Related: Skiing Avalanche Mountain, Rogers Pass: The Burn

Report from February 4, 2021

We began our day touring up the gentle railroad grade which originates from the Illecillewaet parking lot. I fell in love with this easy walk in the park – pun intended. Not only is it a great way to warm up the legs, but it’s also one of the few sheltered access routes where you don’t have to keep your head on a swivel: the avalanche hazard is non-existent.

At the intersection of the railroad grade and the A. O. Wheeler Hut, we veered off left on the Avalanche Crest trail, a summer path that would lead us up 500 meters to the base of the Avalanche Mt South Bowl. At its trailhead, a bright yellow sign warned us of the use of artillery rounds for avalanche control. In fact, we were just about to enter the Winter Restricted Area of West Rogers, governed by the Winter Permit System of Glacier National Park.

After ensuring the West Rogers WRA was open for the day, we proceeded up the trail where we found an existing track. Having been up there a few times already, I expected the uptrack to be a slick, overused mess. Fortunately, yesterday’s warm flurries had covered the icy tracks and made it a little easier for all of us, especially for rookie splitboarder, Simon.

We climbed the trail at a steady pace, only stopping every now and then to nerd out on snow science and quench our thirst. Although the slope was rather steep, the trail builders had carved a gentle path using a maze of switchbacks crisscrossing the slope. After an hour of easy climbing, the trail led us onto a bench at treeline. This feature marks the base of the Avalanche Mt South Bowl.

We followed a gully, looker’s left of the bowl, that tracks along the base of the Avalanche Crest, an alpine crescent-shaped ridge. Fred and I had walked up that ridge when climbing Avalanche Mountain, a couple of summers ago. As we stepped onto the treeless moraines high up in the bowl, we lost all of our visibility. With our heads in the clouds, I led the group on a traverse across the west half of the bowl in order to link up with the Avalanche Crest.

Every hundred meters, I would test the snow ahead, looking for signs of avalanche instabilities: whumpfing, shooting cracks, and slab properties. All we got was a faint, isolated whumpf on mellow terrain that didn’t worry me one bit. After a nauseating, 15-minute walk, I could only make out the Avalanche Crest, which we later gained by cutting across an exposed slope, one giant avalanche start zone. Throughout the whole process, we maintained an increased distance between ourselves to minimize our exposure to potential avalanches. It’s important to remember that we were travelling through a slide path with a whole lot of snow above our heads.

I breathe a sigh of relief as we reached the ridge, a temporary safe spot. Before dropping the SW face, we made sure to assess the stability of the upper layers of snow. After all, skiing Avalanche Crest is a committing adventure, tracing lines through unsupported convex rolls and serious overhead exposure. With much time on our hands, we dug a profile to observe the top layers. In the last few days, it had fallen more than 60cm of warm, dense snow. While natural avalanche activity had ground to a halt the night before, skier-triggered avalanches were our main threat.

After a series of comforting observations, we transitioned for the descent. We planned on skiing from the lowest point along the Avalanche Crest (looker’s right), peppered by sparse trees. This was a more conservative alternative to a higher alpine drop-in. If it wasn’t enough to convince us, the lower lines hadn’t been poached yet, offering excellent snow quality. That day, a cooling trend had sucked all the moisture out of the snow turning it from wet goop to blower pow. We knew we were in for a treat.

I’ll let the above video, shot in February 2020, speak for itself. The route, detailed in this trip report, was similar, albeit a little lower down on the ridge, a better line in poor visibility. We ended up skiing a little under 1000 meters of waist-deep powder – arguably my powder line of the season thus far. We ducked into a featured gully to the skier’s right and finished our run a few meters from the highway. With all honesty, Avalanche Crest might be one of Rogers Pass’ top ski runs!

Route Info

4-5 h	900-1000 m	8-9 km	1200-2200 m

The post Skiing Avalanche Crest: Rogers Pass’ Top Run? appeared first on The Uptrack.

Related: Avalanche Mountain Southwest Ridge: High Above The Asulkan

Report from February 23, 2020

We stepped out of the Tacoma and were greeted by blue skies all around. I looked at my mountain partners, Laurent, Jayden, and Phil. You could sense the energy that day: they were all equally stoked to make the most of this clement weather pattern that should last for a few days. High solar output and light winds consolidated our snowpack, meaning we could ski routes that would otherwise be treacherous in adverse avalanche conditions. It was time for some big alpine lines. The plan: ski the Northwest Couloir of Avalanche Mountain (2861m), accessed by traversing the peak along the Avalanche-Eagle ridge, located above the Avalanche Bowl. This is an uncommon route. Most prefer to boot directly up the couloir after crossing the Avalanche North Glacier, a straight-forward journey.

We headed up the Avalanche Crest established uptrack. Too many kick-turns later, we gained the bottom of the southwest-facing Avalanche Bowl at the end of which the rime-crusted slopes of Avalanche Mountain and Eagle Peak stand proud. Skiing Avalanche Mountain meant navigating the rolling moraines of its bowl.

The transition from the shaded treeline slopes to the sunny alpine bowl was a thermal shock. We stripped down to our baselayer – Jay went shirtless. Spring really screws with my senses. I could feel the sun burning my neck. Yet, I could still smell the cold pure mountain air rushing through my nostrils at every breath. What a pleasant combination!

I turned around to check on Phil, casually toying with his two-pound telephoto lens, and was greeted by wonderful views of the Illecillewaet Valley. I already had my next mission in mind, a multi-day camping trip on the Illecillewaet Glacier. Those distant peaks are seldom skied and forever tantalizing.

On the way up, I noticed pinwheeling on the sunny slopes of Eagle Peak, evidence of a dangerously warm snowpack. We stopped for lunch and discussed our options. The high solar output was a huge influence on our avalanche decision-making. Time was of the essence. We had to move fast before the snowpack would reach its tipping point.

We arrived at the foot of the subpeak by noon. The sun was scorching the surface and snow was sticking to our skins, slowing down our progress. Within the span of a minute, we observed five distinct dry loose avalanches (sluff) from the steep slopes surrounding the alpine bowl. We gazed at our route, a 45-degree, 200-meter long couloir leading up to the Avalanche-Eagle ridge. After much debate, we decided not to boot up the couloir. The consequence of a slab avalanche burying our party was simply too high. We would be funneled up the chute all at once for at least an hour. Additionally, heavy sluffing from above could push us into rocks and cliffs bordering the chute. The stakes were too high. Skiing Avalanche Mountain would have to be postponed to another sunny day.

As we were about to turn back, Jayden spotted a thin chute to our left, encased within the subpeak’s nose. While the overhead hazard was still present, the start zone was much narrower (a resulting avalanche would have a smaller size) and much better supported. Slab avalanches, our biggest threat, were less likely. However, we weren’t 100% positive the chute would link up with the ridge. Since we were all comfortable with the exposure, we strapped our skis to our backpacks and began the exploration. This is what mountain adventures are all about!

The snow was thin judging from all the rocks we kicked in. Jayden bolted up the chute in no time until we reached a rather exposed section above cliffs. We regrouped at this point, sheltered by a large boulder. The couloir changed aspect, from south to southeast. As expected, the snow would be a little cooler there. We proceed up the next section without crampons.

45 minutes later, we topped out. Laurent and I led the bootpack looking for a way out of the couloir onto the ridge overhead. We circumnavigated a rocky rib, climber’s right of the couloir, with a few cruxy moves. The vertigo was hitting me. To much frustration, the rib terminated into steep impassable cliffs. There was no way out. Since we couldn’t stay in this couloir forever, our next move was clear. Escape the maw!

We quickly transitioned for skiing, making sure I secured my pack to my buried ice axe. A fall from my perch would be fatal. I pushed the thought aside and visualized every turn down the slope, a technique I was taught in Chamonix when skiing big alpine lines. I took several deep breaths to control my fear. I was ready.

After our first descent, we pressed on towards our backup exit, Avalanche Crest. We skied the untouched rolling moraines of the Avalanche Bowl and toured up the imposing Avalanche Crest ridge.

On the way up, I stumbled across friends, Kaitlin, Em, and Arnaud. What a funny coincidence! We looked down at the Avalanche Crest southwest slope, an uninterrupted 1200-meter straight shooter of a run. This was going to be glorious. Not bad for a backup.

While we didn’t achieve our goal, we were quite happy with how the day went. Our decision-making was spot-on. We kept the risk within our tolerance, found some at times gnarly, at times powdery skiing, and made it back to the truck in one piece. To this day, the Northwest Couloir remains high on my tick list, waiting patiently for the next high-pressure system to roll in.

Route Info

8-9 h	1650 m	10.5 km	1200-2650 m

The post Skiing Avalanche Mountain, Rogers Pass: The Burn appeared first on The Uptrack.