Related: Burnt Knob, Revelstoke: The Perfect Macpherson Slidepaths

Report from January 7, 2026

On a foggy, cold January morning, Freddy and I rolled into the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club parking lot. The dream: spend the day slashing powder turns down Fuzzy and Burnt Knob. We followed the Main Loop Trail, generally aiming for another very popular ski touring zone, the Macpherson Fingers. After 20 minutes of easy progress, we branched off the groomed trail on an unnamed skid road, traversing the east face of Mt Macpherson.

We marched up the skid road, carving a deep trail in more than 60cm of fresh powder. The hard work was only beginning. Thankfully, someone had already set a trail a few days ago, leaving a barely noticeable depression in the snow. Looking across the valley, the frosted slopes of Mt. Mackenzie (Revelstoke Mountain Resort) glistened in the sunlight as the rays pierced through the clouds. The valley fog was obscuring the town of Revelstoke. What a stunning sight!

After 3km along the gently graded ski road, we veered right and followed the south bank of Wells Creek. A narrow band of clearings led us through the dense forest into the old-growth above. At last, we could set a “guide’s” uptrack, minimizing direction changes and accelerating our uphill travel. Since we had received more than 60cm of snow in 48 hours, the uptrack looked more so like a trench than a trail.

We navigated up the big timber, utilizing natural features such as tree wells and flat-topped pillows to complete our switchbacks. Concerned about a persistent weak layer of hazardous surface hoar, we stayed away from the open, sheltered slopes right below Burnt Knob. They seemed like ideal surface hoar farms where the persistent slab problem would be found.

We continued up the forested slope to an obvious col delineating the two minor summits. We then headed north towards Fuzzy Knob, contouring past Wells Creek. While the ascent from the creek to the knob was quite short, the deep snow impeded our progress. We laughed at how ridiculous it was to break trail through the very deep snow. After much effort, we crested the hill and completed our transition at a relaxed pace, slowly recharging our exhausted batteries.

The descent was an absolute treat. We slid into the short, steep pitches right off the knob. At every turn, the unusually light snow was kissing our faces. Faceshot after faceshot, it was exhilarating. We made our way down the mature forest, effortlessly weaving through the sparse timber. Given the large quantity of new snow, we carefully planned our descent to maximize our falline skiing. Traversing was simply not an option in those deep powder conditions. At about 1050m, we traversed back to the upper end of the string of clearings we had initially ascended. Battling trenchy powder and nasty alders, punching that traverse wasn’t easy.

After such a wicked lap, we couldn’t just head home. The amazing snow conditions called for another lap, especially after spending much effort laying our uptrack. We slapped the rugs on and headed for Burnt Knob. There’s no denying it’s a step-up from our previous lap. The Burnt Knob descent takes you through two large slidepath and forces you down a convoluted system of gullies, pillows and steep, eroded slopes. Having assessed the avalanche conditions on our previous lap by ski cutting steep, unsupported features, Burnt Knob seemed like an acceptable risk at the time.

As expected, the descent from Burnt Knob was excellent. There’s nothing better than skiing a 500-meter slidepath filled with champagne powder. See the instragram reel below for a pretty good summary of the ski conditions.

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A post shared by Olivier Denis-Larocque (@theuptrack)

Route Info

4-5 h	1050m	13 km	650-1685 m

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Related: Fuzzy Knob, Revelstoke: Shredding Through The Big Timber

Report from December 29, 2025

Paul and I parked at the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Lodge below Mt Macpherson for a cruisy lap down the Burnt Knob slidepaths, whichever would have the least track. Having last seen each other in the Fall, we casually walked along the Main Loop as we caught up on our busy lives. The staff at the RNSC made it easy for ski tourers to access the Macpherson NE slopes with clear signage showing the way. Within 20 minutes, we made it to the old skid road that traverses below the Fingers and, further, the two Burnt Knob slidepaths.

Arriving at the end of the skid road, made obvious by the dense jungle ahead, we began climbing more aggressively, following a series of small clearings adjacent to Wells Creek. With an existing uptrack carved in the lumpy terrain at a reasonable incline, our progress to the wide col between the two minor peaks, Burnt and Fuzzy Knob, was effortless. I reworked some of the trail, finding more efficient ways to contour through the alders and cedar forest. This reminded me how bushy the eastern Monashees can get, even with our unusually thick coverage for late December. Due to its low elevation, I typically won’t even attempt a ski tour at Mt Macpherson before January rolls around and the temperatures plummet.

As the fog lifted and the skies opened up, we reached the top of Burnt Knob. As we shovelled nuts in our hungry mouths, we scoped out the slope below. A convoluted system of gullies, wind drifts, and pillows split along a natural shoulder and led into the two beautiful slidepaths. Noticing most tracks leading into the skier’s right path (#1), we decided it was best to aim for the left one.

We also observed some noticeable wind effect along the top of the knob. As an exposed, prominent bump, this observation was no surprise after the variable winds overnight. Before starting the run, I cautiously ski cut the first steep pitch, grasping for a nearby tree. As expected, I triggered a small wind slab, 30cm thick.

With our avalanche control mission complete, we skied the top pitch, weaving through juvenile spruces and jumping off an endless stream of playful features carpeting the slope. This is typical Monashees skiing. We traversed to the skier’s left, lining ourselves up with the #2 slidepath below. The winds had compressed the snow, making the skiing challenging. While Paul, an expert snowboarder, had no problem staying afloat in the dense, creamy powder, I, on the other hand, kept having to shift my weight to the back of my skis in an effort to keep my tips up. Needless to say, the run was an absolute quad burner.

We spread our descent over three epic pitches. To my surprise, no one had skied the left path. This is awesome! Previous avalanches and meters after meters of snowfall had almost entirely covered the heinous alders. We skied nearly all the way to the old forestry trail. After a solid high five, we followed the undulating track down the skid road and back to Nordic ski club trails. What a day!

Route Info

5 h	1150 m	13 km	649-1765 m

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Related: Burnt Knob, Revelstoke: The Perfect Macpherson Slidepaths

Report from January 13, 2020

It was a cold, cold day, but a bluebird one. My thermometer’s mercury spiked down, indicating -17 °C. Having grown up in Quebec, cold temperatures don’t intimidate me at all. However, when it comes to stuffing your feet into tight ski boots for 8+ hours in a humid environment, -17 °C becomes a real hazard. And those were the temps at 600m. The alpine was forecasted at -30 °C with wind chill. Since Revelstoke had been shrouded in clouds for nearly three weeks, it was worth braving the cold to get a glimpse of sunlight. And so, we headed up the Fingers, a popular ski touring area, after parking Simon’s Tacoma at the Nordic Ski Lodge.

I stashed my poles behind my back and performed aggressive windmills with my arms for most of the ascent. This was the only way to keep them functional. In the back of my mind, I thought of my big toes, not a particularly glamorous subject but a crucial one. After getting gnarly frostbites on both toes during my ascent of Rogers Peak, I had to keep the blood flowing. I had to keep them nice and toasty.

Further up the Fingers, we climbed a steep chute scarred by impossibly steep switchbacks. Our skins barely had enough grip. After shivering for hours in the cold valley bottom, we gained the eastern ridge leading up to the entrance of the Womb. The warm sunlight pierced through the sparse conifers. This welcoming sight was a perfect opportunity to take a break.

We discussed our options. The snowpack was relatively stable after the arctic temps had consolidated the dangerous layers. In our very active avalanche season, this was THE day when we could ski exposed lines. Hence, we decided to ski one of the Fingers straight from the ridge, a 45-degree chute leading into an open avalanche path. Deep light Monashees powder was waiting for us. It took no time for Simon to convince us. After setting up my camera, he led the way down the chute.

As expected, the snow was extremely light, one of the benefits of cold weather. We nearly sank to our waists at every turn, from the top to the bottom of our run. As Simon noted, these were probably the best conditions he’s encountered all season. I agreed. Cedrik was silent, as always, but we knew his wide eyes said it all.

We cut back to our previous uptrack, ready to transition for the climb to the top of the Womb, our day’s objective. I reached for my skins, but my numb fingers couldn’t open my backpack. Great! I resorted to using my teeth. Not very sanitary, but it gets the job done. Most importantly, I had to thaw my feet NOW. We bolted up the skin track in a constant battle with hypothermia. It got so cold that Cedrik’s skins wouldn’t stick his skis. He ended up securing the skins with a couple of ski straps. What a clever solution!

Once on the shoulder, we aimed for the Womb. I raced up in front of the group to maintain my body temperature – I’m particularly sensitive to cold. We maintained radio communication every ten minutes or so. I noticed the incline was ideal for placing a progressive uptrack through the sparse trees. Naturally, I caught myself stopping at every turn to gaze at the Columbia Valley. The views were jaw-dropping. That’s what ski touring Mt MacPherson is all about!

After two hours of ascent and cold sweats, we reached the entrance of the Womb. We watched a group of skiers laying sublime tracks down the summit. Surprisingly, the snow wasn’t as wind-affected as it seemed. With my ski mountaineering background, I wished we had bagged the peak. Unfortunately, we had to cut our tour short as it was getting late. In the end, we exchanged a summit for a waist-deep powder lap. I call that a fair trade.

Holy hell! This is now a classic in my books. How to best describe this run? The Womb is a deep ravine with towering walls on both sides. The skier’s left wall is divided by large clearings riddled with rounded boulders and stumps, perfect to jump off. As our previous run in the Fingers, the snow was equally deep, if not deeper. Again and again, the uber-light powder would fling into our mouths, providing us with a healthy dose of adrenaline and something to quench our thirst. Sadly, I’m devoid of photographic evidence. My camera’s battery finally succumbed to the cold. I was still amazed that it lasted that long.

Eventually, we reached the valley bottom, 1300m lower than where we stood 15 minutes ago. Let’s not forget the bushwhack back at the Nordic Ski Lodge through a sketchy creek. All good tours must end with a gnarly bushwhack!

Route Info

7-8 h	1485 m	10 km	649-2110 m

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