Related: Nicci’s Notch: Deep Pow and Cold Temps

Report from January 24, 2022

Ryan and I began our day at the Rogers Pass Discovery Center with clouds that seemed to be dissipating. Lucky us – the forecast indicated near bluebird conditions up high and it certainly delivered on its promises. We toured up the north bank of Connaught Creek (the winter trail) passing the Grizzly and Teddy Bear shoulders along the way.

We veered north up the Hospital Bowl uptrack, a well-used trail that links up Ursus Trees, the Bruins Ridge and Video Peak. The uptrack was quite icy – after all, we hadn’t received new snow in a week – but we managed with a bit of careful edging and tactical tree belays. After a few switchbacks, we gained the base of the Hospital Knob, located below the bowl of the same name.

We snaked up Hospital Bowl, taking a slight right towards a gentle moraine which minimized our exposure to the huge SE face towering above us. Finally, the sun poked out through the thin clouds, warming up our tired souls.

We traversed below big cliffs, minding the overhead hazard from rockfall and dry loose avalanches. After a few switchbacks up an obvious trough, we ditched our skis in favour of boot crampons and an ice axe. Boy, were the crampons essential! The summit ridge was wind-battered and refrozen after seeing much sun over the last few days. Our crampon’s front teeth barely held on to the surface crust.

Ryan and I reached the summit around 10:30 AM, soaking up the sun for a few minutes. We scrutinized the Video Peak North Face, looking out for signs of wind slabs. Honestly, the surface seemed absolutely thrashed by heavy winds, shifting between the north and south overnight. Let’s do it for the views then!

After a short break, we transitioned for the descent. We carefully side-slipped down a brief, rocky section to the west which led us to the top of the north face. The exposure was very real. After a ski-cut across the face where the wind slabs were likeliest to form, we skied the line, one by one, blasting through the 3-meter wide choke to avoid getting swept by our own sluff. The wind slab at the top was very supportive and unlikely to release, but still very much present in the back of our minds.

Looking back, our tracks were as clear as day on this previously virgin alpine face.

We continued down the mellow slopes of the NW bowl. The wind-affected, chalky snow found on the face gave way to preserved, boot-top powder. We gathered at a flat clearing at treeline (2000m), away from the surrounding avalanche terrain and far above Ursus Creek which is purported to shelter some of the Selkirks’ most heinous bush. That’s saying a lot!

We slapped our skins on and climbed up a broad shoulder leading into the Bruins Glacier (north bowl of 8812 Peak). The route granted us spectacular views of its nearby summits (8812 and Ursus Major Mtn), a view not many have seen. We gained the base of the bowl as a group of guided skiers were descending its gentle incline.

Since we had spare time, we decided on summiting 8812 Peak, up a series of ramps on the Bruins Glacier. The short detour took us below steep slopes, but we knew stability was all-time on this aspect. We still avoided most of the unsupported rolls as best as we could given our objective.

We gained the ridge between 8812 Peak and Ursus Major Mtn as fast as possible. The final slope was exposed and steep. While the snow was perfectly fine, I didn’t feel comfortable at all. We traverse under the ridge and gained a flat spot below the last summit pitch which we would have to bootpack.

After another short break, we put our crampons on and climbed the faceted north pitch, meters from the summit. We zig-zagged up the 50-degree face in hopes of avoiding deep boulder holes, steep rock slabs and finding supportive snow. Most of the face was absolutely rotten. After much effort, we bagged the summit.

At the summit, I inched towards the south to scope out the gnarly lines on the solar aspect. The top pitch seemed doable with a short, albeit exposed, downclimb. Sadly, I couldn’t quite see the lower pitch hidden by a roll. It’ll be for another time. Instead, we skied down the north aspect wrapping around the peak to 8812 Col. From there, we performed another stellar descent down the south bowl to the valley bottom.

Below the treeline where features are more sheltered, the snow was well-preserved, offering some fantastic soul turns. After catching our breath and resting our sore legs, we followed the bobsleigh track along Connaught Creek, making it back to my car well before sundown.

Route Info

8-9 h	1765m	12.3 km	1330-2550 m

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