Icefall Lodge - trip from March 2013

Here's an old trip we did from March of 2013 to Icefall Lodge. www.icefall.ca

It's a collection of some of the best terrain we've skied in the Selkirks. Along with Sorcerer, and Fairy Meadows its got imo the best combination of glaciated terrain combined with remarkable tree skiing on so many aspects available for self-guided groups.

We went in with a cook and paid 1300 per person for 7days 7 nights. Heli flight is longish at about 25 mins from near Golden BC

writeup from day 1 http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/i...-hut-overview/

Some pics from day 1

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...esDSC01700.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...geDSC01702.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...unIMG_0756.jpg


http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...llP1050509.jpg

I did a huge geek fest on maps and Google earth terrain surveys before the trip and put them all here http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall1303/

Went out to poke around in the alpine on Day 2. It had snowed a ton the last week as a pineapple express had come through and had rained apparently below 1400m. But that meant the possibility of good snow up high. We wanted to see how things were shaping up ourselves and headed up to Troll Pass and the Zen Glacier so we could look into the high glaciated terrain NW of the lodge

More here - http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/i...-and-home-run/

and some pics

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...dyDSC01707.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...deIMG_0669.jpg

Nice non-wind affected snow off Troll Pass.
http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...ssDSC01718.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...ssIMG_0682.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...ssIMG_0675.jpg

Then up to Ice Pass - here's Mt Arras in the background as we took picture after picture
http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...ckIMG_0695.jpg

Back down Home Run
http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...enIMG_0711.jpg

Holy shit. Mt. Arras is fucking cool.

I'm glad I'm not the only topo-map freak out there.
Sweet pics and trip. Jealous.

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Originally Posted by LeeLau

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...ssIMG_0675.jpg
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In the face.....
Thanks for stoke.

Really enjoyed your writeup on wildsnow, thanks for pushing it this way and keeping some stoke in this place.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Grape_Ape

Holy shit. Mt. Arras is fucking cool.

I'm glad I'm not the only topo-map freak out there.
Sweet pics and trip. Jealous.

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Maps are intrinsically cool. Route finding from maps, to me, adds to the allure

We were the next group after you. We had a full week of sun and glacier travel. Icefall is a great hut and Larry is an incredible host.Attachment 147347

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Originally Posted by PowderAlltheTime

We were the next group after you. We had a full week of sun and glacier travel. Icefall is a great hut and Larry is an incredible host.Attachment 147347

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Larry obviously knows the terrain and you guys scored incredible weather - wasn't that solid 7 days of bluebird and cold temps?

Awesome trip. A decade ago me and my brother and friends did a week with Golden Alpine Holidays. None of these guys wants to do something like this again (old farts).

How difficult (or inadvisable) is it to book a solo visit?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hortence

Awesome trip. A decade ago me and my brother and friends did a week with Golden Alpine Holidays. None of these guys wants to do something like this again (old farts).

How difficult (or inadvisable) is it to book a solo visit?

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Not at all. Larry usually has an assistant and a guide trainee. So the groups get split up. I've not been on his trips but apparently they're really well run. He'll let you ski aggressive lines and get max vert if thats what you want and if conditions allow it.

Here's Day 3 just to keep the stoke and pretty pictures going

http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/i...nd-alien-bowl/

We actually lucked out the previous day as didn't expect bluebird in the afternoon. Not being psychologically prepared for anything big in the alpine and not really being in tune with the snowpack we'd skied out a bit quicker than necessary. Today we were hoping for decent weather to hold so headed up to explore around the Kemmel Glacier area above the hut. Weather, wind and snow came in and we had to retreat off Ice Pass again and down the Zen Glacier.

That gave us a chance to have a civilized lunch at the hut. Weather improved in the afternoon so we headed south of the hut to tour up Alien Bowl. We got to the headwall and scouted a route through the headwall to get up to Orbit Bowl. Pulled the skins and had some pretty awesome snow down Alien Bowl all the way down valley. We hit the freezing level of refrozen crud from the pineapple of last week then headed back to the hut. Very civilized day indeed!

Shut down by graybird on the Zen Glacier
http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...utDSC01742.jpg

Lunch at the hut

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...es_MG_1822.jpg

Up to Alien Bowl as the weather breaks
http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...wl_MG_1816.jpg


http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...en_MG_1739.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...en_MG_1741.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...enDSC01780.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...de_MG_1770.jpg

ahhhh nothing like reliving the stoke.

Day 4 dawned bluebird. I headed off to the Laclytte Glacier and Pk and to take a look at the Lyell Icefield with Bruce and Trevor while another large group headed off to Kemmel and to Orbit Bowl.

The snow was light. The sun didn't have sufficient time to affect even solar aspect slopes. There was minimal wind and the views were magnificent

More http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/i...nd-orbit-bowl/

Towards Laclytte and the Lyells

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...ss_MG_1849.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...25885394_o.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...02439143_o.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...57392072_o.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...rs_MG_1833.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...92279782_o.jpg


Towards Orbit and Kemmel

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...daIMG_1449.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...peDSC01817.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...wlDSC01835.jpg

Very nice. Mt. Arras is fricking cool looking! Maybe from last season, when we had snow but a most excellent stoke piece!

Lee, ever the master of the well-shot TR. I have a coupla your pics on the walls of the ski hideaway. I'll be up in your neck of the woods this Winter, maybe meet up for another ski sometime. Maybe you and S come visit us, trying to get Gavin out here.

Man I just looked at the post avi pic of orbit the other day... fuck me that ran a loooong way.

Lance that would be cool.

D that was not cool - ie Orbit Bowl. The pics are humbling

LL, delivering the stoke as usual. Beautiful pics and TR. Well done. Thank you sir.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums

It was 7 straight days of bluebird with cold temps. It was good to get a visual of all the terrain. It was the second time for me to Icefall. Here's a shot of Le Clit from my trip before.Attachment 147454

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LeeLau

Lance that would be cool.

D that was not cool - ie Orbit Bowl. The pics are humbling

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Orbit bowl = horseshoe up our ass.

Wurd.
I'll dig out a post pic...

Day 5 and 6 the weather came in. We skied trees and farmed pow around the hut. Highlights included some aggressive uphills to trees E of the hut. We found the freezing level from the pineapple and what it had done to snow down low - ugh!


http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...stIMG_0727.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...stDSC01846.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...thDSC01861.jpg

Then we came back to the hut and built kickers off the shitter

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...y5_MG_2083.jpg

http://www.leelau.net/2013/icefall13...obIMG_5510.jpg

Fantastic looking hut and trip report!

bump for canuck ski trip hut stoke

Are you bumping these because last year's snow coupled with el Nino has reservations down in Canada?

Nope. Because of the thread asking about BC hut recommendations

Such a great TR. Lee.... Was up there last year and was by far the best skiing of the year... Highly reccomended!

LeeLau milkin' it!

Nice TR bumps... time to get the skis out and forget about the tropical vacations.

Great TR......Thanks for the stoke!