Within backcountry skiing community, Revelstoke is well know for its location – being a base to endless adventure opportunities during the winter months. But being summer now, Revelstoke has something else up its sleeve.
The Revelstoke Steamer (not sure whether its an official name) is a brutal bike hill climb done as an individual time trial up the road to the summit of Mount Revelstoke.
The climb is 27km long and gains about 1600m vertically! Those are impressive numbers that easily compare this climb to any giant passes that are featured in Tour de France.
So, if you want to get your ski legs tested before the first snow falls then make sure to check out the event’s website and sign up.
The race itself will be held on September 13th, 2009. In person, you can find out more information at the Flowt Bikes and Skis store in Revelstoke.
Archives for August 2009
North Joffre Creek mini-traverse: Spring skiing and bush whacking
This trip took place in Duffey Lake area in the southern part of Coast Mountains, Canada, during May 23-25, 2009. Duffey Lake backcountry skiing is a serious rival destination to the famed Rogers Pass near Revelstoke, BC.
A detailed description of the North Joffre Creek traverse can be found in John Baldwin’s book – Exploring the Coast Mountains On Skis.
Day 1 – bush whacking
Since spring conditions are one of the best to explore new terrain, due to high snowpack stability, stable weather and long days, we decided to go out on for three days.
Two of us, Stano Faban and Peter Mrazik, headed up the Duffey Lake road on Saturday morning. We parked our car on a logging road (km 3) on the east side of the North Joffre Creek, since this was the spot where we would finish the trip.
The late date and warm days just before our trip prepared quite a bush whacking for us. Avoiding swaps, which are skied over in the winter, by crossing the creek and the valley higher up meant dry boots but very thick bushes. We couldn’t carry the skis on our packs since we weren’t able to move a step forward with such a setup.
Finally, after two and a half hours (at about 1400m), we made it to some continuous flanks of snow. Once on skis, we moved through the old forest at a decent speed arriving at a lake east of Cassiope Peak for a late afternoon lunch.
From here we headed directly west towards a wide pass (more of a ridge) between Cassiope and Saxifrage Mountain. The lake was in melting conditions, so we opted to stay on its north side by climbing up about 50m higher onto some mellower terrain.
After reaching the wide pass we decided to go little further towards Saxifrage and pitch a tent there to be ready for some morning spring skiing.
Day 2 – ski time
Early morning plans were slightly disrupted by our vacation moods. However, this turned out to work in our favour as the east face of Saxifrage was in prime conditions at around 8.30am.
We boot-packed up to reach a ridge just right of the summit. From here it was a scramble for few meters and then a short boot-pack in the snow to reach the top. The view was amazing.
Skiing down the east face is getting steeper (around 40-45 degrees) but in those conditions it was perfect. This was a summit and a face that I was eying for some time since it looks quite attractive from Cayoosh Mountain where I go often. Cayoosh is just few valleys to the east from here.
After getting down we packed our gear and headed north through another fairly wide col immediately east of Saxifrage. From here, skiing down to White Lakes was great. Although, on couple of spots right off the top, the snow was bullet proof, it eased to spring corn very soon.
Once crossing the White Lakes we stopped and turned around. The valley looked spectacular and sure worthwhile to stick around for some skiing. We’ll come back in the future.
After a long “lazy” lunch in a pass between Mount Olds and Mount Oleg we climbed up to the summit of Mt Oleg and skied back to grab our packs. Then we skied further down the Place Glacier to reach Joffre Glacier.
After good laughs and some more skinning we cooked our dinner on a shoulder that is south of Cirque Peak. We relaxed, talked, laughed and ate in an amazing calmness of the surrounding mountains with no society craziness in sight.
Joffre naming “controversy”
When reaching the Joffre Glacier we realized a funny fact. Joffre Lakes that are on the south side of the Duffey Lake road are fed water from Matier Glacier.
Being on the north side of the Duffey Lake road and standing on the Joffre Glacier we wondered how this geographical naming happened. From the map, it’s very clear that Joffre Lakes and Joffre Glacier have nothing to do with each other except their names. (If someone knows more please post a comment below.)
Day 3 – more great skiing
Since we knew all we had to do was climb around 200m and then ski down and walk to the car, we took our time. There are trips when we travel on a preplanned “schedule” but we decided to make this one a vacation style. Weather was great, jokes were flying, so why not just wander around a tent a bit more than usually.
Skiing from a small summit in the shoulder we slept on was amazing (photo below). It was around 900m run all the way to the trees where we reached NE fork of North Joffre Creek. Here, we followed some older ski tracks down the creek, then at about 1600m we started to traverse into the forest to the east of the creek.
“Tree skiing” wasn’t as good but at least we didn’t have to hike yet. But soon enough, at about 1400m, we had to switch from ski mode to walking down in an old forest. We got lucky and not too long after the hike started we reached a logged patch which led us to a logging road that took us to our car.
Recommendations for this trip
After completing the route we realized that this is a perfect trip for an introduction to ski traverses and multi-day backcountry skiing. It’s not very demanding with only about 25km in length at around 2200m of climbing. The navigation is quite straight forward and the views are great.
If you want to ski more than just moving along with a big pack then there are plenty of options on various aspects at various angles.
The best time for this trip would most likely be late April since there should still be enough snow to avoid bush whacking, while the snow should be settled enough for great stability already.
Recap of the Canadian ski mountaineering racing season 2009
Canadian ski mountaineering racing series is growing bit by bit every year. The 2009 skimo racing season promised five event calendar, which meant one more than the previous year.
The new event that was added was a Dogtooth Dash at the Kicking Horse Alpine Resort in Golden, BC. And after some key sponsors pulled out of the Whistler’s race the Dogtooth Dash was announced the new venue for the Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Championships.
At the end the calendar looked like this:
- Feb 7, 2009 – Sunshine 5000 Ski Mountaineering Race – Sunshine Village, AB
- Feb 21, 2009 – ROAM Randonnee Rally – Nelson, BC
- Mar 7, 2009 – Mountain Storm – Fernie, BC
- Mar 28, 2009 – Dogtooth Dash – Golden, BC (National Champs)
Sunshine 5000 Ski Mountaineering Race
Feb 7, 2009 – Sunshine Village, AB
Blue sky and not too cold temperatures by Rocky Mountains standards made for a great opening to the new racing season. The Sunshine 5000 event is one of the “old timers” on the Canadian calendar and this year it welcomed about 60 racers on two courses. The long one was especially tough with the length of 18km and 1400m of climbing.
In the main men’s race, over the long course, two super fit Montana racers schooled the Canucks and showed how it is supposed to be done on skinny sticks. New prodigy of the US racing field, Ben Parsons, took first just ahead of Brandon French, who is American SkiMo Champ from 2008. The top three Canadians were Reiner Thoni, Stano Faban and Steve Sellers.
The women’s long course was stormed through by Julie Matteau who improves rapidly every season. Second place belonged to Kylee Toth and third to Laura Heffler. Reigning Canadian champion, Melanie Bernier, pulled out of the race in the morning due to a sickness.
Winners on the short course were Ron Worobec and Megan Dunn.
Complete results in a PDF: Sunshine 5000 – Feb 7, 2009
ROAM Randonnee Rally
Feb 21, 2009 – Nelson, BC
The second race on the calendar is traditionally a part of the Cold Smoke Powder Fest that takes place at the Whitewater Ski Resort near Nelson, BC.
The Randonnee Rally main course was a bit shorter than a usual ski mountaineering race. However, fun was everywhere mostly due to fairly tough snow conditions.
Men’s race, on the long course, was won by a German speedster, Benedikt Bohm, who posses a great deal of experience from the European racing circuit. Second and third belong to Brandon French and Ben Parsons from the States. Then the top three Canadians followed – Andrew McNab, Jeff Colvin, Alex Wigley.
The women’s category was once again dominated by Julie Matteau followed by last season’s no. 1, Melanie Bernier, and third belong to Kylee Toth. Again, the girls posted some fast times that even many men racers wouldn’t mind.
The short course winners were Daniel Klein and Jamee Beaupre.
Complete results in a PDF: ROAM Randonnee Rally – Feb 21, 2009
Mountain Storm
Mar 7, 2009 – Fernie, BC
A broken chairlift three days before the event and almost continuous snowing made for epic conditions. In the morning, the organizers almost wondered whether they should make fat skis mandatory as sinking waist deep was inevitable. Deep, deep powder was to be skied!
Big tumbles, face shots and good laughs characterized the atmosphere on the race course. The battle for the win was all the way to the line when the first four racers came in within one minute of each other. First belonged to Reiner Thoni, second to Andrew McNab, and the podium was completed by Jeff Colvin, all Canadians.
Speedy ladies had good times as well and nothing could stop another dominant performance of Julie Matteau, as she won her third race from three starts this season. Second belonged to Kylee Toth, followed by Linda Berg of Sweden.
Race over the short course was won by Matt Nerdig and Brenda Critchley.
Complete results in a PDF: Mountain Storm – Mar 7, 2009
Dogtooth Dash – Canadian Championships
Mar 28, 2009 – Golden, BC
This was the day many racers prepared for whole winter because medals were to be awarded. Despite the fact that this was the very first time the organizer put on a ski moutaineering race the course was designed perfectly and was the most technical one Canadian skimo racing scene ever saw (the same most likely applies for the whole North America).
Once the gun went off the fierce battle was on. Mid-way through the race, the field was led by a pack of four. The race leader and eventual winner, Scott Coldiron of US, was pulling slowly but surely away from three Canadians that stayed together until the very last moments. Reiner Thoni was crowned the new Canadian Champion as silver went to the revelation of the race, James Minifie, and third to Stano Faban.
The technical course with around 300m vertical of bootpacks made it a bit tough for ladies to follow since their steps are considerably shorter than those that male racers make. However, once more a fast time was set by Julie Matteau who became the new queen of Canadian skimo racing. Last year’s champion, Melanie Bernier, came second followed by Billie Velisek.
In the short course battle the fight was won by Jonah Job and Brenda Critchley.
Complete results in a PDF: Dogtooth Dash – Mar 28, 2009
Overall results – Canadian Ski Mountaineering Cup 2009
At each race, points based on finishing times were awarded to each participant, towards the overall Canadian skimo series. Three out of the best four results were calculated to establish the final national ranking.
Men’s overall series champion for the 2009 season was Brandon French of US. The top three Canadians were Reiner Thoni followed by Jeff Colvin and Andy Traslin.
In the women’s category an impressive sweep of all the races on the calendar gave Julie Matteau the overall series title. Followed by Melanie Bernier and Kylee Toth.
The season was arguably the most competitive in the history since many racers wanted to have a shot for a National Team for the next year’s World Championships.
Although, there is a considerable gap between the top ski mountaineering athletes from the United States and the Canadian ones, all the fast Canucks are determined to break the “curse” next winter. Lets see what happens in a year.
How to get involved in backcountry skiing and alpine touring?
This is the first article from the series on “How to start backcountry skiing and alpine touring?”. Visit the page to see an outline of all the topics.
The best way to introduce yourself to backcountry skiing is through more experienced people – friends or guides. Friends are great because in case you don’t like what you ski you will at least spend some quality time with people you care about.
First, start skiing off piste in your favorite ski resort and see whether you like the unpredictability of the terrain; and all of a sudden, snow doesn’t have a corduroy texture. Powder days (fresh snow) are the best for this since riding in such conditions reward you with the most fun.
Once confident in your technique you should hook up with more experienced friends (or hire a guide) and do some out of bounds skiing. Skiing beyond boundaries of a ski resort isn’t backcountry skiing at its best but it already makes you feel different, not as secure, free.
Of course, this might already mean an exposure to avalanche conditions, so you need to start thinking about some avalanche safety skills before your new passion ends in an accident.
How to start backcountry skiing and alpine touring?
“How to start backcountry skiing?” is not really a question that is asked a lot but it sums up the topic of the following article series very clearly. The information is intended for you guys that want to try backcountry skiing and alpine touring after reading or hearing about it, or watching it.
This article series should give you a good idea of how people usually become backcountry skiers and ski mountaineers. Of course, the progression paths vary for each one of us but in general this is what you need to know:
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next level – touring in bigger terrain
Welcome to SkinTrack.com
After some time of planning and developing this site was born out of enthusiasm for backcountry skiing and outdoors in general.
The main goal of SkinTrack is to share and provide useful information to backcountry skiers, ski mountaineers and other outdoor enthusiasts in ways such as:
- help beginners to become more efficient and more skilled in their activities
- offer an honest advice about backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering gear
- share various tips and tricks
- introduce others to the beauty of backcountry skiing
- provide reports and results from ski mountaineering racing scene
- give opportunity to ask about or comment on the posted topics
- and more
You can read more details on SkinTrack’s about page.