Interior BC weather has been brewing something gnarly for the last three weeks. Finally, after three consecutive storm cycles, we got a break in the weather pattern. Blue skies and 60cm of fresh snow was on the menu. Wanting an easy day out in Rogers Pass, Laurent and I decided to ski the Cougar Creek East avalanche path, starting below the summit of Ross Peak.

Related: Ross Peak Southeast Couloir: Steeps And Bare Ice

Report from January 9, 2020

After spending the last month in thick fog, mother nature had a surprise in her bag of goodies. As soon as we hopped on our skis, the low-lying fog parted way for sunshine and blue skies. Actually, partly cloudy skies. It still made my day.

We headed towards the massive pillow field, right below Ross Peak, a great spot for freeriders looking for a session kind of day. Many forget this is still a backcountry area with its many dangers. On the way in, we offered help to a wrecked skier who bit cleanly through his lip and dislocated his jaw. Thick blood was pouring from his face. He failed to land a frontflip from a huge pillow. It had to be an 8-10m drop. Word of advice: keep those shenanigans on the resort.

As expected, there was well-conceived uptrack crisscrossing the treeless expanse. We bolted up the path weary of the unaware skiers dropping above us.

With some helpful tree belays, we ascended through the trees, right of the pillow field, in order to avoid the overhead crowds. I realized how fond I am of technical steep bushwhacks, a common occurrence in Rogers Pass’ gnarly terrain. With a little trail-breaking and no frustration at all, we gained the highest pillow field, capped by a large cliff band riddled with crazy spines.

Since our ascent terminated at those cliffs, we veered right, into the trees of Ross Peak’s NE shoulder. From there, we were forced through a seriously steep face which Laurent was happy to break in. Luckily, the trees were perfectly spaced as are most forests at treeline. After taking turns leading, we poked out of the trees. Yew! It felt so good to be back in the alpine, slightly above treeline. Distracted by the stunning view of the Loop Brook Valley, I kept stumbling on my skis every few steps. Forests are great but, let’s be honest, the alpine is money.

Once we got as high as we safely could, we scoped out our surroundings, looking for a good spot to dig a snow profile. It had snowed more than 60cm the day before. Even if we saw no red flags on the way up, a snow profile would validate our worries about the storm interface as well as a persistent slab, a buried surface hoar layer. Consequently, what was meant to be a quick test pit became a full-on excavation.

All in all, the results were promising. However, our test pit evaluates local conditions only. Local as in a few meters away… maximum.

Since Cougar Creek East is basically an exposed, cross-loaded avalanche path with varying skiable aspects, we decided to ski conservatively through the thicker trees to the left. The snowpack would be stronger there: tree trunks act as anchors. I had an uneasy gut feeling about the open terrain in the center of the run, especially after noticing day-old avalanche debris nearby. This was most likely caused by a natural cycle from the summit of Ross Peak, released during the storm.

As for the skiing, it was fabulous. The snow was as light as it gets and waist-deep at times. Weaving through the small trees was exhilarating. The adrenaline generated by whizzing past the evergreens at Mach 3 is god-tier. After triggering a few inconsequential slides on the way down, we picked our way through a series of narrow gullies, minimizing our exposure with precautionary spacing and careful navigation.

In the end, we were quite happy with the way we handled our descent considering the snowpack’s low stability. We felt we had improved our terrain management skills. What a golden learning opportunity!

We toured back to our vehicle through the Designated Access Route (DAR) which circumnavigates Ross Peak. Designed by Park Canada to avoid crossing the CP railway, this is the mandatory exit from the north slopes of Ross Peak and Mt Green. Another awesome day in the mountains! Enough fun to satisfy my thirst… until tomorrow.

Route Info

5-6 h	1050 m	6.1 km	1100-2025 m