Trip Report
K Country, Rogers + Banff: three short but sweet canadian ski "trips" in spring.
Monday April 9, 2018 9:54pm
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the lebellion doing what he does best.
the lebellion doing what he does best.
Credit: nah000
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i hope all of you found some good mind altering personal adventures during the colder, shorter and darker days of winter...



1. French/Haig/Robertson Traverse: a psychedelic dose

sometimes when you run a gauntlet, you just beat the hot spring sun’s effect on the requisite and directly south facing bootpack slope… and between that and all of the other intensities that a solo trip over three small glaciers brings, you end up with a depth of experience you likely won’t forget until the day you die.

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1.0 looking across the french glacier to the robertson col a km or two...
1.0 looking across the french glacier to the robertson col a km or two away...
Credit: nah000
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1.1 rounding mt. robertson and its giant wind scoop on top of the haig...
1.1 rounding mt. robertson and its giant wind scoop on top of the haig glacier
Credit: nah000
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1.2 looking across the haig glacier towards the continental divide and...
1.2 looking across the haig glacier towards the continental divide and in the distance, at centre, the blocky mass of mt joffre. due to our history i mentally said to mt joffre: "i see you"... [and then couldn’t help wondering: “you see me?”]
Credit: nah000
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1.3 atop the bootpack at the sir douglas/robertson col about to start ...
1.3 atop the bootpack at the sir douglas/robertson col about to start the descent down the robertson glacier.
Credit: nah000
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1.4 photo evidence that one can make at least acceptable turns with a ...
1.4 photo evidence that one can make at least acceptable turns with a 160cm skimo rig... at least if the slope angle is 25-30 deg... ha!
Credit: nah000
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1.5 looking the few kms back up to the sir douglas/robertson col and w...
1.5 looking the few kms back up to the sir douglas/robertson col and where i'd just come from a half hour ago.
Credit: nah000
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nuts and bolts: kananaskis country, ab; ~20km; ~1100m; 5.5hr; 11.03.2018.




2. The Tupper Traverse: three glasses of red wine

if the best solo trips can be like a psychedelic ally induced peering-through-the-looking-glass, then hanging out, nailing a classic during one of the few weather windows in weeks, with three solid ski partners, is something akin to sipping from a glass [or three] of your favourite red wine.

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2.0 up on the hermit meadows with little sifton in the background.
2.0 up on the hermit meadows with little sifton in the background.
Credit: nah000
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2.1 pretty much at the highpoint with what is left of mt. tupper's mul...
2.1 pretty much at the highpoint with what is left of mt. tupper's multi faceted peak rising above the glacier...
Credit: nah000
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2.2 under the dictionary definition of "manly" there is a picture of t...
2.2 under the dictionary definition of "manly" there is a picture of this guy... in that picture he's also riding a bull while taking a swig of jack daniels... ok the second half of that last line i might have made up... but the first half? truth.
Credit: nah000
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2.3 traversing after descending the sweet pitch down the backside of t...
2.3 traversing after descending the sweet pitch down the backside of the tupper glacier... at rogers even when you "traverse" you still regularly get some tasty downhilling in...
Credit: nah000
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2.4 hussling to make it past a tiny bit of up before shortly thereafte...
2.4 hussling to make it past a tiny bit of up before shortly thereafter reclimbing the shoulder of tupper to begin the final descent of the day down the connaught north slide path.
Credit: nah000
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2.5 nearing the end of the day: a lady and a macdonald... [but not a l...
2.5 nearing the end of the day: a lady and a macdonald... [but not a lady macdonald.]
Credit: nah000
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nuts and bolts: rogers pass, bc; ~14km; ~1750m; 8hr; 24.03.2018.




3. Grand Daddy Couloir: a tulip of grappa

and for the digestif? the beauty of getting to the toppish of a goldilocks objective on an unexpected goldilocks of a day. a bit of cloud cover to keep the sun from beating on the things overhead while you’re hiking up, that then turns to a window of mostly unforecasted clearing, all while being neither too hot nor too cold. and the couloir itself was neither too steep nor too narrow and was filled with snow that wasn't too deep nor too stiff [although that was partly due to our opting out of the “shit” on the top and the possibility of missing the cloud clearing that suddenly happened and so skiing it from the clinch].

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3.0 the part of the day where i had resigned myself to the possibility...
3.0 the part of the day where i had resigned myself to the possibility that there was a 50/50 chance we were on a "take your gear for a walk and then go back empty handed" type of day...
Credit: nah000
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3.1 as we entered the couloir this turned to the "well... maybe we'll ...
3.1 as we entered the couloir this turned to the "well... maybe we'll get lucky and at least be able to see what's directly in front of us even if we can't see the whole line when we ski it" portion of the tour...
Credit: nah000
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3.2 x-23?
3.2 x-23?
Credit: nah000
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3.3 and the lord decreed: "s/he who breaketh the most trail, shall hav...
3.3 and the lord decreed: "s/he who breaketh the most trail, shall have first right of refusal on first turns"... and so here is the breaker of the most trail cashing out some of his hard earned stock options.
Credit: nah000
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3.4 and after all of that time spent in the low lying cloud things sta...
3.4 and after all of that time spent in the low lying cloud things stayed clear all of the way to the bottom of the primary open slope... [also, the entrance to the couloir is the high point in the snow slope at the upper right hand corner of the photo]
Credit: nah000
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3.5 and so it’s off to chase grand daddy long legs as he strides back ...
3.5 and so it’s off to chase grand daddy long legs as he strides back to the convenience of the hostel.
Credit: nah000
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nuts and bolts: banff national park, ab; ~5km; ~800m [~250m in the couloir]; 4hr; 07.04.2018.



4. Bonus... North Bowl of Mt. Cheops: a slice of chocolate mousse

sugar... likely the most often ab/used of the of the mind alterants. and no wonder...

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4.0 while it's not thigh deep, sometimes surfing in the first few inch...
4.0 while it's not thigh deep, sometimes surfing in the first few inches of a spring resultant chocolate mousse is just as satisfying...
Credit: nah000
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nuts and bolts: rogers pass, bc; 25.03.2018.

  Trip Report Views: 2,563
nah000
About the Author
nah000 is a climber.

Comments
norm larson

climber
wilson, wyoming
  Apr 10, 2018 - 04:20am PT
Nice! You've got the goods up there for sure. Glad you are taking advantage of them.

Still waiting for spring here in Wyoming. I'm getting tired of powder skiing. Did I really say that??
Charlie D.

Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
  Apr 10, 2018 - 05:28am PT
Awesome! What a Mecca!!! Oh and shame on you Norm for saying such a thing :^)
Nick Danger

Ice climber
Arvada, CO
  Apr 10, 2018 - 08:13am PT
Dude,
This is the stuff dreams are made of. Outstanding skiing, and thanks for sharing the whole desert bar with us.
cheers
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
  Apr 10, 2018 - 08:13am PT
Great stuff.

Reminds me of so many of my own days in the mountains in winter... Well, except for the downhill part where you link turns and all I ever managed was to link headplants.

I should probably have learned to ski.
EdwardT

Trad climber
Retired
  Apr 10, 2018 - 10:31am PT
Thanks. That made my day.
kunlun_shan

Mountain climber
SF, CA
  Apr 10, 2018 - 11:39pm PT
Thank you for the treats, nah000! Delicious report and great photos.

Good to see you are doing it!
nah000

climber
now/here
Author's Reply  Apr 11, 2018 - 04:26pm PT
thanks for the kind words folks...

and norm and Charlie: i too have been known to take the lord’s name in vain this spring... saying things along the lines of “well, i guess we’re just going to have to go ski more below treeline knee deep powder... really getting sick of this...” hahaha...

i certainly never thought i’d say something like the above before this season... but then i don’t think i’ve ever had to wait until march for my first real day in the alpine, either.

in the end, these aren’t just first world problems we’re dealing with here: these are more like spoiled rotten quinceanera “i wanted a lambo but daddy bought me a ferrari” based foot stomping problems...

so no complaints really: i’m sure i’ll remember this season for years to come...
D_Meschke

Mountain climber
Pinedale, WY
  Oct 13, 2018 - 03:42pm PT
reading this and getting stoked on winter here in the Wind River Range. long traverses, couloirs, powder skiing, spring corn. i'm salivating... thanks for the fuel
Charlie D.

Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
  Oct 13, 2018 - 08:20pm PT
Thanks D_M for the bump, starting to stoke the engines....can’t come soon enough.
Hoots

climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
  Oct 13, 2018 - 09:08pm PT
Great TR, thanks and keep them coming. Winter stoke is high! Got trips to the Selkirks and Adamants planned this spring.
AP

Trad climber
Calgary
  Oct 14, 2018 - 08:25am PT
Is the couloir on Mt Temple?
nah000

climber
now/here
Author's Reply  Oct 14, 2018 - 08:51pm PT
thanks for the responses, gents... always good to hear the positive reinforcement.

and nice timing: i didn’t make it out today due to being under the weather, but my mind had finally accepted that it is ski season here in calgary and surrounds, even if now it looks like there is going to be at least two weeks of another warming cycle...

but in general woot! can’t wait for what is already shaping up to be a great year if what i’ve seen driving through rogers pass the last couple of weekends is any indication.



AP: grand daddy couloir is on bow peak... it’s directly behind the mosquito creek hostel so it has some of the quickest access of any good size rockies couloir that i’m aware of...
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