Until this year, I had only skied in resorts. As much fun as that is, I have started to find that my interests lie in exploring the mountains, rather than just skiing down them. Especially during a year when the snowfall is low and yet the price of a lift ticket is at an all-time high, the draw of the backcountry was more alluring than ever. Cole and I had been talking about getting our avalanche safety training done for a while, and so we finally decided to go balls deep and buy all of the gear so that we were financially committed to skinning up the wintery mountains.
After getting our training done, Jack (brother/guide/mustachioed mountain man) took me on my first tour through Surprise Pass:
Now I can't say that I didn't expect it, but it was a lot of work. The payoff was so worth it though. Traveling through the mountain pass was (literally) breathtaking (I really need to work on my cardio).
Of course Jack knew the name of every single mountain and glacier, so I learned a whole lot about Banff that day.
I was very glad to be out there with Jack since the terrain we were traveling through was complex. We dug some pits and even looked at tiny little snow grains through his fancy snow study kit. Like responsible backcountry recreators, we spaced out when passing through avalanche paths.
Getting to the top of the ridge at the end was a lot scarier than I expected. I'm not entirely fearless when it comes to skiing, but normally I can control my nerves. Being out there completely on our own in the middle of nowhere did get the heart beating a little faster than usual. Also, kick-turns are pretty terrifying when the track-setter is dead set on going straight up on slippery snow.
Even though the wiggles at the end weren't in tits deep pow, I'm sure I'll remember them for the rest of my life. I guess earning your turns will do that to ya...
We even managed to find some fun little drops!
It was a pretty special moment looking back up at what we skied down. Felt very proud of myself, and stoke was at an all-time high.
At the end, we skied along the side of Lake Louise to get back to the car. We passed hikers, horse-drawn carriages, and even saw a bunch of ice climbers on Louise Falls. It was a very scenic end to an already scenic day.
Thanks for a great day bro 👊
