Backcountry 2012-2013
Scroll down to see the reports. To leave a report, scroll to the bottom.
Thanks to Alf Skrastins for the introduction and suggestions:
Here are a few suggestions for ungroomed trails that can be OK for XC touring skis:
-The Telephone Loop at West Bragg Creek.
-Highway #66, past the gates at Elbow Falls and up to the Rainy Pass area
-The Eagle Hill trail at Sibbald Lake along Hwy #68
The three trails listed above are in the foothills and are best between late December and mid-March, when enough snow has fallen along the eastern side of the Rockies. Use the West Bragg Creek trail reports as a guideline.
The following trails are in the Kananaskis Lakes and Smith-Dorrien valley areas. They typically get a lot of snow. These trails are free from avalanche risk. -Hwy #40, south of the Kananaskis Lakes turn-off. This used to be trackset at one time.
-The Smith-Dorrien trails between Sawmill Day Use area and Chester Day Use area. These trails used to be groomed, but have not been maintained for several years. The ones that are in better shape (less little trees and deadfall) will hopefully be signed as snowshoe trails this winter.
-The Burstall Pass Trail to Burstall Flats.
-The Chester Lake Loop
-The Rummel Lake trail
-The old logging road that runs between the Mt. Shark road near Engadine Lodge and Commonwealth Creek.
In Banff Natiional Park, there are several trails that can be good.
-Boom Lake trail is signed as an ungroomed XC trail, but it also gets a lot of snowshoe traffic.
-Healy Pass is a favorite of mine, but you’ll need a good snowplow on some of the hills. I prefer wider skis for this one.
-Taylor Lake and Tower Lake trails are also used as touring trails by folks on XC ski gear, but they both gain a lot of elevation and require nearly constant snowplowing on the way down. I prefer to use wider backcountry skis for these two trails.
Alf
{ 58 comments… read them below or add one }
CHICKADEE VALLEY
Also known as Whymper Valley, we love doing this trip at this time of year. It is a safe scenic tour with a beautiful frozen waterfalls as well!
Today was no exception. After all our recent freeze/thaw cycles, travel conditions are excellent, and the sunlight adds so much.
Check it out at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/accesschuck/ChickadeeValley?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLLDoY60_LbAbQ&feat=directlink
It’s nice to see that valley in full sun! Usually we seem to go there for mid-winter powder, when the sun barely reaches into the valley all day. The tour as far as the big slidepath at the end of the flat middle valley is a fine safe tour for xc skiers with some trail skiing skills, once the lower creekbed is nicely filled in later on in the winter.
Good to see that others are still getting out, and while it’s been over a month since I was on the skinny skis, the local backcountry has been providing some great ski-touring and powder skiing-
https://picasaweb.google.com/steveandjoriggs/BirdwoodCircuitApril212013
Our ski on May 1 was to be the French-Haig-Robertson loop, and although strong winds and poor visibility on the glaciers thwarted that plan, we still had a fine day of skiing.
https://picasaweb.google.com/steveandjoriggs/FrenchCreekMay1
This weekend’s warmth might well bring my ski season to a close, but we’ll see what the weather brings.
Great trips and spectacular photos. The ptarmigan shot is terrific.
PIPESTONE/SKOKI Loop
Finally had the perfect conditions to do this long backcountry tour. Started at the Pipestone trailhead and enjoyed hard crust skiing once past the groomed trial system. Just a skiff of fresh snow on top of an unbreakable crust. In fact I was able to skate ski for about 10km along the Pipestone . I followed probably 2-3 day old Wolverine tracks for a good chunk of the Pipestone and along the Little Pipestone valley, his tracks continued to the Red Deer Lakes when I veered off for the Skoki Valley. Took me 6.5 hours to get to Skoki Lodge where I watched a Marten clamber over the closed up lodge. From there I was on well skiied in tracks over Deception Pass and down past Temple Lodge to the base area. The only decent fresh snow to be had was on Deception Pass. The whole trip took me 9 hours. I would never have been able to do this trip without the hard crust conditions. Breaking trail over that distance would have made it a 2 day trip. I used metal edged touring skis, Rossignol BC 68, fairly light equipment.
TOKUMM CREEK
Backcountry is where it’s at these days!
With unbreakable crust everywhere, it is easy to travel on the surface at will.
We enjoyed meandering along Tokumm Creek, following the Kootenay wolf pack, through this quiet sunlit valley:
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2093790&code=310665b06181d1b1b23cfae7d54ba221
What a cool trip report! Loved that. Any answer?
Looks like $ money though, more gadgets. *sigh* RESIST RESIST
A couple of us did a very nice tour to Rummel Lake today. It was -5C when we started out and there was about 10cm of recent fresh snow on a very solid base. It warmed up to about 0C for about an hour, before the clouds moved in and cooled things off again. Excellent touring conditions. You could tour off trail anywhere!
FLINTS PARK LOOP
Long day trip… but amazing if you are up to the challenge!
Check out: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2060239&code=e789c54493e3939abb06e796f5754365
The track is in, but it took me nearly 12 hours for some 62 Km.
Looks like an awesome trip Chuck! Did you do it solo?
How much avalanche danger is along the route?
Yes, I must admit that I did it solo this time (though that is not adviseable). Jeannette has joined me in the past when we have done this circuit. I think some how she new it would be tougher with all the bottomless snow we have lower down this year! It took a lot longer.
But YES Peter, it is an AWESOME trip.
Seems like I do most of my long trips solo now also. It’s seems like most of my friends are into short trips to do turns instead of touring trips now. Personally I enjoy the solitude! Last year I ran into a grizzly in the spring when I was on my own skiing which I wouldn’t want to repeat though. And then there was that near miss from an avalanche this year to… Better out on your own then being stuck in the city though!
Mar 16 Mosquito Cr NNW branch
I joined up with a pair of adventurous folks. We followed a good track up Mosquito Cr. At the campground a freshly broken trail left by two stout lads with AT gear headed up the slopes of Mosquito Mtn. We followed it for a bit then branched off up the valley to the NNW. The drainage on the NE side gave us some trouble so we switched to the SW side of the valley. We made our way up a small clearing just prior to the left branch of the next fork in the stream. We climbed to just over 2200m and called it a day. We followed our tracks down but broke some new trail to get back to the main valley. The snow bridges looked good for the most part.
We saw evidence of some small-medium slides and layering so take care should you use this track.
Broke trail today from upper Kananaskis lake parking lot along Elk pass trail, over Elk pass and all the way to upper Elk lake in B.C. About 6-8 inches of fresh snow the whole way. Had a near miss from an avalanche at the lake. The wind blast from it was strong enough to shake all the snow off the trees around me! On the way out I met a convoy of pulks and chariots bound for the Elk lakes cabin. Nice to have all the fresh cold snow today! To bad spring is almost here. I could do with alot more skiing!
Mar 9 Opabin Plateau
An awesome day in a spectacular location. About a dozen people with skis and snowshoes broke trail ahead of me from Lk O’Hara up. I suspect they were staying at the Lodge and that some instruction was occuring. We poked into the ice cave in the pocket glacier and ventured a little above that between two obvious crevasses before turning down. My bindings are insufficient for full on downhill so I pussy-footed my way back down to Lk O’Hara. There was some slush on the lake under the snow – ick – gets my hackles up. It was a quick run back to the parking lot.
February 28th Boom Lake:
Did a quickie up to Boom Lake today. The snow is hard-packed and fast (exciting!!), but not icy, and although there is some tree debris, it is not very much and did not affect our enjoyment. I would rate conditions here as still very good, but a little fresh snow would make it perfect!!
Aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhhh!! I meant *nice* fresh snow!!!
Healy/Pharoah/Redearth:
3 of us skied this Feb 26. Snow conditions were excellent and fast. There was a skiff of new snow at the trailhead, increasing to about 10 cm at the pass. As usual, the tracks in the Healy meadows were obscured, but could usually find an old base, and trailbreaking was easy anyway (and there were more skiers coming up behind us).
With the very consistent snow over a solid base, even a poor downhill skier like myself had a lot of fun going down into the Pharoah creek valley. The first 3 km heading down Pharoah creek was a mix of trailbreaking and snow covered old tracks, but as it became more sheltered tracks became clearer.
Redearth creek was a very fast run out with no recent snow on hard snowmobile pack with tracks on one side of the trail. It was nice to have metal edges.
First time I’ve skied this route and will definitely do it again!
That sounds like a long day — how far is it, and how long did it take you?
Its 32 km on the gemtrek map, 30 km according to a friend who plays with mapping software. The climb up to Healy pass is approx 600m gain, then its 900m elevation loss the rest of the way. Took us 7.5 hr including breaks. We all had on relatively skinny backcountry touring skis w metal edges. Conditions were fast, so it could take a lot longer if you had to break a lot of trail and it was colder.
Thank you, Peter! I’m not sure we’ll see any better conditions this season…….
Feb 23 pounding out the km’s on Cascade Fire Road
The snow was a touch icy at the start but gets better as you go north. I thought I was the first one out that day but after Stony Cr cabin I found fresh tracks of four people. Turned out that one pair was on a four-night outing heading for Flint’s Park or points beyond. The other pair was on a shorter excursion. Anyhow, the track is in good shape for as far as one would want to go in one day. There are a few soft spots where the later travelers went a bit wide of the packed trail under newer snow. This is the downside of the dry powdery snow in these parts. The trail to the east up Stony Cr had seen recent activity. Not sure how far this has been opened up.
SKOKI trail. Skied into Skoki (my favourite backcountry lodge) Monday and out Wednesday: GREAT conditions. Pretty flattened, snowmobile packed, skier-set trail all the way, i.e. not a cut track of course, but new pristine snow all around, about 10 inches of new (25 cm, for you Gen-X and younger). G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S!! Did it all on my (very) skinny skis, as I have each of my eight times in, and no problem. Think I would take light touring skis next time if I had them — not for the trip in and out, but to increase options for touring once you got there.
The new snow made for decent snowplowing and my first ever run down the 4 km toboggan run from Deception Pass to the lodge without falling/bailing. Felt so good I went back up to the pass next day and had my second ever run without bailing.
After three perfect days, ten minutes from the finish at Lake Louise Whiskey Jack Lodge, I did a high-speed face plant on the ski-out from Temple and got a black eye and a broken metacarpal. Oh well, it should be fine in six weeks. If you are contemplating skiing into Skoki, don’t let that deter you. All of our group of eight of varying abilities had a great time.
Feb 16 Paradise Valley (Horseshoe Glacier)
The winter trail on the east side of Paradise Cr is in good shape. There was a well-packed and used trail to the Lk Annette junction. From there to the last two snow/ice bridges the tail was well-packed with a couple cm’s of new snow. The trail was ‘faint’ through the last avalanche slope. It helped to know where to look for it. The snow/ice bridges were good. As usual the wind in the upper meadow had erased any previous tracks. Mine are likely already washed out except in the trees. It was a grey day and so are the pictures.
ELK PASS LOOP – B.N.P.
This is a great year for this 34 Km loop, starting at Mt. Norquay parking lot and going over Elk Pass and down to the Cascade Valley past the warden cabin to the Minnewanka parking lot. A military group went through in December hauling tobaggans, and the trail has continued to be used all winter.
Be prepared… this took us 8 hours starting with a beautiful sunrise.
To enjoy it without your own crash and burn… check out:
https://picasaweb.google.com/accesschuck/ElkPassLoop?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJfH5f7mrMX3Fw&feat=directlink
Hey,
I’m looking for information on light touring in the Skoki Area. My partner and I would like to spend a couple nights winter camping and touring around there.
Thanks,
Graham
Try to get a copy of Chic Scotts “Ski trails in the Canadian Rockies”. Mec probably sells it (hopefully its still in print!) Its got info on all the tours to do around Skoki. Hope that helps!
Does anyone have any leads or suggestions on where to find a good deal on some AT skis, bindings (preferably dynafit), and boots (size 11). Pickings are slim on kijijj. I might end up renting, or buying new (boots at least), but if there is a good deal out there, it would be nice to have my own kit for a seven-day Wapta traverse this April and the two or three day trips I would likely do in a typical year, without spending a big bundle.
General advice from experienced AT’ers re gear will also be appreciated. I’m very much a novice: the Wapta traverse two years ago was my first and only outing so far. And I absolutely loved it!
Have you tried the MEC gear swap? There is usually a lot of gear for sale there. First step is deciding what kind of backcountry skiing you most want to do. More touring oriented such as wapta, steep and deep powder skiing, or ski mountaineering ? There is gear that best fits each use, as well as a middle ground that works for all. Best probably to start with finding boots that work for you. Don’t forget that skins, beacon, probe shovel etc,etc are also part of the backcountry equipment package.
Good luck finding decent used AT gear that is not overpriced. You can always check at Switching Gear in Canmore for consignment equipment, they have lots of boots and a few skis. Now is a good time to pick up some deals online as the spring sales have begun. A great site is http://www.telemark-pyrenees.com/en/ .
I have some Volkl Polar Bear 180cm AT skis that you may be interested in. I use Dynafits and am size 11 but no extras there.
Thanks for the info and very helpful suggestions, Steve, Bruce and Rob. I am still looking. Rob, I will google Volkl Polar Bear for some more info, and may be calling you.
Dennis, I mislead you a bit. I have 163CM Polar Bears but I think I also know where you can get some 180cm Explosiv’s (both are very good German Volkl AT skis). 403-247-3003. Price $200-300 for $700 skis.
No problem. I’ll be away for a few days. I”ll check out both when I get back.
Bob, can you forward my email address to Rob. We can go off the blog to discuss.
Thanks.
Nice to see some AT discussion on here
. This website has been a wealth of information as I’ve gotten into skiing – first XC last winter, then light touring a couple of months later, and now AT a year later. After having rented AT gear for four days now, I am also looking at getting my own set-up. Pickings are also very slim in the local outdoor gear stores; people will probably want to go hiking soon rather than seeking out more snow … sigh. I’ll be looking for the Scarpa Maestrale boots in 25.5, tech bindings (G3 or Dynafit), and skis around 160cm.
Barbara,
Used? Could try the gear swap on mec.ca, I’ve used it to sell.
I’m open to used skis, but would likely go for new boots. Been checking MEC’s gear swap, but nothing in my size. Any rental places that maybe selling gear after the season?
I took my old rock skis (for downhill) and removed the heavy bindings. Bought a used pair of dynafit bindings from the MEC gearswap and had them put on plus had the skis tuned. They are so light weight and work great. Just had to get boots and skins. The boots were on sale at MEC, plus further discount because they were a little scratched up.
I compared new AT skis to my old Solomons and the new AT skis were actually heavier.
JANUARY 31 DAY TRIP
Great 32.5 km day trip from the Sunshine parking lot, over Healy Pass, past Egypt Lake, down Pharaoh Creek and Redearth Creek to the Highway.
Climbing skins were useful to get up Healy.
Pictures at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/accesschuck/HealyEgyptRedearth?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOCAjI_x8PGvYw&feat=directlink
will show you things to avoid, and sights to enjoy!
Amazing. Thanks, Chuck. -Bob
We skied to the Egypt Lake Hut via Redearth Creek and Pharoah Creek on Sunday, Feb 10th. We really appreciated Chuck’s information and pictures. Thanks! Trail was great – skier packed, fast and easy to follow. Lots of animal prints in meadows. Hut was vacant that night, except for us. We skied out the next day, the same way. Light touring gear was perfect, just a couple of narrow, steep, but short sections on the descent. With full packs, we opted on the side of caution, and walked these sections. Could have pulled out the skins, but sections were too short to bother and return was generally downhill. An excellent backcountry option!
Glad you enjoyed it… AND SAID SO!
Jan 25 Baker Cr meadows
Followed good trail to meadows. Broke trail on creek as breaking trail through meadow was terrible. Did this for 1.6 km (1.2 as crow flies) at which point I found open water / thin ice. Treat my route with suspicion. Spent afternoon on the north part of the loppet trail.
Jan 19 Sundance Canyon / Brewster Cr trail
Followed groomed trail to Sundance Lodge. Followed the track of a single skier, then moose tracks, then my nose to a point about 5 km passed the Fatigue Pass junction. On the way back met a party of two heading to the warden cabin. Not sure where this is but suspect they had some tough slogging ahead of them.
Jan 5 Egypt Lk
Given the number of cars in lot a few days ago and only having seen two people on the trail to Shadow Lk I assumed several parties had gone to Egypt Lk. This was the case and so I had a good trail to follow. Got to Egypt Lk, took a few pics, and left promptly.
Dec 31 Shadow Lk
Good groomed trail to junction. Trail to lodge had seen limited traffic. Had not been skidoo broken. Followed previous tracks on summer trail. Broke trail to Shadow Lk, across bridge, south side of lake for about 800m, and south for about 1 km. Met a guy named Chuck.
Hey “Trail Breaker” Russel,
Glad to see your reports… eventually!
Shadow Lake was definitely “Backcountry” back then on December 31.
I was wrong to put our report under the monthly “Trip Reports”. It is interesting to see Bob and Cheryl drinking wine while sitting on chairs on the verandah this past week on the Home Page. How the season changes!
Thanks for your fun, concise, and informative reports. Had we got your Baker Creek report a little earlier, we wouldn’t have followed you on to that thin ice!
My partner and I cross country skied into Assiniboine on December 30th and came out on January 3rd. This was our first time ever to Assiniboine and I couldn’t believe how good it is for xc skiing.
The trail to Assiniboine was well packed from ski traffic and made for smooth sailing. We split the ski over two days and spent a night at the busy Bryant Shelter. The ski to Bryant was easy and only took 3.5 hours. The second day which took us to Assiniboine Lodge was longer (about 9 hours) but the trail was well broken and easy to follow. The only difficulty was hauling our heavy sled over Assiniboine Pass. We walked a few of the steep hills.
Although the Lodge is officially open for the Winter on February 15 –March 31, a call ahead of time revealed that the caretakers were there over the Christmas holidays and that the brand new Wonder Creek Cooking Shelter was open for Naiset Hut guests. The new cooking shelter is a beautiful bright log cabin with propane heat, lights, and stoves. It’s set up with pots and pans and a few dishes. It really transforms the Naiset Hut experience. We stayed in the huts for about $20/person/night + fire wood. It will be open again on February 15th when the lodge is in operation. Otherwise the Naiset Huts are always open – you just won’t have any firewood!
We enjoyed 3 days of light touring around the Assiniboine Valley. Snow conditions were perfect for our cross country skis (waist widths of 50mm and 75mm). There was a supportive base of 60-100 cm covered with 10 cm of fluff. We skied out to the car at Mount Shark in one day. It’s down hill almost the whole way.
Over Christmas the caretakers and guests had set trails all over the Valley. What a great group of people and definitely one of the best New Year’s Eve I have ever had!
Wonder Pass and the big rolling meadows below Mount Cautley were a blast and easily navigated. Others trails up to Elizabeth Lake, the Niblet, and into the Valley of Rocks had been skied over Christmas as well.
For the cross country skiers that love serenity, great views, and fresh snow I’d highly recommend a trip to Assiniboine. People have been cross country skiing there since the turn of the last century! And if the ski in isn’t for you then fly by helicopter one way or both or just have your gear flown in.
http://www.assiniboinelodge.com/ (check out the webcam for conditions)
That sounds awesome!
Hi all,
Just back from skiing at Kootenay Pass and it couldn’t have been better. On a bluebird sky day we skied near Cornice Ridge and did some sweet runs in shimmering powder. Day two, under cloudy skies, took us up Ripple Ridge to a nice hut. Some of the group skied at Whitewater on Day three, while others ascended slopes via Hummingbird Pass. There are limitless possibilities for the backcountry here and two great XC circuits outside of Nelson. It’s a long drive, to be sure, but well worth the effort.
MOSQUITO CREEK
Backcountry is where it’s at these days… check out:
https://picasaweb.google.com/accesschuck/MosquitoCreek?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJa_96nwtZuQ3QE&feat=directlink
These are the tracks you want to see!
BAKER CREEK
Just to try something a little different, we highly recommend Baker Creek. That was at the destination today, and we only saw one group.
They were having a grand time on their annual trip up the creek from Baker Creek Chalet complete with Champagne chilling in the creek (don’t blame them for not inviting us to join them in that fondue steaming by their side).
Check out the inviting photos at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/accesschuck/BakerCreek?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMHgjYCPsdaNYg&feat=directlink
While they had chosen to go up the direct trail, we had chosen to follow the creek bed up from the scout cabin (that is why I classify our trip as “backcountry”). We did return via trail #1 which only took 65 minutes!
Hi Chuck,
Just returned from our annual week at the wonderful Baker Creek Chalets.
Saw your photo of the 4 of us having our fondue lunch and champagne to toast the start of 2013 up at BC meadows.
Happy New Year!
B, J, N, J
Glad you made it back safe and sound…
… AND found the website!
Along with 5 stalwart skiers, I went into Chickadee Valley Saturday on AT gear. The day could not have been better. Although the mercury at the parking lot was refusing to rise, we quickly warmed up in the emerging sunshine. Snow cover is still a bit thin in the valley and the creek was open in a few spots, but the north slopes offered good powder and sunshine. Mid-day temps were such that we shed all but the modesty-required layer to ascend a gully for turns that had us laughing like school kids on a surprise snow day. The “moderate” risk of avalanches seemed accurate. We saw one slide higher up to the west. Definitely an amazing start to the backcountry season.
Headed up to Healy Pass from Sunshine parking lot today on my touring xc skis. Wide groomed trail to start/end with (ski-out I guess?) and then pretty well-packed down trail from the backcountry skiers in front of us. Blue wax on the skis was enough for the first half of the way out, but my arms were getting tired on the sidestepping on some little steep parts so I eventually just put the skins on. Made for way easier climbing for the rest!
I was worried for some of the narrow downhill parts so I left the skins on for the first portion down through the trees as well. Obviously I was a little slower at times than need be, but it certainly saved me a lot of worry about hitting trees on sharp corners!
Hi Bob/Nic,
I’ve snowshoed the Rummel Lake trail, and to the best of my knowledge there is no avalanche risk. With the exception of the cutblock at the beginning and the lake at the end, the trail is in the trees. The only section to watch out for is where the trail meets Rummel Creek near the end. The trail forks here. Crossing the creek (bridged) keeps you away from any avalanche terrain and is the official winter trail. Not crossing the creek (and staying to the right of it) takes you through some pretty large avalanche paths. So simply cross the creek and you should be safe.
I have photos of the trail in winter at http://mattclay.zenfolio.com/rummel_lake_snowshoe
Matt
There is no avalanche terrain on the Rummel Lake Trail, as long as you stick to the normal route. This route is well travelled, but poorly marked at the start. Then there are a few directional arrows on the low ridge section, after the cutblock. Once the trail descends the short distance to Rummel Creek, there is a bridge across the creek. After the bridge, the official winter trail is well marked with yellow squares, all the way to the outhouse at the lake.
Don’t take the old summer hiking route or venture onto the steeper slopes along the upper meadows beyond the lake. Both of those areas contain avalanche terrain and neither are good travel on narrow touring skis.
Maybe post something here?
https://www.facebook.com/KCPublicSafety?fref=ts
It’s the Facebook page for Kananaskis Country Public Safety Section
Can anyone weigh in with some feedback for Nic?
Hello Bob,
I had once been told that the Rummel Lake trail had some exposure to avalanche risks. I see that people are posting trip reports on heading in there with light touring gear.
Are you able to comment on whether or not you are exposed to any avalanche risk on the Rummel Lake trail? What other risks would be associated with this trail vs other non-groomed/track-set trails?
Thanks,
Nic