A walk in the Park... No really, A walk in the park !
It's no secret the coast is in a bit of a slump this winter. I'm optimistic things will pick up and there is plenty of time to get back on track. We had a refresh this past weekend and it was great to see the storm depositing up to 100cm in some areas allowing us back into some of our favourite lines, particularly on Whistler/Blackcomb.
The flip side is that snow is sitting on a bit of a problematic base and good decision making in terrain selection is mandatory.
It's been awesome to see all the great info sharing in regards to these concerns, the temptation to take greater chances when we are powder starved is pretty tempting but just not worth it.. with Patience we will get back on those lines we day dream about.
The way I look at it is if we could hit every line on our bucket list every time we roll it would just normalize the experience. What I like about each winter is how weather patterns, snowfall and winds change features almost daily creating something new to figure out.
Today I headed up into my favourite zone with JF Plouffe ( Helly Hansen Athlete and Guide).
 |
| JF alway's takes great shots so I poached him ! |
 |
| Early Morning Light- Tantalus |
Day time temps were at record levels so we got an early start and for the most part we would be traveling on the shady North, North East Aspect off of Brohm Ridge.
Our plan was to head up onto the normal route on Garibaldi and see how the slots were filling in and maybe hit one of the long mellow lines off the Warren Glacier.
Dropping down behind what I refer to as the sharkfin ( not to be confused with the same name on the Neve) to climb up to Brohm Ridge we traversed over old debris that we suspect ran shortly after the storm a few day's prior. There was some cornice debri so it's possible that is what triggered it. I've been in this area numerous times and have never seen the feature go wall to wall. The crown was approx 50cm and ran down into the drainage 500m path.. A firm reminder the potential for destructive slides even in seemingly benign terrain.
We quickly crossed the bed surface in flat light and carried on up to the Warren Glacier.
Dalton Dome pictured below, slightly different shot location..but you get the idea !
 |
| 2014 Can you spot the difference--Maybe won't go this year ! |
 |
| 2012 fat fat fat |
So we moved on from this location and headed across the glacier to gain the view of "Garibaldi".. Route finding was straight forward, slots were obvious.
 |
| JF Plouffe ! |
 |
| Old projects.... they will alway's be there ! |
The main face on Garibaldi was well filled, the bergshrund appeared bridged, however a large crown reaching out into the main face was a clear indicator that today was not the day.
Similar aspect to the large path we walked across earlier in the day !
 |
| Image by JF Plouffe-- Chris Christie |
Sorry, no images of the debri, or slide paths.. all hiding in flat light, in the shadow's.
So with a little effort and heads up there is some decent skiing to be had. Use good judgement and go find adventure ! High pressure is rare on the coast and when ambitions are scaled to conditions, it's actually pretty damn good out there.
( The day flew past.. our intention was to dig a pit on the way out at the 1st slide path but I had to fly off to night shift.. stellar day !)
Chris
@mecenvoy
No comments:
Post a Comment