature, I was surprised to find more than 180cm of snow across the slope. Beyond, the alpine was caked in snow. The warm temperature and heavy snow had coated our mountains, filling in boulder holes, open creeks and eroded gullies. Despite the recent rain, that’s a great start for the 2025-2026 season. With Will expertly breaking trail at the front, we gained the distinct bench, marking the entrance of the Cheops North Bowl.

While the crew executed a quick transition, Will (being Will) pulled a beer out of his bag and crushed it on the spot. Not my style, but I can appreciate the effort to haul it up the hill. Will and Chris decided to ski Nicci’s Notch, an advanced line nearby. We dropped into the bowl, ski cutting the convex entrance to evaluate the wind slab’s reactivity. The warm snow offered smooth, groomer-like skiing, thankfully cushioning the crust below. While I wouldn’t call that powder skiing, it was as enjoyable as it was different from what we’re used to at Rogers Pass. The vast alpine terrain was looming overhead, making us feel very small in comparison.

As we approached the traverse under STS Couloir, we noticed a string of avalanche debris emerging from the steep couloir above. The debris had carved out the terrain, leaving great big gullies of tough ice. We carefully descended through the challenging section and raced down to the valley bottom once clear of the debris. In times of better stability and snow quality, I often ski the steep chutes directly below the bowl. They are often loaded by the downflow winds, blowing from the top of Balu Pass.

Route Info

7-8 h	1020m	11 km	1330-2250 m