Related: Skiing In Rogers Pass, BC: All You Need To Know

The Mountains and The Backcountry Terrain

The town of Revelstoke is nestled between two idyllic mountain ranges, the Monashees and the Selkirks, both sub-ranges of the Columbia Mountains. To the West, the Monashees are known for their incredible tree skiing, crammed full with natural booters and steep chutes. The thick snowpack and deep powder make landing large features a breeze.

To the East, the Selkirks are better known for their ski-mountaineering potential, offering an unforgettable alpine skiing experience (glaciers, bowls and craggy peaks). Nonetheless, there’s some excellent tree skiing to be found, especially in virgin old-growth forests. On clear days, I’d rather spend my time in the Selkirks, bagging peaks and skiing alpine couloirs. For the unacquainted, Rogers Pass, another world-class ski touring mecca, is located in the Selkirks, just a short 45-minute drive from town.

The terrain’s accessibility and variety are what set Revelstoke apart from other ski touring destinations. From old-growth forest to wide-open, alpine bowls, its ski touring scene is the full package. With a valley at 500m and glacier-capped peaks cresting at 2750m, most backcountry skiing routes offer an impressive vertical, offering quad-burning powder skiing. It goes without saying: a good fitness level is required to complete most routes. Thankfully, the lift-accessed backcountry, beyond the rope line of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, opens up a plethora of friendlier alternatives.

The Climate and Snowfall

The climate is ideal for ski touring in Revelstoke. The area is the world’s only inland temperate rainforest. The snow gods love Revelstoke, dumping anywhere between 12 and 18m (40-60ft) of high-quality snow throughout the winter. Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR) often sees slightly lower snowfall amounts, averaging about 10m at the start of Spring. This is not the dense concrete that typically falls on the coast. The mountains around Revelstoke typically get near-champagne powder, which is quite the feat given the snow amounts that hammer the area. It’s not uncommon to find a snowpack height of 2-4m in the alpine, perfect for covering all those nasty rocks. What might be a cliff in the summer becomes a smooth slope come mid-winter.

Let’s put it that way: powder skiing and endless faceshots in the Revelstoke backcountry are guaranteed. Due to storms tracking west to east across BC, starting from the Pacific and orographic lifting, the Monashee Mountains (west of Revelstoke) see 20-30% more snowfall than the Selkirk Mountains (east of Revelstoke). After a large storm, I usually head straight for the Monashees to revel in exceptionally DEEP powder skiing and strenuous trailbreaking.

Being an inland temperate rainforest, the temperatures in town typically hover around the 0C mark. Most seasons, my shovel gathers dust in the shed’s corner. However, the picture is a little more complicated. As you rise in elevation, the temperatures tend to drop. Typical alpine temperatures range from -5 °C to -15 °C, with the odd February cold snap delivering a shivering -25 °C. Essentially, be prepared for a wide range of temperatures as you’re ski touring in the Revelstoke area.

A Long Ski Touring Season In Revelstoke

The ski touring season in Revelstoke starts in mid-October for the true keeners out there. With the forestry road network reaching as high as 1800m, you can park right by the snow in places like the McCrae Glacier or Joss Mountain. The forest service roads near Revelstoke are typically pretty rough and require a high-clearance, 4×4 vehicle equipped with a UHF radio and tire chains. It’s easy to get caught in a storm mid-tour and come back to steep, snow-covered roads. Beware of the rock sharks hidden under the shallow snowpack at that time of the year. I purposefully seek out spots with a smooth summer ground cover to avoid patching my bases like a full-time ski tech.

Related: The Early Season Snowpack: How It Affects Your Winter

The backcountry ski season ends in mid-April, though some avid adventurers drag it into May around high mountain passes such as Rogers Pass. You’ll need good hiking shoes, ski crampons and skin wax for those warm, late-spring ski tours. Expect valley bottom approaches to be extra icy. The ski resort is operational from December to late April. Its ski lifts allow you to access its amazing backcountry terrain.

Related: Planning A Spring Ski Tour: Optimize Your Peak Pursuit

The Town & The Community

Just off the Trans-Canada Highway, the town of Revelstoke is equal parts vibrant and quaint. Now with a population of more than 8000, it has a rich 130-year history as the epicentre of the logging and the railroad industries in the British Columbia Interior. Its downtown core is lined with heritage homes and restored buildings, adding to the quaint atmosphere. The Revelstoke Museum & Archives is a great place to plunge into the town’s history, starting with its foundation in 1885 during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Its walls are covered with an impressive amount of old photos and literature.

You’d be wrong in thinking Revelstoke is quiet – this town is no slouch during our busy season. It’s bustling with everything from eager adventurers to eclectic hippies. You’ll find a bustling art scene, with the visual arts center and a community gallery. Revelstoke’s downtown is complete with a diverse array of restaurants, bars and even a distillery, Monashee Spirits. A few minutes out of town, you’ll stumble across the Begbie Brewery, our local beer producer. Revelstoke somehow strikes the perfect balance of adventure, amenities, and serenity, an ideal spot for adventurers and foodies alike.

The Avalanche Hazard

The avalanche hazard is always on my mind when ski touring in Revelstoke. The combination of steep terrain and considerable snowfall results in a higher avalanche likelihood. Unlike the ski resort, the Revelstoke backcountry is uncontrolled and wild! It’s no surprise that the two bodies that delve into the recreational and professional avalanche sector, Avalanche Canada and the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA), decided to call Revelstoke home. Revelstoke sees by far the most avalanches in Canada. Consequently, its complex terrain and high avalanche likelihood make backcountry travel a serious endeavour, requiring expert terrain management and avalanche skills. In a perfect world, all backcountry skiers and splitboarders would have avalanche and first aid training. Short of that, I recommend hiring an ACMG ski or mountain guide to explore our challenging playground. They know the area best and where the powder skiing might be found. Trick statement – it’s nearly everywhere you look.

As with any other mountain range, the Selkirks and Monashees will harbour the classic avalanche problems such as storm/wind slabs and cornices. However, you’ll also find an especially nasty snow grain: surface hoar. Formed during clear, cold and relatively calm weather, surface hoar forms at the – you guessed it – snowpack’s surface in areas where there’s no tree cover. Surface hoar often appears at treeline and below treeline elevations (approximately 1400-2100m) as it requires all of the factors to grow. In the avalanche world, this leads to a persistent slab problem that can lurk for weeks, if not months and can produce large, destructive avalanches.

The Ski Touring Zones

If you’re not already sold on the great skiing around this town, here’s why. Revelstoke is surrounded by four distinct ski touring zones that consistently deliver the good times. They are either accessible by road or ski lifts, and each adds a different flavour to the ski touring or splitboarding experience. If you’re looking for a wicked ski-mountaineering trip, I recommend you pay Rogers Pass a visit.

Mt Macpherson Backcountry

I sometimes think the slopes of Mt Macpherson rose from tectonic activity for the sole purpose of offering skiers an ideal playground. Along with Mt Begbie, the two summits of the Monashees preside beautifully over Revelstoke. A short drive down Highway 23S will lead you to the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Lodge, where the adventure truly starts. With a parking lot at 650m, the skiing here begins after Christmas when the climate is cold enough for the lower slopes to be caked in snow. Most of the accessible ski touring routes are located on the peaks’ E-NE flank.

Related: Ski Touring Mt Macpherson: Glacial Day In The Womb

To the South, you’ll find the Fingers and The Womb, two very popular routes for good reasons. The Fingers offers a short approach with some featured open path skiing. By far, the most accessible route in the area, it’s very popular for pre-work ski touring laps with the dog in tow. The word says it all. Those treeless hallways are avalanche paths with frequent activity. Keep that in mind when spending a considerable time in the area. Accessed by climbing up the Fingers, The Womb is a fulfilling run consisting of a large avalanche path flanked by classic Monashee tree skiing, chock full of backcountry booters and hidden chutes. Once at its top, the summit of Mt Macpherson is an hour’s climb away – an extra 350m of vertical gain up its SE face. The two lines can be linked to form a 1560m descent.

To the North, Burnt and Fuzzy Knob, two obvious bumps, offer a mix of open path and pleasant tree skiing. The fun terrain justifies the longer trek up one of Mt Macpherson’s skid roads. Burnt Knob’s slightly longer approach rewards you with two wicked avalanche paths that can be skied in decent snowpack stability. It’s a great place to visit during a storm when the higher elevations are shrouded in fog.

Mt Begbie Backcountry

Mt Begbie is by far the town’s most recognizable summit. Its vast SE shoulder, the Begbie Shoulder, is a prime ski touring zone, with quality Monashee-style glades of old-growth forests, steep treeline chutes and open cut blocks. The snowpack is typically much deeper here than across the Columbia River in the Selkirks. However, the amazing terrain comes with a downside. The access isn’t for the faint of heart. Reaching the shoulder requires at least a 1300m vertical gain. Most folks access the zone by riding a snowmobile up the Begbie Forest Service Road (FSR) and ski touring from a high point.

Related: Begbie Shoulder: Skiing A Revelstoke Classic

Climbing Mt Begbie is an absolute classic. The 2743m peak, towering over Revelstoke, can be conquered in a day on foot starting at the Mt Begbie Trailhead, but most residents benefit from using a snowmobile to climb the Mt Begbie FSR and skip the low-elevation bushwhack. Without a mechanized crutch, it’s a considerable ski-mountaineering achievement with a 2070m elevation gain. Thankfully, you’ll be rewarded with incredible summit views, a short rappel, and a fun ski descent down the Polar Bear Glacier.

Revelstoke Mountain Resort Lift-Accessed Backcountry

It’s paramount to visit the RMR backcountry when ski touring in Revelstoke. Beyond Revelstoke Mountain Resort’s rope line, located below the south slopes of Mt Mackenzie, you’ll find flawless backcountry ski terrain offering endless possibilities. From Montana Bowl to Ghost Peak, there’s something for everyone. You’ll be weaving through trees in South Bowl and skiing large alpine slopes in Montana Bowl & Kokanee Bowl. Below Montana Bowl, you’ll find some man-made tree skiing, Montana Trees, remnants of a defunct cat ski operation, which closed its doors when the resort saw its first visitors. You’ll have to purchase a lift ticket at the resort’s base to access its backcountry terrain. Beware: the avalanche hazard inbounds is controlled by professionals, while the out-of-bounds (backcountry) slopes are not! Avalanche training is paramount in such terrain.

Related: Kokanee Bowl, Radar Bowl: Unreal Lift-Accessed Ski Touring

North of the main ridge, formed by Mt Mackenzie, Montana Peak and Kokanee Peak, lies Highway Bowl. The alpine cirque offers steep, technical lines for the daring backcountry skiers and splitboarders. This also comes with its fair share of hazards. The ridge’s north aspect is crowned by a large cornice, which has caused numerous accidents over the years. Across Mt Mackenzie and the in-bounds Greely Bowl, you’ll find Greely Trees. The zone offers ultra-fun tree skiing in old-growth forest. The forest here is magical.

Related: Highway Bowl, Revelstoke Mountain Resort: Chasing Big Lines

Far from the crowded slopes of Montana Peak, you’ll stumble across Ghost Peak. Not only is its name fundamentally cool, but the summit sticks out of the landscape like a sore thumb. The day trip is not for the faint of heart. The ski-mountaineering endeavour involves a 17km, 1500m round-trip trek to its summit, crossing most peaks within the Revelstoke Mountain Resort backcountry. The ascent up its SW face typically requires ski crampons as it gets hammered by prevailing winds. It’s a classic that most Revelstoke ski bums aspire to complete.

Related: Ski Touring Ghost Peak, Revelstoke: Counting Minutes

McCrae Peak Backcountry

Located 22km SE of Revelstoke, McCrae Peak is a great early-season ski touring area when you need your powder fix in October. It’s also a fantastic option for late Spring corn turns. Accessed through the Akolkolex FSR network, the hour-long drive requires a high-clearance 4×4 vehicle equipped with a UHF radio and tire chains. Radio communication on the forestry road network is paramount to avoid potentially fatal collisions. As long as the road is snow-free, you’ll be able to access McCrae Peak’s vast backcountry terrain.

Related: McCrae Glacier: Season’s First Powder Turns

Even better, the parking lot is located at 1800m, making the area even more accessible with our scrawny early-season legs. The forested slopes offer exciting tree skiing, weaving through ancient forest. The peak is crowned by the McCrae Glacier, accessed by ascending its mellow west ridge. The ridge is bounded by smooth, grassy slopes, offering safe skiing in shallow snowpack conditions.

Questions Are Welcomed!

From the ultra-accessible, uncontrolled slopes beyond the resort to the Mt McCrae’s early season hotspot to chase those October turns, ski touring in Revelstoke triggers the adventurer in all of us. If you’re unsure about the terrain ahead or lack the crucial avalanche management skills, hire an ACMG ski or mountain guide for the day. They’ll suss out the good snow and minimize your exposure to all mountain hazards. If you’re looking for accessible ski-mountaineering, I recommend driving to Roger Pass, famous for its crevassed glaciers and long alpine descent from the 3000-meter summits.

Related: 1. Rogers Pass Top Runs: Best Bang-For-Your-Buck 2. Best Couloir Skiing In Rogers Pass For All Skill Levels

I love questions about Revelstoke and Rogers Pass. Please message me through my Contact Page or via Instagram. I’ll do my best to fulfill your requests promptly and accurately! Next winter, I hope I’ll see you cruising through our stunning backcountry playground.

The post Ski Touring In Revelstoke, BC: A Backcountry Skiing Mecca appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: The ACMG Ski Guide Certificate: What It Takes.

An Unconventional Format

The ACMG Apprentice Ski Guide Exam is an 8 to 9-day practical evaluation of an aspiring guide’s skillset on snow, ice and rock. It’s the first step in the ACMG ski guide certification process and grants you the ability to lead groups in technical ski terrain under the supervision of a certified ski guide. It’s an all-encompassing test where 3-4 students lead a rotating cast of examiners through terrain commonly faced when ski guiding. The routes chosen by the examiners often involve a technical alpine component (such as couloir skiing, rappels, roped glacier travel) with the occasional tree skiing. Under the examiner’s watchful eye, the students take turns in the “guide” position, setting the uptrack, evaluating the hazards, instructing the group on how to move through difficult sections, amongst other things. Examiners will often let the students get into trouble to examine their thought process and error correction. They’ll pull the plug only when truly necessary.

Most would think the evaluation process is arbitrary and extremely subjective. To minimize subjectivity when giving out marks, the ACMG provides 2-4 examiners through which the groups will rotate. After the exam, the examiners meet and discuss in great detail the students’ performance throughout the apprentice ski guide exam, assigning a fair grade at the end. A passing grade of 70% is required to obtain the certificate and continue to the final ski guide exam, after up to three years of industry experience. The exam is broken down into several evaluation criteria.

One exam day is dedicated to a “sports” day where the examiners assess a student’s rope and crevasse rescue skills. It usually takes place on the edge of a wind lip, shallow crevasse or cliff. The challenges vary from a standard crevasse rescue scenario using the 6:1 drop loop to rappelling or ascending through multiple knots. The “sports” day is a welcome break from the stress of non-stop guiding in tiger country. Examiners will advise on the spot to improve your rope skills. Just be ready for the worst weather. I’ve had friends complete their “sports” day in wild winds, frigid temperatures or full-on whiteouts.

The Typical Exam Field Day

Starting in the wee hours of the morning, you’ll probably wake up around 5 AM thinking about the objective. After all, you’ve been trip planning until 10 PM the night before. You’ll have a calorie-dense breakfast either in a backcountry lodge or in your hotel room. You’ll meet your group around 7 AM for your AM guide’s meeting, where you’ll examine the weather, assess the avalanche hazards & risk, and discuss risk mitigation strategies. The examiner will introduce the daily runlist showing routes that can safely be completed given your risk assessment. In practice, the objective is already determined the night before, so you can prepare. You’ll then deliver your pre-trip briefing to your examiner in a clear, cohesive manner. Where to meet, what gear to bring, what conditions to expect on the route, etc. He’ll probably ask you pointed questions if your briefing is lacking details.

At the trailhead, the leading student will perform a transceiver check and an important equipment check. Throughout the field day, you’ll take turns at the front of the group. The examiners expect you to act as a guide, coaching your peers when you would expect the average guest to struggle or when the exposure justifies a careful approach. Good communication is paramount. For instance, let the group know what the route’s next section entails and when the next break will be. Instruct guests to throw a jacket on before travelling on a windy ridgetop feature. Laugh when you make small blunders. Keep things lighthearted when possible and be especially assertive when justified by the hazards. The examiner will drill you with questions. Don’t fret. The intention is not to challenge your thinking but to understand your thought process. They don’t know what’s going on in your head. I prefer to share my plan with the group during breaks to avoid the non-stop interrogation, which could affect my focus. The examiner will also ask you questions regarding navigation.

Hopefully, you’ll reach your objective within an appropriate timeframe. And, if you don’t, it’s all good as long as you can justify turning back given the hazards and weather. The examiner may try to push you towards completing the objective at all costs. Stick to your guns if you’re convinced proceeding further would compromise the group’s safety. By the end of the day, you’ll circle back to your vehicle or the lodge where you’ll meet for a PM guide’s meeting. The examiner will ask you how your day went and provide some key feedback. Next, you’ll have dinner and plan for the next day. Now, rinse and repeat on the next day. There’s no doubt: it’s an incredibly time-consuming process. On my exam, I barely had a few minutes of rest each day. Be prepared for the exhaustion that ensues.

The Feedback And Error Correction Process

Examiners will provide important feedback at the end of every day and in the field. After all, they know you are being certified as an apprentice ski guide and have barely worked in the industry. They don’t expect perfection, but they do expect the students to learn from their mistakes. It’s especially important to take their feedback with grace and apply the key points over the remainder of the exam. I remember one of my examiners described me as a “sponge”, soaking up all the feedback and “wringing” it out (applying it) on the next field day. Flattering compliment, I know! Be a good sponge.

In the same vein, the examiners value error correction. They are adamant about its importance. As a working ski guide, you’ll make daily mistakes, hopefully small, trivial ones. It’s important to assess your decisions with continuous introspection and correct errors that would put clients at risk or be detrimental to their experience. Examiners will happily have you skirt too close to a hidden crevasse, hoping you’ll turn the situation around and instruct your guests to backtrack while you find an alternate route around the hazard. That’s okay! On the flipside, they would rather avoid having you make the wrong decision and drag your group through hazardous terrain because you’re too scared error correct.

Managing The Anxiety

The ACMG apprentice ski guide exam is a stressful evaluation. The process is admittedly unforgiving, highly demanding, and very costly. Most exams range in the $3000-5000 range. A failed exam has to be reattempted at your cost the following year. Not only does the exam fee burn a hole in your wallet, but it also introduces a year delay to your career plans. The missed opportunity cost induces a huge financial hit since you won’t be able to work as an apprentice ski guide in the ski industry, a position that comes with a healthy wage bump. Just know, there are ways to ease the mental struggle.

The ACMG provides an insightful video series on stress management during the exam process. Some students even consult sports psychologists to arm themselves with useful coping strategies. Getting to know your exam group well and training in the field with them helped in minimizing the pre-exam stress. You’ll quickly get over the awkwardness of “mock guiding” your peers. During the evaluation, it’s best to get along with your examiner, laugh at your failures and find ways to enjoy the journey. After all, you’ll be bagging peaks, rappelling into couloirs and figuring out complex glaciers. It’s just skiing – we love it for a reason! I recommend working with your group when trip planning at night so that you’re all on the same page come morning. Healthy and effective group dynamics go a long way to easing the stress during the exam process. By now, you probably already know that. Ensure you follow an energy-dense diet and drink fluids often. You’ll be expending a wild amount of energy in the field. When I’m stressed out, I tend to forget the basics of nutrition in the backcountry.

Training For The Apprentice Ski Guide Exam

Being admitted into the ACMG Ski Guide Training and Application Program (ACMG TAP) is extremely competitive. By then, you’ve got years of personal and professional experience under your belt and several advanced avalanche certifications. Your rope skills are ultra-dialled and probably better than most fully certified ski guides who haven’t rappelled into a couloir in years. In other words, you’re already most of the way to the apprentice ski guide standard. I spent the winter and spring before my late-April exam working as a tailguide for a heli-ski operation and volunteering at ski touring lodges. I also set time aside to complete classic ski-mountaineering objectives in complex glaciated terrain (see the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale).

A few weeks before my exam in the Canadian Rockies, just north of Lake Louise, I spent a few days with my exam group on commonly guided routes such as Mt Gordon on the Wapta Icefield, Mt Hector, Cirque Peak and Sub-Observation Peak. We took turns guiding our group in the manner we would on the exam. From a good vantage point, I photographed key terrain features and bought ski touring guidebooks to study the area from my home base. Spend some time locating popular trailheads to avoid any confusion during the exam and improve your pre-trip briefing delivered at the start of each day. I often practiced rope skills and crevasse rescue techniques in the evenings. Ask around for beta about the area in which you’ll be assessed. Local guides are a great source of information and will no doubt give you a hand if you mention that the information is for an apprentice ski guide exam.

Good Luck With Your Exam

Well, that’s about all I can think of at the moment. I’ll add some sections to this post as I think of additional insight. By all means, reach out through my Contact Page or Instagram if you’re looking for specific advice or beta on an area you’ll visit. I’ll do my best to help you out! I hope you’ll one day challenge the apprentice ski guide exam and be successful.

The post The Apprentice Ski Guide Exam (ACMG): Trials and Tribulations appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: How To Get Into Ski Touring (Backcountry Skiing)

Essential Winter Camping Gear For Ski Touring

As previously mentioned, carefully selected winter camping gear goes a long way to improving your experience in the mountains. The goal is to strike the perfect balance between functionality, weight and durability when faced with the harsh weather Mother Nature might throw at you. You’ll have to carry the following equipment:

• A 4-season tent
• A cold-weather sleeping bag
• An insulated sleeping pad
• A wide array of insulating layers
• A cooking system adapted to cold temperatures
• A long-lasting headlamp

If you’re looking for more insight on the matter, you’ll find more detail in the following post: Backcountry Winter Camping Gear For Alpine Touring.

Staying Warm And Toasty

Winter camping for ski touring naturally involves some downtime at camp. Mid-winter in North America means the sun sets at around 4-6 PM, so you’ll be spending a lot of time relaxing in the dark with your headlamp beaming across the landscape.

Avoid frostbite: With temperatures often dipping below -15C at night, especially in the alpine, it’s paramount to maintain an adequate body temperature and keep those pesky extremities as far away from frost damage. Extra-warm camp booties and over gloves go a long way to preventing frostbite. I often sleep with them too. I always carry an insulated butt pad to minimize heat loss when sitting around. Your sleeping pad or backpack can double up as a butt pad if necessary.

Dry camp clothes: Once my camp setup is erected (tent platform, kitchen pit and latrine are excavated), I change into a dry set of ultra-warm base layers and bone-dry socks. Make it your mission to keep those clothes dry, as you’ll be sleeping the night in them.

Frequent high-calorie meals and fluid intake: When I get to camp, I kickstart my food & fluid intake with a warm cup of chicken broth or miso soup while the rest of the food is cooking. I keep my kitchen setup as simple as possible by exclusively using dehydrated meals requiring boiling water only. This makes planning how much camping fuel to bring on a trip much easier. With experience and some sharp mathematics, you’ll learn how to estimate your fuel use for a specific trip length according to your burner type and access to fresh water.

Managing Moisture

Ventilate your tent: Moisture build-up in 4-season tents is a serious issue. Throughout the night, you’re warm breath condenses on the tent walls and drips all over your sleeping bag, jackets, etc. It’s already hard enough to keep a sleeping bag dry on extended trips. I prefer single-walled tents for their ease of setup and lighter weight, but that does come with a drawback: poor moisture management. To alleviate the issue, I pitch my tent door into the prevailing wind and crack it open at the top to let airflow through. Pitching your tent next to a water source (high moisture availability) should be avoided at all costs, as this will exacerbate the problem.

Dry your gear as often as possible: Dry your gear in the sun whenever possible. Strap wet socks and base layers to your backpack on a sunny or windy day. Lay out the ropes, climbing skins and jackets over the tent. Stick your boot liners over your poles. In the evening, I stuff my pockets with moist gear, draping wet socks over my shoulders but underneath my puffy jacket. While you’ll be a little cold at first, it works wonders and means less drying in the sleeping bag at night. Now, the next tip is polarizing: I sleep with boot liners between my legs and insoles under my armpits. Some folks can tolerate frozen boot liners in the morning. I won’t. Years of frostbitten toes prevent me from doing so. I also stuff the next day’s base layers and socks in my sleeping bag’s toe box to keep them warm in the morning when temperatures are often chilly.

Managing The Snow

Compared to summer camping, winter camping for ski touring involves managing an obvious factor: snow. If you’re expecting a severe snowstorm, I recommend building a wall out of hard snow around your tent and kitchen area while considering the prevailing wind’s direction. You may have to wake up through the night to dig out the tent’s surroundings and clear snow off your gear. I’ve often woken up at first light only to find my tent walls are almost caving in from the heavy snow load. The way tent poles can bend is a testimony to their durability. Although… I wouldn’t test out their breaking point!

Build An Effective Winter Camping Setup

An effective winter camping setup involves three main factors: site flow, protection from the elements and durability. Start with a good tent platform, tamped down with skis and left undisturbed to freeze for 10-15 minutes. Dig a pit to a depth of approximately 0.75-1m (2-3ft) at the tent’s entrance and cut out some benches around its perimeter using the excavated snow to wall the perimeter. The bench can play double duty as a kitchen table in a pinch. Stake your tent and guy lines securely with disassembled poles, ice axes or Deadman anchors. You can easily bury wooden branches and pack snow on top of them. It’ll make for bomber anchors when the surface freezes over.

From there, I carve small stairs to exit the tent/bench area and dig out a path to the latrines further downhill. Excavate a comfortable latrine large enough for the length of the trip. Trust me – it’s harder to modify after the fact! I also recommend pooping in wag bags made to securely store human fecal matter if travelling in the alpine or on glaciers where organic decomposition halts. Carve a separate path for urine, leading away from the snow you’ll use to boil water.

When camping for many days at a given site, I’ll bring another kitchen tent (often a pyramid-tarp shelter) and link the sleeping and kitchen quarters through an excavated path for added elbow room. The combination of a sleeping and kitchen area makes extended base camps extremely comfortable.

One word of advice: include your setup time in your trip planning. With experience, you’ll get quite efficient at it. It usually takes my partner and me 45-60 minutes to build a comfortable winter camping setup for a ski touring trip.

A final Word

I truly hope you found this article useful in improving your winter camping experience in the ski touring context. Winter camping is equal parts pure awe and suffering. Fortunately, camping allows for extended trips in our beautiful backcountry terrain, travel over mountains seldom visited and witness sights not many have seen before. To me, the suffering is well worth the adventure. Feel free to reach out through my Contact Page or Instagram for additional information.

The post Winter Camping For Ski Touring: Pro-Tips To Better Your Trip appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: 1. Spring Ski Touring Basics: Weather, Corn Skiing And Avalanches 2. Planning A Spring Ski Tour: Optimize Your Peak Pursuit

The essentials of spring ski touring

Skis: While you can use any ski to get around in spring, I recommend skinnier skis. I’d target an underfoot width ranging between 90-100mm with a wider shovel in the front (130-140mm). Ideally, you’re looking for a ski that can handle the wide variety of spring conditions from firm snow to blower powder. It’s important to strike a balance between the following goals:

• Hold an edge on firm snow, which you’ll encounter often in spring
• Offer a low weight to optimize your energy expenditure on long ski-mountaineering days
• Have a wide enough shovel and underfoot width to handle those awesome spring powder days.

No ski can check all the boxes perfectly. You’ll have to sacrifice in some way. Now, it’s up to you to decide where to sacrifice. I prefer a slightly heavier ski that can hold an edge when skiing variable snow down a steep couloir or that can open up the throttle on a massive alpine face. Being a fervent downhill skier, I naturally prioritize “skiability” over weight. Some choose a skinny lightweight ski, compromising on skiability, but maximizing uphill efficiency. A little soul searching and experience in varied snow conditions will help you find your perfect balance. For more details on picking the right ski, check out the following post: How To Choose Touring Skis.

Bindings: Pin bindings (low-tech bindings) are an essential part of your spring ski touring gear quiver. Nowadays, modern pin bindings are anything but low-tech. Designers and engineers figured out how to build low-weight, user-friendly and durable pin bindings perfectly suited for spring ski touring. Gone are the days of hauling 3kg frame bindings up the hill!

Here’s one question I get asked all the time: Do you run ski brakes and ankle leashes on your setup? I run brakeless bindings and no leash. In my opinion, going brakeless removes a failure point on my setup. I often eavesdrop on folks complaining about their brakes releasing unexpectedly while touring. In powder, brakes don’t do much to stop the ski as it rockets down the slope. As for leashes, they cause more harm than good. I usually don’t run them on my setup after taking a bad fall where the leash failed to break. The one exception: I use leashes when travelling on glaciers where the risk of losing a ski in a crevasse far outweighs the risk of a leash mishap when falling. For better insight on choosing the right bindings for you, check out the following post: How To Choose Ski Touring Bindings.

Climbing Skins: I recommend using 100% mohair skins in springtime. The increased glide truly maximizes your uphill efficiency throughout the day. I also find mohair skins tend to avoid snow buildup on a wet skin base, called glopping in the ski touring and splitboarding world. Applying skin wax preemptively at the beginning of the day or when the snow moistens helps reduce glopping. For a deeper dive on ski touring bindings, check out the following post: How To Choose Climbing Skins For Ski Touring.

The Bits and Bobs Of Ski Mountaineering Gear

Ski tourers and splitboarders love sharp, pointy tools. Ice axes, ski crampons, ice screws, you name it! They’re a crucial part of spring ski touring gear and rather situational.

Ski Crampons: Those are constantly strapped to my hip belt starting in April when early morning conditions are icy due to the spring freeze-thaw cycle. They are essential when ascending refrozen snow and exposed features where slipping would be treacherous. A good pair of aluminum ski crampons should be slightly wider than the waist width of your skis. Too wide and they’ll interfere with your touring stride.

They’re especially important for splitboarders with less of an effective edge. Splitboards in uphill mode tend to offer less grip on firm snow than skis. Always ensure to test fit the ski crampons to your setup before heading out in the backcountry. Ski crampons aren’t universal and fit specific binding brands.

Boot Crampons: Your spring ski touring gear closet always includes a good pair of lightweight boot crampons made of either aluminum or steel. Aluminum boot crampons sacrifice durability in favour of low weight. If your planned route involves drawn-out scrambles on bare rock, aluminum crampons will wear quickly and often break.

I use hybrid crampons which utilize steel where it truly matters – on the front points – and an aluminum rear piece which offers a balance of durability and weight. The Petzl Irvis Hybrid boot crampons strike that balance with ease. Practice strapping them to your ski boots and verify the fit before heading out for a big ski-mountaineering day.

Ice axe: A lightweight ski touring ice axe provides an additional layer of safety when travelling on glaciers or climbing steep snow slopes. It can also be used as an arm extension when scrambling up peaks.

Some manufacturers sell all-aluminum ice axes specifically designed for ski mountaineering on snowy slopes. While acclaimed for their low weight, I prefer an ice axe with a steel pick and an aluminum shaft as a good compromise between weight and durability when climbing technical rock routes. Since you’ll be using it on steep snow slopes, ski-mountaineering axes are typically shorter than their summer mountaineering counterpart. Double up on the axes if you’re expecting to climb a particularly exposed section. The added safety is a great idea!

Harness & All The Dangly Bits: A ski touring harness is designed with low-weight and all-day comfort in mind. You’ll be amazed at how light those things are. How on Earth do they hold a crevasse fall? Well, they do, a testimony of advanced material science and careful engineering. The harness and the bits & bobs dangling from it are required when travelling on crevassed glaciers or skiing technical routes involving rappels and belays. Specific objectives can require advanced rock protrection or extra accessory cord/slings to build bomber anchors. Do your research to avoid heading out the door unprepared. For standard glacier travel, I typically carry enough gear to rescue from a crevasse fall effectively. It includes the following:

Hyperstatic Ropes: While a single ropes (9-10mm in diameter) work fine to arrest crevasse falls and rappel into big mountain lines, they are rather heavy to carry up a mountain. Most people now use lightweight, hyperstatic ropes (6mm diameter) engineered for glaciated travel, crevasse falls and technical rappels.

Hyperstatic ropes are designed to minimize rope stretch under load. It increases their efficiency when rigging rescue systems and hauling people out of crevasses. However, those fancy (and expensive) ropes have their limitations. Hyperstatic ropes aren’t designed to take lead falls and shouldn’t be used near sharp rocks. Their skinny diameter makes them prone to slicing. On the flipside, a study by Petzl has shown that hyperstatic ropes are more effective at arresting crevasse falls than regular climbing ropes due to how the shock load is absorbed. The skinny glacier ropes only work in tandem with approved hardware such as the Petzl Micro-Traxion.

Springtime Extras

There are a few extras that should be included in your spring ski touring gear bag: alpine sunscreen, shaded headwear and glacier sunglasses. Those components are indispensable when the sun is beating down on your head. They will save you from getting gnarly sunburns in weird places.

Alpine Sunscreen: If there’s one thing that’s constantly on my mind in spring, it’s the strong solar radiation and how easy it is to burn my skin. The beaming late-season sun reflects off the white snow and tends to irradiate often overlooked body parts such as the bridge of your nose, nostrils and underside of your chin. I’ve even burnt my palate (my mouth’s roof) on a boiling-hot ski traverse many moons ago. Some days, the solar radiation makes it feel like an oven outside. I carry a bottle with 50+ SPF sunscreen for my hands, arms and neck. For my face and lips, a hydrating zinc oxide paste. I wear breathable and UV-protective tops and gloves to shield my skin even more. I apply sunscreen in the morning, lunch and mid-afternoon to guarantee maximum sun protection.

Shaded Headwear: Protective headwear is key to shielding your head from sunburn and potential heat exhaustion. While a breathable cap works well enough, I prefer a wide-brim hat such as the Patagonia Quandary, which provides 360-degree shade and covers the back of your neck. It’s also very packable. On the downside, you can hardly wear it under your downhill helmet.

Glacier Sunglasses: The strong solar radiation during springtime is deadly to the eyes. In the alpine world, this is called “snow blindness”, resulting in unbearable stinging eyes and temporary eyesight loss. It’s a key piece of your spring ski touring gear. Look for sunglasses with flexible side & nose shields, CAT-4 glacier lenses and comfortable temples.

Smart Layering Goes A Long Way

The spring season brings a wide array of weather patterns from endless storms to scorching sun and bluebird days. Wearing the appropriate layer for the atmospheric conditions makes your day a whole lot smoother. I typically carry five layers:

• A moisture-wicking layer
• A lightly insulated jacket
• An insulated puffy
• A windproof and waterproof layer
• An insulated parka (larger overcoat-type puffy)

With experience and common sense, you’ll figure out which layer to wear to minimize overheating and protect yourself from our temperamental Mother Nature. It’s a question of striking a perfect balance, like most things ski touring or splitboarding. For more insight on picking the right layers, see How To Get Into Ski Touring (Layering)

The post Spring Ski Touring Gear: The Essential Goes A Long Way appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: 1. Spring Ski Touring Basics: Weather, Corn Skiing and Avalanches 2. Spring Ski Touring Gear: The Essential Goes A Long Way

Live For The Alpine Starts

The dreaded alpine start involves waking up around 3-5 AM to get an early start on your day. It’s brutal but necessary, making it essential to planning a spring ski tour. Snow conditions start to deteriorate drastically with solar input around 10-11 AM, depending on the weather conditions. For instance, start your tour early in the morning if your route involves crossing underneath a large, solar slope. Potentially, you may want to bag a peak and ski down an eastern aspect just as the freeze-thaw crust gives way to corn skiing. In that case, grab your headlamp and head out before sunrise. If you arrive too late in the day, the avalanche conditions or sloppy ski quality may turn you away from your objective. It takes plenty of experience and humility to determine when to turn around. Remember: the mountains will always be there.

The alpine start is necessary when expecting a long approach to reach your day’s objective. A detailed route plan using conservative travel estimates goes a long way in calculating approach times.

Play The Aspect and Elevation

Strategically playing the aspect and elevation is one of the many ingredients to planning a spring ski tour. A little tidbit on astronomy, the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. As the Earth circles the Sun, East-facing slopes see the morning sun, followed by south-facing slopes and west-facing slopes in the afternoon. Come late spring, even the mellower northerly slopes are affected by solar radiation. Steep, high-elevation northerly features (NE to NW) will likely harbour the best powder if the winds didn’t get to it before you did. Glaciers hold good snow even longer due to the underlying ice’s cooling effect at the surface.

When I think of spring ski touring, I think of high-elevation descents. Warm temperatures and strong solar input deteriorate conditions at or below treeline. It’s often best to travel through forested sections first thing in the morning before the supportive crust breaks down. Ski crampons help tremendously in holding an edge through icy conditions. You can also choose your objective based on the starting elevation. For instance, Bow Pass in the Canadian Rockies stands tall at 2088m, generally offers cooler temperatures and climbable peaks over 3000m, perfect for late spring trips. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Rogers Pass in the Selkirk Mountains stands at 1330m, and has generally warmer weather with peaks ranging in the 2500-3000m. This is a huge difference when considering which objective to go after based on the time of the year.

Have a Plan A, B and C

Having backup objectives is crucial since spring conditions change quickly throughout the day. Determining when to push for your main objective and when to pivot only comes with experience (and common sense). Moreover, keep monitoring ski conditions. On a given day, you might be gliding on a supportive crust using ski crampons on the ascent, skiing high-elevation powder on a supercooled glacier and trenching through isothermal snow in the afternoon as you slog back to your vehicle. These changing conditions and the time/energy required to get through difficult sections are integral to planning a spring ski tour.

Embrace Whiteout Navigation

When the skies cloud over and you’re travelling in the alpine or on a glacier, whiteout navigation can be daunting. With no reference in sight except a smooth, white canvas, it’s near-impossible to tell what’s up from down, what’s right from left. We call it: “travelling in a ping-pong ball. With spring convection swirling around the mountains, you’ll unexpectedly get “whited out”. Ample training is a must! A good trick is to fasten a 5m length of accessory cord to the end of your pole and whip it across the terrain. As the cord falls in the snow, you’ll get a rough understanding of the features ahead. The whip, in tandem with probing, is especially handy when navigating gaping crevasse fields in poor visibility.

While a GPS track can be useful when navigating glaciers, take note of the track’s recorded date – a 10-year-old track might not be the most accurate nowadays and might even go over open crevasses. Glaciers recede, crevasses move, and the snowpack varies from season to season. When it all goes white, using a known feature (such as a peak, headwall or rocky moraine) as a handrail works wonders. Keep to your left or right and follow it to the next leg in your route plan. It provides a reference when there’s nothing out there but more white.

Hydrate Or Die-Drate

A common saying is: “Hydrate or die-drate”. As the sun beats down on the back of our necks, hydrating often is an important consideration when planning a spring ski tour. I make it a point to drink small amounts of water at every break. I typically carry a 500mL Nalgene bottle filled to the brim with tap water and a 1L thermos filled with my “special” potion (water, Gatorade powder, ginger, lemon and green tea). And, let’s be honest: that’s not much water. I recommend at least 2L for most folks. At home or in the lodge, I always chug water before and after the outing to minimize the weight carried in the field. Find what works best for you!

The same goes for nutrition. Frequently eating energy-dense foods will help maintain performance throughout the day. High-calorie snacks (granola bars, nuts, pepperoni sticks) work wonders. I simply can’t stomach a loaded sandwich while ski touring, especially in spring when the temperatures skyrocket. With experience, you’ll figure out what outdoor diet works for you and which doesn’t. Everybody’s different!

Get The Appropriate Technical Training

As spring rolls around, you’ll probably be spending way more time on glaciated terrain and amongst the high peaks. That’s where the technical training comes in handy. A crevasse rescue course provided by a certified ski or mountain guide is a great way to sharpen your rope rescue skills. Some courses also offer the opportunity to learn glacier navigation, in good or poor visibility. Avoiding crevasses or carefully assessing snow bridges is paramount when travelling in glaciated terrain.

Related: Spring Ski Touring Gear: The Essential Goes A Long Way

Some guides also offer ski-mountaineering courses. It’s a golden opportunity to hone rappelling, anchor building, bootpacking, and couloir skiing. As with any other time of the season, an AST-1 and 2 course is the basic requirement for travelling in avalanche terrain.

The post Planning A Spring Ski Tour: Optimize Your Peak Pursuit appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: 1. Planning A Spring Ski Tour: Optimize Your Peak Pursuit 2. Spring Ski Touring Gear: The Essential Goes A Long Way

Temperamental spring weather

While advancements in weather forecasting models and access to free data have made planning for ski tours a lot easier, there’s no denying that spring weather patterns are temperamental and hard to predict. As the sun hangs high in the sky and warms up our snow surface, it creates a vertical air mass movement called convection. In terms, this forms convective clouds that can develop into convective storms, the same storms that generate hail. They come in with very little notice, oftentimes accompanied by strong winds and tend to generate a ton of snowfall. What it all boils down to: spring weather is unpredictable. You may find yourself skiing a sweet glacier on a bluebird day and navigating crevasses in a whiteout on the same day. Generally speaking, Spring weather is characterized by warm daytime temperatures (possibly above freezing) followed by cold nights and a re-freeze. That’s called a melt-freeze cycle.

Timing is everything!

When I say spring ski touring, you probably think of “corn” skiing. Let’s backtrack for a moment and discuss the “crust” cycle, daytime warming and overnight recovery. It’s called the spring diurnal cycle. In the BC Interior, the cycle usually starts sometime in April when a thick melt-freeze crust forms on the snowpack’s surface by either warm temperatures, high-elevation rain or solar radiation. During bouts of clear weather, daytime warming and solar radiation warm the surface snow until it begins to melt. Overnight, the melted surface snow will freeze if temperatures dip below 0°C, which they usually do. This phenomenon is called overnight recovery. Over many days of repeated solar radiation, a thick, supportive crust will form on the surface. That’s when the famed corn skiing comes into play. Timing is everything here! If you hit it at the appropriate morning timing and on the correct aspect, you’ll find snow that has just begun the melting process and where the crust is still supportive to skier traffic. The first time you get that feeling, it’s magical! Alternatively, you can also find great corn skiing at the end of the resort skiing season. Just seek out the solar groomers!

The fabled spring corn cycle

Corn skiing is a part of a cycle – all good things must end. With increasing temperature and solar radiation, the partly-melted snow will eventually turn to slush, worsening ski quality and making it more difficult to get down the slope. At the end of the spectrum, the entire snowpack will be slush: an isothermal snowpack. There’s no one way to describe the feeling. It’s like gliding through a thick stew and is especially hard on the lower joints. I’ve spent many days slogging up and down slopes in isothermal conditions on spring ski traverses. It’s horrible, downright dangerous and should be avoided if at all possible. Similarly, I’ve skied on refrozen snow where my skis were chattering to the point my teeth might fall out. The reality of spring ski touring is that you have to go out with a clear objective, knowing the ski quality might be lacking. At the very least, you’ll have a grand tale to discuss at the bar!

The spectrum of avalanche hazard in spring

Due to the spring diurnal cycle, the avalanche hazard varies widely throughout the day. At first light, when temperatures are cool and the surface is capped by a widespread crust, the hazard may be at an all-time low. The avalanche problems are essentially frozen in the snowpack. As the day rolls into the afternoon, solar input and daytime warming will break down the melt-freeze crust, spiking the avalanche hazard. Dry loose avalanches will begin to pour down headwalls, and the likelihood of skier-triggered avalanches will naturally increase. Snow shedding from trees and pinwheeling is a telltale sign of rapid warming (see signs of avalanche instability). That’s why timing is so important when planning ski tours in Spring, whether you’re travelling on northerly aspects to avoid the sun or on southerly aspects to chase some corn. For more information on the logistics of spring ski tours, see Planning A Spring Ski Tour: Optimize Your Peak Pursuit.

Here are a few avalanche problems commonplace in Spring.

Fear the heat

Drastic warming events happen all the time and are becoming more frequent with climate change. I’ve seen those stinking-hot weather systems barrel through the middle of January. Most often, they’ll arrive in two forms during the bulk of the spring ski touring season, in March and April.

The post Spring Ski Touring Basics: Weather, Corn Skiing And Avalanches appeared first on The Uptrack.

Information sharing on the uptrack

Information sharing on the uptrack is high on my list when it comes to backcountry skiing & splitboarding etiquette. It’s critical even! I make it my mission to inform fellow uptrackers of the avalanche red flags encountered on the trail. This includes whumpfing, cracking, audible or visible avalanche observations, as well as ski quality on different aspects and areas. This critical information sharing (when done correctly and accurately) improves everybody’s backcountry safety.

Know before you go

Gather all the information before heading out in the backcountry. There’s a plethora of online tools providing daily avalanche and weather forecasts as well as real-time webcam and weather actuals. Guidebooks are also a great resource to familiarize yourself with a specific route or consider different options based on the forecast. Look at terrain photos, topographic maps and route descriptions. While The Uptrack has all that and more, focusing on the Revelstoke and Rogers Pass area, Douglas Sproul wrote a massive guidebook on the wicked backcountry lines at Rogers Pass.

Always go out with the right avalanche and backcountry gear. I make it a point to do a gear check before leaving our house. While I typically don’t forget my shovel, transceiver and probe, it’s too easy to misplace important items such as sunglasses, sunscreen, ski crampons, etc!

Follow good travel practices in avalanche terrain

When it comes to backcountry skiing and spitboarding etiquette, sharing the terrain with other skiers and riders is a big one. When climbing the uptrack, give other parties some space. Give them a wide berth, if you notice the party is spacing out while travelling through consequential features. Most likely, they’re reducing their exposure and limiting their load on a sketchy snowpack. The same applies to the downhill sections. Do not, I repeat, do not ski above another party. You risk triggering an avalanche above them, one that could easily take them for a ride as well. Give them time to finish the run until they’re clear of the avalanche path. Alternatively, you can choose another line that doesn’t affect the folks below you. Keep communication clear and concise within your group. Whether with a clear line of sight, a distant pole wave or VHF radios, find a way to keep in touch with others in your party at all times!

Respect and maintain the uptrack

Breaking trail after a storm is part of backcountry skiing and splitboarding fun. Good etiquette is a must! Offer some help breaking trail if you see someone in your party or another party trenching through deep snow. Take turns at the front. After all, it’s a community effort. In my books, whoever broke trail the most gets first descent. Don’t sneak past a group breaking trail only to get a first descent!

Another good one is uptrack maintenance (the trail, not the blog)! First and foremost, avoid skiing over the uptrack (if possible) and its corners, especially in steeper terrain where a platform allowing an effective kick-turn was dug in. Give overused corners some love by digging the uphill side wall with your pole baskets or even bust out your avalanche shovel when the snow is hard.

Respect the mountains and their community

if your group is faster than the party ahead, pass them with respect. Be patient and ask politely first: most skiers or splitboarders will cede the way naturally. There’s no need to push the person aside throwing a quick elbow along the way. This is not a European resort after all! Don’t bring up the long rivalry between skiers and splitboarders. When travelling with a mixed group, plan to ride a line that works for both planks, wide and narrow! Set a nice downhill track for our snowboarder friends out there and stop the group on top of bumps, not before, leaving space for the snowboarders to continue the descent without endlessly hopping through an uphill section.

Leave no trace. Good environmental stewardship is a critical component of backcountry skiing and splitboarding etiquette. It’s easier to follow those rules in the winter than in the summer since the snow offers a blank canvas upon which to travel. Pack out all your garbage (including fruit peels). If you’ve gotta take a bathroom break, do it away from the main uptracks, and aim toward trees. A little tree irrigation goes a long way! Avoid going for a #2 in the alpine, on glaciers or at treeline: fecal matter will decompose much slower at higher elevations than in the forest down low.

In addition, avoid damaging flora. There’s a time and place for glading branches and cutting trees to make the uptrack work for you. If possible, smartly lay your uptrack to avoid doing just that. A good chunk of our backcountry terrain is in protected national parks. Some tree species such as the Whitebark Pine risk extinction due to diseases, fire suppression, climate change and insect attacks. Learn to recognize and protect them.

Follow local guidelines

Around Revelstoke, some areas have specific local guidelines that must be observed. For instance, Glacier National Park conducts artillery-based avalanche control on the slopes threatening the Trans-Canada Highway corridor. In conjunction with the avalanche control program, Parks Canada established the intricate Rogers Pass Winter Permit System that allows backcountry skiers and splitboarders safe access to its world-class terrain. Failure to follow the permit system will result in expensive fines for the user. Our access to Glacier National depends on us. Parks Canada reserves the right to prohibit recreational access to its mountains. That would be a tremendous loss for mountain recreationalists and professionals alike! Camping in Glacier National Park requires a winter backcountry camping permit and is heavily enforced. Chat with the nice staff at the Discovery Center for more information.

Believe it or not, most of our backcountry terrain is outside of protected parks or conservation areas on what Canadians call “crown land”. Several centuries of forest exploitation have opened up new areas by building an extensive network of forest service roads (FSR) and clearing trees. Many recreationists utilize these networks either by vehicle or snowmobile to access our backcountry terrain. While this network of backroads is maintained by loggers at a high price, they are willingly letting recreationalists use those roads. Travel with a VHF radio in your vehicle, keeping an ear out for the logging radio traffic. Call your kilometres just as the loggers do. Always cede the way to logging trucks heading downhill: they can hardly break down steep sections when loaded with heavy cargo. Carry tire chains and emergency gear in your vehicle as the FSRs are often icy.

Safety is paramount

Don’t ride alone. Even during periods of great avalanche stability, you could trigger the unlikely slide, catch an edge on boilerplate windboard or clip a buried tree and break a leg. So many injuries can happen in the backcountry. Having a group to rely on is essential in the event of a rescue. I carry an emergency satellite communication device such as the InReach Mini. Newer iPhones now have satellite communication capabilities.

Know your limits and discuss them with your group. Pushing an individual past his prime will only result in an injury over time. Fatigue and high elevation also tend to impair judgement. From experience, I know my judgement begins to be affected past 2900m. Good hydration and eating habits in the backcountry will go a long way to preserve your physical and mental strength in the mountains.

Final Words

Here it is: my compiled list of dos and don’ts when it comes to backcountry skiing and splitboarding etiquette. It’s not at all an exhaustive list. It’s just what I’ve observed over many years of travelling in our pristine backcountry. Again, I encourage you to leave a comment in the comment section below. I may even add it to the list at some point! As always, encourage others to follow good practices, etiquette and guidelines specific to an area (such as Rogers Pass). A gentle reminder goes a long way to avoid painful consequences later on. Be a good steward of our environment and lead by example! See you on the slopes.

The post Backcountry Skiing & Splitboarding Etiquette: The Dos and Don’ts appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: Afton Southeast Couloir, Rogers Pass: High Exposure (East Variation)

Report from December 1st, 2020

Generally speaking, I’m not a big fan of ski touring in large groups but this day was different. The crew, comprised of Rigel, Steph, Freddy, Phil, Kaitlin, and I, assembled at the Loop Brook parking lot, ready for a fun day of introductory ski-mountaineering. For some, this was their first couloir. Phil and I picked the Afton SE Couloir as it seemed like a good appetizer for the newcomers to the sport.

After a thorough gear check, we slithered along Loop Brook, engaging early up the west flank of Mt Abbott. With the season being young, the snowpack was quite shallow. We battled surface crusts and faceted snow through the steep forest, laying down technical kick-turns and using trees for belay. There’s no sugarcoating it, the forested ascent is heinous. I broke my skin tip twice by stumbling on deadfall and buried rocks. You have to stay focused and punch through the treeline.

As we emerged from the trees, we could peer across the Loop Brook Valley. Mt Green and Ross Peak were standing proud. I took the opportunity to scope out the Ross SE Couloir, an objective I completed a few days later after it had shed during a storm cycle. We took a solid break, replenishing our energy while we basked in the early-season sun. We then continued along the wind-scoured ridge leading up to Mt Afton.

Once the snow got too hard to travel on skis, we strapped our skis to our packs and started bootpacking up the Afton NW Ridge. The shallow faceted snow would let go at every step, punching through the thick wind crust to the depth of the boulders underneath. Progress was tiring and slow but we eventually made it up the ridge. Freddy took a wild tumble down a few boulders after he lost his footing, a stark reminder to check your holds when climbing even the simplest ridge. Due to short daylight hours, some of us avoided the summit. It’s such a quick detour that I decided to complete the ascent and bag Mt Afton. This also gave me a premium view of the Afton SE Couloir and an opportunity to scope out the snow conditions.

The couloir had been battered by high southerly winds. The snow surface was visibly wind-affected, which is pretty common when ski mountaineering. I figured the wind slabs were more than 72 hours old and wouldn’t pose much of an issue. To make things worse, solar input over the last few clear days had changed the snow. This was expected, being a SE aspect. As usual, I would first assess the conditions before committing to the descent.

The sun was setting behind the Bonney Massif. At this time of the year, daylight is scarce. While I descended from the summit to join the group, the crew readied up for the short scramble into the couloir. Phil, Freddy and I led the way, looking for the easiest way through the narrow band of rocks spanning skier’s right from the couloir’s entrance. We helped the first-time couloir skiers through the scramble, assisting them as they mounted their skis. I truly wanted to avoid a ski rocket down the hard snow.

Ready for the descent, Phil launched down the line after a powerful ski cut. The skiing was challenging, to say the least. The top section was heavily wind-affected. Phil was cutting small chunks of unreactive wind slabs as he descended the couloir. I was snapping photos. The lower portion offered excellent powder skiing since the mountains across the valley provided shelter from the low-lying sun. With the hour drawing late, the Asulkan Valley was shrouded in darkness.

Once the party had skied the couloir, one at a time, we continued down the Rampart Bowl toward the valley bottom. The powder skiing here was excellent: sheltered from the wind, with no solar input and some interesting features off which to jump. This was a literal playground! We trended skier’s left towards an isolated band of trees and followed them down to the Asulkan Brook.

From there, we glided downstream along the Asulkan Trail back to the Illecilleweat parking lot. Since we had driving up with two cars, we carpooled back to the Loop Brook parking lot in the dark. I highly recommend doing so, otherwise you’re stuck walking a few kilometres along the Trans-Canada Highway with semi-trucks blasting their horns at you!

Route Info

7-8 h	1500m	14 km	1130-2543 m

The post Afton SE Couloir, West Variation: Easing Into The Winter appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: Christiana Glades: Skiing The Old Growth

Report from February 16, 2025

Tom, Steph, Kaitlin and I started the day at the Bostock Parking Lot, ensuring our winter-restricted permits were visible on the car’s dash. We navigated past the refrozen, plowed snowbank that leads to the Bostock Trailhead. After two weeks with little precipitation during Rogers Pass’ busiest month, the trail was in rough shape. The cut bank was packed with snow, creating a slippery track, slanted towards the rugged slope leading into Bostock Creek. Nonetheless, the walk through the old-growth forest was pleasant and progress was darn fast. We crossed the tracked-out McGill Main Chutes exit.

After a quick water break, we started the ascent up a narrow shoulder leading to Wolverine Ridge. Tree branches, pine needles and old man’s beard (moss) were scattered over the old snow after a bout of strong arctic winds. I broke trail through rotten faceted snow, barely supporting my weight. Progress was slow and demanding but we finally linked up to an existing uptrack, as suggested by Kaitlin. The refrozen track was much more supportive and expedited the ascent.

To be honest, I wasn’t too confident we would find good snow as I was breaking trail from the valley bottom. A firm sun crust on steeper pitches covered the surface while the preserved snow was littered with tree bombs and blown-over branches.

However, things improved dramatically as we climbed the shoulder. As we gained the treeline, we heard several “whumpfs”, perhaps a buried surface layer letting its presence known. By then, I had abandoned the refrozen track, slippery and way too aggressive and was setting a gradual, “guide’s” uptrack through sparse trees and open slopes, making sure to avoid the steeper, south-facing features.

We stopped as the trees led into an alpine ridge, Wolverine Ridge. The open slopes above were visibly wind-scoured by the NW winds and would offer terrible skiing. After discussing our options, we decided to transition behind a small thicket of trees, sheltering the group from the cold, icy wind. We opted to ski the upper part of the shoulder with patches of open terrain, basically reversing our uptrack.

The mellower upper slopes offered great skiing in boot-deep powder. The incline was too shallow to be affected by solar exposure at this time of the year. Given the “whumpfs”, evidence of buried surface hoar sitting on a sun crust, I steered the group away from the steep south-facing slopes. Once we were below the hazardous feature, I veered skier’s left into a patch of sparse glades. Battling with a variable sun crust in a few spots, we linked the mellower forested clearings and made our way down the valley where the snow was surprisingly good.

Pleasantly surprised by the quality run we just skied, we stuck our skins and walked a little way down Bostock Creek to set us up for a speedy descent to the parking lot. We ripped the skins early on and favoured side-stepping through the short uphill sections so that we could ski down the rest of the trail. It worked out great! We were at the Bostock lot within 30-45 minutes!

Route Info

6-7 h	1300 m	15 km	980-2140 m

The post Wolverine Ridge: Exploring The Far Reaches of Bostock Pass appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: Afton SE Couloir, Rogers Pass: High Exposure

Report from February 20, 2020

Let’s begin this story by mentioning I was on a hot date with Kaitlin, my now fiancee, plus two of her friends. The stakes were high, and I dressed to impress. Not literally – I had my usual ski touring attire – but I expectedly showed above-average confidence bordering on cockiness! I’ve come to resent that over the years and gotten rid of it for the most part. It wasn’t my most attractive quality (sarcasm intended)! This happened 5 years ago when I was but a wee inexperienced lad. Back to the story, we slithered along the Asulkan Trail for a little over 3km, whizzing by the Glacier Crest turnoff. Thankfully, the snowpack was mega-deep in 2020.

We crossed the Asulkan Brook and started the real ascent up the forest bordering the Abbott East Slidepath. With good avalanche stability in the forecast, we utilized the Abbott Mini paths, a series of small avalanche paths to the north to facilitate the climb, staying out of the bushy forest. Being a fantastic snow year, the north path was skiable with some trees still sticking out here and there. By following a broad shoulder leading to the Abbott Ridge, we avoided the Abbott Prohibited Area to the North.

We continued along the shoulder, offering efficient travel. While trying to break a consistent trail in the deep snow and impress Kaitlin with my uptracking wizardry, I face-planted when a pillow collapsed under my weight. Sometimes, you shoot and miss! We laughed it off. I was secretly embarrassed.

Eventually, the broad shoulder led us to a vast bench below the Abbott Ridge headwall. We traversed underneath the large overhead feature, spacing out to minimize our exposure to potential avalanches. I wouldn’t be there if the risk of natural avalanche activity lingered. With the warmer-than-normal temps heating the headwall’s surface snow, we voted against completing the final bootpack up the headwall to the ridge and transitioned on the bench, lined up with the south path.

We chatted for a moment before dropping into the line, also admiring the Sir Donald Range across the valley. We determined the quality skiing would be on the path’s north-tilted (right) flank or at its center, whereas the south-tilted (left) flank would have a buried sun crust. We followed our plan to the letter, and the skiing was phenomenal. We skied the line one at a time, cruising over pillows and buried stumps bordering the path. What a blast! The bottom portion offered adequate skiing even if the snow was a little moist due to the warming temperatures at valley bottom.

We landed right back where we began the ascent, on the west bank of the Asulkan Brook. We retraced our steps, side-stepping through steeper sections occasionally. We glided most of the way back to the parking lot. While the Abbott East Slidepath isn’t the best ski touring route Rogers Pass has to offer; it’s still a convenient option when you’re looking for a short day (1000m vertical) and grand views of the Sir Donald Range across the valley.

We landed right back where we began the ascent, on the west bank of the Asulkan Brook. We retraced our steps, side-stepping through steeper sections occasionally. We glided most of the way back to the parking lot. While the Abbott East Slidepath isn’t the best ski touring route Rogers Pass has to offer; it’s still a convenient option when you’re looking for a short day (1000m vertical) and grand views of the Sir Donald Range across the valley.

We landed right back where we began the ascent, on the west bank of the Asulkan Brook. We retraced our steps, side-stepping through steeper sections occasionally. We glided most of the way back to the parking lot. While the Abbott East Slidepath isn’t the best ski touring route Rogers Pass has to offer; it’s still a convenient option when you’re looking for a short day (1000m vertical) and grand views of the Sir Donald Range across the valley.

Route Info

5-6 h	1020m	8.3 km	1200-2175 m

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