2011/2012 Canadian Rockies Roll Call and StokeThread...

[endure]

is the trail snow covered? i.e. could you ski back to the car with rock skis? Any new snow or is it probably just consolidated snow from last weekend?

give us some beta Spooky!

[Lamothe]

we skined from the parking lot and skied back to it. There was maybe 2 cms on top of last weeks dump . From was i could see it looked promising but spooky will have the proper beta

[That was Pontus]

What? Context?!

Latest from MCR, about avoiding romancing the elk.

[f2f]

"The bull elk around Canmore are looking for romance and hollering for a fight. The bears probably have the last minute hunger stress going on. Good weekend to not look romantic, tough or tasty in the woods."

[time2clmb]

Ahhhh...hadn't seen it yet. Glad he's not skiing yet as easy turns are pretty limited this time of year...well that and it's generally not really a "good" idea anyways.

[Lamothe]

"The bull elk around Canmore are looking for romance and hollering for a fight. The bears probably have the last minute hunger stress going on. Good weekend to not look romantic, tough or tasty in the woods."

ah shit , im always looking to score, im tough as nails and just a nice juicy piece of man meat. guess im staying home this week

[Spooky]

is the trail snow covered? i.e. could you ski back to the car with rock skis? Any new snow or is it probably just consolidated snow from last weekend?

give us some beta Spooky!

I have good news for you - the trail is snow covered, generally. We skied all the way back to the car (although unfortunately I wasn't on my rock skis) and the last stretch from the lake down was surprisingly fun. There were a few small patches with no snow or just a tiny strip on one the side so watch out for those as you'll have to carefully sidestep over them or try and jump between the patches and watch the sparks fly.

As for the glacier it was a mixed bag - some really nice softer turns up high mixed with crusty wind affected patches. With a bit of caution it was easy to avoid rocks higher up but it obviously became more of a minefield as we dropped further down into the basin. It was my first time up there so I don't have a helpful frame of reference but my mate who's been up there a few times in the last few years said it's the nicest he's skiied it. I can't remember the dates he went up those times though so that's probably fuck all help either in terms of comparison.

More useful would be photos, i'll try and stick a couple up later tonight if I get the chance.

We also saw an impressive bull moose enjoying a casual stroll around the lakeside as we came back down which was pretty sweet.

[Spooky]

Here are a few shots, they'll hopefully give you a better idea of how it's looking up there at the moment:

[time2clmb]

Looking pretty decent up there. Thanks for posting pics.

[Lamothe]

that looked pretty good actually. Not im really disappointed Thanks for the shots spooky
If anyone heads up that way in the near future Let me know.

[time2clmb]

^that totally blows Lamonthe. Why did your crew want to turn around so early?

[time2clmb]

Hey Spooky was there any surface hoar forming up????

[Lamothe]

I guess it ended up being to long of a tour for them . They were just young guys, both under 20. They didn't have any faith that snow was going to be better up on the glacier so I was out voted and we turned around at about tree line.

[iscariot]

I guess it ended up being to long of a tour for them . They were just young guys, both under 20. They didn't have any faith that snow was going to be better up on the glacier so I was out voted and we turned around at about tree line.

pm me next time you want to head out, or let me know your general availability. I have a fairly open schedule, and I'm looking to get started for the season.

[time2clmb]

Hey any of you Golden folks want to do some laps and tours around KH with me this season? I want to spend more mid / early week time there this season. My lips are sealed on any stashes I am shown.

[time2clmb]

Also trying to find more, solid people to tour with around Banff / Lake Louise / parkway etc etc with the intent of building trust to hit some short notice ski mountaineering spring lines with. Figure it's better to start looking early this season.

[iscariot]

Hey any of you Golden folks want to do some laps and tours around KH with me this season? I want to spend more mid / early week time there this season. My lips are sealed on any stashes I am shown.

I should be able to fulfill some of these requirements. I'm not living in Golden this winter, but I did last winter, and have been primarily hanging around that place for the past 4 or 5 years. If you want someone to split gas from Calgary, I'm in.

[time2clmb]

^that would be awesome...will keep you in the loop for ski days there then. Can't split gas from Calgary but no problem from Banff

[iscariot]

^that would be awesome...will keep you in the loop for ski days there then. Can't split gas from Calgary but no problem from Banff

I'll meet you at Evelyn's.

I spent most of the mid 90's to early 2000's skiing (and living) in and out of the Bampth, Lake Lousy, Scumshine areas. I "discovered" Whitetooth back in my racing days, but didn't really start getting out to Golden a whole lot until about 2004. Been spending as much time as possible there since.

[Lamothe]

pm me next time you want to head out, or let me know your general availability. I have a fairly open schedule, and I'm looking to get started for the season.

Days off are wed thurs, but i can swing almost anything out side of holiday season.

[Lamothe]

Also trying to find more, solid people to tour with around Banff / Lake Louise / parkway etc etc with the intent of building trust to hit some short notice ski mountaineering spring lines with. Figure it's better to start looking early this season.

Im slowly racking up BC experience and would be game for touring the area and i don't mind being miserable so bring on the long slogs uphill

[time2clmb]

Im slowly racking up BC experience and would be game for touring the area and i don't mind being miserable so bring on the long slogs uphill

Sounds good.

[endure]

thinking of trying to get to Rae tomorrow if anyone's interested. alternative plan is that my friend wants to try to find the Granddaddy couloir but my guess is that it is unskiable right now? I'm new to the area, but I imagine glacier skiing is the best you'll get right now with a lack of snow?

I am also down for some golden touring this winter on my days off when I'm not in revy.

[time2clmb]

"Granddaddy" might be a bit ambitious. Spooky and his crew probably worked Rae though along with whoever the fuck else would have finished it off today. Robertson might be ok with probably less traffic. I can't recommend French glacier at all....it would be good but would completely suck ass trying to force your skis through all the brush while carrying them. You'd probably be lucky to be averaging 2kmph carrying skis through some of the shitty sections.

On another note, I am selling a brand new in box white color size large Smith Variant brim helmet if anyone wants it. Not going to bother with pics as it's brand new but $100 picked up takes it. I have to take a course in Calgary either next week of the following week so can arrange a meeting in Calgary perhaps. I'm going to post it on MEC next week for $120ish.

[Lamothe]

i gota agree, robertsons its probably you're best bet. Its kinda of a bitch to get to ( not having been to french) its pretty obviously how to get there but be prepared for a full day or close to in my opinion. Walking the creek bed for an hour and half each way really does suck . It could be worth it tho , its got good vert and was well covered even mid sept.

oh yeah , spooky and his crew were not the first to ski Rae , if that helps your decision at all .