RED

  Continued greetings from British Columbia! The snow is still falling and the powder is still deep. We recently left to comforts of RED to go to a backcountry hut at Jumbo Pass.  It is located in the Purcell mountain range, just south of the Bugaboos. This area was recently saved from the persistent efforts of the commercial ski industry who wanted to build a mega resort in this pristine wilderness.  Thanks to the efforts of many groups, this area will be preserved in its natural state forever.  To read more and see this area click here, Keep Jumbo Wild .   This will give you a sense of the beauty and the importance of keeping it wild. Getting to the hut involves about an hour snowmobile and then a 2500 foot climb to the cabin. The access was a bit of a challenge as 3 out of 5 of us had to tow/ski behind the snowmobile on a narrow logging road with many obstacles along the way.  I was fortunate ride the snowmobile both ways.  Watching the guys get tow...

Roger's Pass Skiing in Roger’s Pass is any skiers dream come true. The mountains are big, beautiful, steep and numerous. You can get whatever you want: huge open bowls, glacier skiing, steep trees, and remote huts. This place has it all. Getting to the top of the mountains is challenging.  Breaking trail t akes a lot of effort and burns many calories. Thankfully the scenery is stunningly beautiful on the long up tracks. As of my last post, we skied 4 days with our friends.  After they left, we skied 2 days in Christiana Trees, which we had to ourselves. Each lap is 2300 vertical feet, so not many laps! If you are wondering how this area got its name, see photo below.  Some major old growth here.  I have literally become a tree hugger! Next we climbed Little Sifton.  It was a bluebird day with lots of great views.  Nice to get up high when the sun was shining and the wind was calm.                     ...