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Trip Reports & Conditions

Giving all: Mount Rainier on skis in 4h 19min 12sec

May 21, 2013 By Stano Faban 7 Comments

Every year, I am amazed with progress of speed oriented ski mountaineering in North America, whether that be the actual performances (racing or speed attempts) or the growth of passion for such things.
To me, mountains and speed represent joy, freedom and progress, each on their own. Blended together, one finds plenty of reasons to not sit still.
However, we are happy to sit still today 🙂

The Rainier speed mission

Obviously, a big mountain like Rainier is on the lists of many people. And it is an obvious target for speed loving ski mountaineers as well.
Our yesterday’s attempt was spurred on mainly by Eric’s obsession with it and a small window of opportunity between stormy weather periods. And so the day before three of us – Eric Carter, Nick Elson and I – set out from Vancouver to give our sea-level lungs a beating.

Up to Camp Muir and to Ingraham Flat

The forecast was calling for a sunny day with no winds, and that’s exactly what we got.

Almost ready :) Photo by Nick.
Almost ready. Photo by Nick.
We started at 6am from the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise parking lot (5400 ft = 1646 m). Very firm snow and fields of frozen boot tracks made for slippery skinning.
Right from the beginning Eric set a fast pace with Nick and I trailing behind. Once out of the trees and above the rolls the travelling became easier as we were able to find patches of untracked snow.
Traversy terrain features and the very firm conditions were proving a bit challenging as my binding’s toe piece released couple of times on me. With each time becoming more difficult to close the gap on the boys.
Nick and I midway to Camp Muir. Photo by Eric.
Nick and I midway to Camp Muir. Photo by Eric.
We were making good time up the Muir Snowfield and towards the Camp Muir. Over an hour has now passed and I could feel that the releasing toe piece was not the main reason I wasn’t going very well. I just wasn’t feeling super hot since the start but I usually come around after 45min or so, then hammer from there on.
Not knowing how Eric and Nick were feeling but seeing them having about 3min on me by Camp Muir (10188 ft = 3105 m), we reached it in about 1h 35min, I had to honestly decide what was best for us. Feeling weird overall, I yelled behind them that they should continue without me. They shouted back that I should go on as they knew I usually come around.
Since a long traverse followed I thought I might recover but by Ingraham Flat (around 11000 ft = 3350 m) my engine light definitely came on. Altitude played some role too and once more I waved at the boys to go for it without me. Nick had the rope, so they didn’t really need me.
Here is how Nick and Eric were dealing with the altitude:
Nick: “I’d say it started to be quite noticeable around the base of the Cleaver. By the summit I had a pretty good throbbing in my head and just couldn’t move very quickly.”
Eric: “Below the cleaver I felt good and above, increasingly out of breath. No headache or nausea. I think we got to descending before anything serious could kick in. Certainly being acclimatized above sea-level would have been useful. I can see the Pacific Ocean from my street so that is really no help in the mountains.”

Summit and descent

Before I skied down I watched the boys climbing while eating at Ingraham Flat. Here are some words from Eric: “The cleaver went quickly without crampons though we put them on higher up. Two crevasses had bridges but the route was fairly straightforward and direct. The summit rim rocks were a welcome sight and from there it is a quick run over to the tippy top.”
The summit of Mount Rainier is at 14,411 feet (4392 m) and Eric’s Suunto watch measured a total of 2777 m of ascent.

Eric and Nick on the summit in 3h 37min.
Eric and Nick on the summit in 3h 37min.
I didn’t see them skiing as I was at the car by then but they had as good snow for the descent as me. The top part was obviously a bit more challenging though, Eric: “Icy wind blown crust with pockets of powder – good power-sliding on the skinny skis! Even in the feather-light Dynafit race boots skied well.”
From the cleaver down they had “…nice spring conditions. Luckily the Muir snowfield stayed fairly cool so the hard crust that made skinning up trickier was screaming fast on the descent.”
Nervously watching up the slope from my car, once I saw them ripping I ran up the snowy trail-head in my sandals to share the moment with them. Amazing, we knew a good shave off the old record was possible but we sure didn’t really expect 4h 19min 12sec!
Surprising things happen when you dare to try and you give it all.
mt-rainier-team

On being fast in the mountains

Lazy Nick laying down right after stepping out of his skis at the end :)
Lazy Nick laying down right after stepping out of his skis 🙂
Nick is not an obsessed skimo racer but has lots of alpine climbing experience thus on the way back I was curios what makes him fast.
He summarized:
“Sadly, there’s no secret to skiing fast, as I’m sure you know. You have to train, but I suppose that if you’re inherently a bit lazy like me, it helps if you can do fun stuff that also happens to be good training.
A big part of alpine climbing is actually planning, strategy and logistics and I’ve learnt a lot about that sort of thing from some very good climbers and I think a lot of it is very applicable to skiing.”
 
 
And as a great ski bum trip shall end, the car would not start right at the border booth. The officer gave us a push over the line where Nick and Eric took over. Then we waited for the engine to cool down.
And as a great ski bum trip shall end, the car would not start right at the border booth. The officer gave us a push over the line where Nick and Eric took over. Then we waited for the engine to cool down.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions Tagged With: Camp Muir, Eric Carter, Mount Rainier, Nick Elson, Speed record

Spring skiing gets things done: 8812 Peak, Forever Young Couloir, 1-day Wapta Traverse, Million Dollar Couloir, Mt Baker with friends

May 17, 2013 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Busy with things I didn’t have time to record my outings the last couple of weeks. Catching up below…
Over the past few years I found myself skiing well into the summer, and this year is not going to be any different.
I prefer to extend my ski seasons at their ends rather than at their starts. I rather ski whatever I want in stable conditions with still lots of snow around than scratching my bases in late October.
Since April, in between work and some low-key ski days, I was be to get after some long time plans.

8812 Peak, Rogers Pass

I stood atop this peak for my very first time few weeks earlier but this time it was more special since during an unusually warm period around the Easter weekend we were in a desperate search for powder.
I had with me two good friends that live in big cities and between work and family don’t get to ski that much. Essentially, it was a serious challenge to deliver on my luring emails about Rogers Pass powder.
We battled through mild hangovers (result of the night before) to the summit and had great turns on the north side of this peak.

enroute-8812-peak
On the way to 8812. Ursus Major in the background.

Forever Young Couloir, Rogers Pass

After the early April warm period it cooled off a bit and some new snow fell. Not too much but enough to make things fun again. So once the weather cleared a bit I decided to head up Asulkan Valley for couple of days.

forever-young-couloir-april-2013
My tracks right of the debris.
I had two days of great skiing while always looking towards the Forever Young Couloir, wondering of how it would be. I never skied it before and so it obviously attracted me.
On my second day I saw two guys that headed up Youngs Peak head-wall but never saw them ski down, I wondered what they were up to. Later that day, from distance, I saw them skiing the fan of the FY (great acronym) beside what seemed like a fresh debris. They seemed OK but the debris looked definitely theirs.
On my last day, after skiing a lap on Youngs Peak, I decided to check out the couloir. Skiing to it in 15 cm of light powder on a beautiful exposed shoulder was probably The feeling of the day. It’s a bit of a surreal setting because you know you are safe but you also know how crazy it looks from the valley.
Once on top of the couloir I decided it was safe to ski it so I went for it. The angle was steep but it was the firm snow that surprised me, perhaps an old bed surface.
With an ice axe in my hand, careful jump turns followed until I felt comfortable enough. About 2/3 down I came across an obvious slab stuck to the couloir’s right side which made me conclude that the boys from the day before took out its left side. Once onto the fan snow was soft and smooth.
Great couloir but definitely a serious place.

1-day Wapta Traverse, Canadian Rockies

Third weekend of April made me fully appreciate that I signed up for Twitter two years ago. After months of stalking gorgeous female skiers I got to ski with Lindsey Vonn… not 🙂
From what was a Twitter follower, only a few days before, became a new friend. Jerimy Arnold reached out to me with a tweet and initiated an adventure I was planning for some years but haven’t got to it yet.
Jerimy is from Massachusetts and is one of super keen skimo racers and backcountry skiers on the US east coast. Fit and very keen, he met me for two days of Rogers Pass skiing first. I was battling a bit of cold bug but never the less we skied through all kinds of weather and snow.

jerimy-arnold-rogers-pass-2013
Jerimy enjoying his second ever day in the Pass. We did Lily Glacier to Dome Glacier traverse. Behind him is a much more technical Jupiter Traverse.
We reserved Monday, April 22nd, for an attempt of the Wapta Traverse. Not that “Wapta in a day” is a crazy achievement but it is a respectable goal to chase on a first attempt.
On Sunday night we met with cleverly cocky Peter Knight, a young Canadian Skimo Team member, who like us have never done the traverse before. However, with all that firepower in the group the goal seemed quite feasible even without headlamps.
We started at around 6.30 am and had consistent pace the whole way, with beautiful weather making things easy. I didn’t feel super hot that morning as I woke up with a sore throat but once the sun warmed me up I truly enjoyed the going from there on.
We managed the full Wapta (Peyto Lake to Shelbrooke Lake) in 11 hours with couple of nice breaks to eat, take photos and marvel over the surrounding beauty. I think Jerimy’s GPS showed around 43 km and we did about 2200 m of vertical.
Here are some photos from the day but for more make sure to check out Peter’s and Jerimy’s posts.
Big Thanks to Jerimy for putting the Canadian ducks in a row for an awesome day.
Not counting the very tight tree skiing at the start, we finally got to rip our skins after 5 h or so at the St. Nicholas Col.
Not counting the very tight tree skiing at the start, we finally got to rip our skins after about 5h of walking at the St. Nicholas Col.
After 7h of flat walking/skiing seracs got our heart rate up.
After 7h of flat walking/skiing seracs got our heart rate up on the way to Balfour Col. Photo by Peter.
At the Balfour Col. Photo by Jerimy Arnold.
At the Balfour Col. Photo by Jerimy.
Peter, Jerimy and I after a great day. We skied together for the very first time!
Peter, Jerimy and I after a great day. All three of us skiing together for the very first time.

Million Dollar Couloir, Duffey Lake

At the end of April I was moving out of Revelstoke and back to the Coast. I figured why drive straight to Vancouver when a little detour can get me some skiing on Duffey.
Not knowing much about what kind of snow to expect I, Brad Schalles and Nick Elson partnered on a fun day. I proposed to check out the Million $$$ Couloir as I always wanted to ski it, the boys were keen as well.
In a steady pace, we head up towards Cayoosh but opted not to go for the summit as things were warming rapidly. Then Nick lead us towards the goodies since he skied the Million $$ before. The approach reminded me of the approach to the Forever Young – on and over an exposed ridge in a creamy 15 cm powder.
From my observation, I think the approach is far more exciting than the couloir. But the whole decent was amazing as none of us would have imagined we would be skiing such superb snow on May 1st.

Brad on the cool approach ridge.
Brad on the cool approach ridge.
Nick thoroughly enjoying May 1st.
Nick thoroughly enjoying May 1st.

Mount Baker with friends and family, North Cascades, WA

After never delivering on my promise to take some of my family and friends to Mount Baker it was time to finally do so.
The original plan was to enjoy couple of days on the Spearhead Traverse but with the freezing level around 2500 m I offered them to go higher instead. They instantly agreed.
On the first day, we skinned up to about 2000 m and setup a camp. Our Canadian skimo racing juniors, Kate and Martin, enjoyed their first winter camping ever and in the morning we were off.

Our evening views from the camp.
Evening views from our camp towards the 3285 m high volcano.
After a solid effort from everyone, we topped Baker to enjoy a long break tucked behind the 10 m summit cone. The wind outside of that small zone was quite vicious.
Skiing the top 700 m was great, down Roman Wall, the softest I have ever had there. Below that it got quite slow.
The glacier looks pretty broken up for this time of the year so watch out if you are heading up there.
This trip was for Kate and Martin. Not many teenagers get to ski off the summit of Mt Baker.
This trip was for Kate and Martin. Not many teenagers get to ski off the summit of Mt Baker. Congrats!

More to come

Currently, my lips are once again sun-burnt. The weather is unstable and quality of snow unpredictable but more skiing is too be had. First, here on the Coast, and then far away over the summer. Excitement is building up 🙂

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions

Dome and Youngs: Two Rogers Pass classics (as two trips or) in one bigger day

January 23, 2013 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I skied two Rogers Pass descents I consider classics in terms of length, quality of skiing, and views – Dome Glacier and Seven Steps of Paradise off Youngs Peak.
Altogether, the day’s total climbing was 2930m which got me about 2600m of fine skiing.
But you can split this into two days. The approach will be the same (for the first hour or so), then up two separate sides of the big Asulkan valley. The vert for both will be similar, with Youngs Pk tour being more in length. As a one day tour it is about 23-25 km, as a two day it would be around 30 km.

Asulkan valley map - Dome and Youngs tour
Green shows up, red down.
The plan was not to ski both but one of them. However, after a great 1200m run from Dome Col back to the valley bottom Youngs Pk didn’t seem that far any more. And I realized that even its head wall would be in beautiful light in the afternoon.
Dome run
First lap from Dome Col. Green ascent, red descent behind a shoulder.
Youngs
Second lap on Yougs Pk.
View from Youngs Pk.
Great views from Youngs Peak.
Snow conditions were settled powder, under about 2200 m, and mostly hard wind slab above that with occasional powder patches. Breakable crust/slab was very minimal.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions

Nov 22 to Jan 2 – Few stats and how is ski touring in the Pass going

January 2, 2013 By Stano Faban 2 Comments

Happy New Year everyone!
Last spring I have decided that I would spend the 2012/13 winter skiing mostly the amazing Rogers Pass.
I desired that before but this time I finally made the move to Revelstoke which has become The backcountry ski town in the past couple of years. People usually talk about Chamonix, and rightfully so, but Revelstoke could be best argued for by Greg Hill’s answer in an interview couple months ago.
Greg was asked whether he might be planning to move to Europe to be closer to action. He smiled and said:”No, because the action seems to be here!” I think he is right but of course it depends what is one looking for.

My favorite view of the past couple of weeks - Sir Donald from Eagle Pk shoulder.
I moved here because of people I already know, and of course the amazing ski terrain that surrounds this little town. Metres of powder aside, you need great people to enjoy and share things with.

From Nov 22 to Jan 2 – few stats

I usually have an earlier start to a ski season by about 2 weeks than this year. But since Nov 22 I skied more days than any time before in such a short period. Also, for the first time in my life I decide to keep track of all days on skis – vertical, location, what skis, and with whom. I am not keeping track of other activities such as gym or xc skiing.
A bit of a quantitative summary reveals that I had three 3000m days (just short of 10,000 feet) and some quite close. All in all, 25 days on skis and about 43,000m (140,000 feet).

Getting slightly tired before the last climb of the day.
Some days were on my touring setup and some on racing gear, beautiful scenery at all times.
I did few days of solo backcountry missions which is not super safe but on those I try to keep the exposure to manageable minimum. Other days, with friends, we get more adventurous. I got to ski off couple of summits and down some wicked lines. If work and racing wouldn’t be getting in the way more epic trips can happen 🙂
Here are some more photos of the beauties I saw in the mountains the last couple of weeks. Training through adventure.
Our line off Eagle Pk. To the left is Avalanche Mountain and to the right is Sir Donald.
Our line off Eagle Pk. To the left is Avalanche Mountain and to the right is Sir Donald.
8812 peak
8812 and Ursus Major from Video Pk.


Trans Canada Highway winding up to Rogers Pass.
If only the touch screens could work with gloves on 🙂

 
Stay inspired. Keep progressing.
 

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions

Skimo Canada December Snow Camp at Rogers Pass

December 11, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

This report was written by Stano and Brad Schalles whom you can follow on Twitter as @bschalles and via his WestCoast Skimo blog. Both are National Skimo Canada Team members.
After barely making it to the Asulkan parking lot, through a foot of fresh powder, Stano said: “I wonder how hard the trail breaking will be to the Asulkan Hut?”
Sitting in a car we came up with a plan: since the others were very late we decided they would break the trail for us! At the end the punishment didn’t quite work out 🙂
We were at Rogers Pass for the Ski Mountaineering Canada (SMC) on snow training camp. Rogers Pass and the Asulkan Hut have been the site of many SMC camps in the past because it consistently provides lots of early season snow.

Training leading up to this camp

Mileage and Team building

The purpose of this training camp was to get lots of vertical and hours on skis under our belts.
Another important aspect was to spend time with other SMC team members before World Championships at Pelvoux, France in February 2013. Team members in attendance included Melanie Bernier, Carla McKirdy, Steve Sellers, Peter Knight, Reiner Thoni, Stano Faban, and Brad Schalles.
Our adventurous plans had to be adjusted because of the recently buried surface hoar, high winds, and large amounts of storm snow. For 3 days, we were confined to the trees below the hut. However, this was not a problem as each morning we awoke to fresh Selkirk powder with no sign of the 40+ ski tracks our group put in the day before.
After long days of skiing we would return in the dark to the warmth and safety of the Asulkan Hut. It was always a welcome sight!
In the evenings we would eat a large group meal that no one ever expected to finish but each time it somehow managed to disappear. Dinners were followed by discussions on topics around planning for World Championships or practicing crevasse rescue.
By the end of the camp everyone had done at least one 3000+ meter day, and some had done two or three. With the short length of the runs below the hut, our transitions were also getting dialed in by the end of the week – each of us must have done about 70 during the camp!
It was an amazing couple of days that would not have been possible without the support of the Alpine Club Of Canada as they donated the use of the Asulkan Hut for our team.
Special thanks also goes to Dynafit and Rab for their continued support of skimo racing in Canada.

Filed Under: Skimo Racing, Trip Reports & Conditions

Getting spoiled: Great early season touring at Rogers Pass

November 28, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

It has been amazing couple of days at the Rogers Pass – no wind, good snow, and lots of blue skies.
In general, travel is pretty fast (also thanks to lots of up tracks and no snowing), however, some precipitation would be welcome as runs are getting pretty tracked out. But if one searches, one still finds.
Here are couple of photos from last two days during which the light was playing with imagination. They were taken from areas of Asulkan Glacier and Little Sifton. We did 2100m and 3 runs yesterday,  and one big 1500m run with some bushwhacking at the bottom today.
One thing to keep in mind, which I keep forgetting, that it’s only November and despite the good coverage above 1900m these are still early season conditions – holes, boulder fields and alder get in the way. Not a single core shot though since the start!

Avalanche Mountain and Sir Donald
From the right: Mt. Sir Donald, Uto Pk, Eagle Pk, Avalanche Mt., Mt. MacDonald, Mt. Tupper
Above Asulkan Valley
Youngs Peak
Looking towards Youngs Peak and the 7 steps of paradise run.
Uptrack high on Grizzly Shoulder.
Pretty much all icons of Rogers Pass here.
MacDonald and Sir Donald.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions

First ski day in 2012/13 season: Video Peak and 8812, Rogers Pass

November 22, 2012 By Stano Faban 2 Comments

Today I finally got to ski for the first time this season. Weather was spectacular, snow as well.
Rogers Pass is starting to fill in but for now the skiing is quite limited to the alpine and high trees, and this is the case only up couple of drainages (spots)!
The day turned out a bit longer than I anticipated but we really didn’t have any specific plan. And 2260m/7400f doesn’t feel that much when the downs are so good, and a friend “in great shape Igor” breaks most of the trail for you 😉
We skied the Video Peak twice, then headed up Bruins Pass and skied out the 8812 bowl. All fresh tracks except the second time down Video.
Today’s lesson: We were only a group of three but didn’t manage communication quite well today. In hindsight, it’s not a surprise as each one of us had somewhat different expectation from the day but no one communicated theirs. So always make sure all are on the same page, if not, figure out group options. Plus, looks like the nice weather and lots of other keen groups affect anyone quite a bit.

Video Peak Rogers Pass
Approaching Video Peak always feels long compare to the visual you get when you see it first time you get out of the trees.
Video Peak
Getting closer in ever changing light that provided cool experience every minute.
Igor skinning up Video Peak
Igor was the machine today. He skied in the area couple of days in the past 2 weeks, and has pretty good knowledge of the current snowpack.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions

Rogers Pass in fall light beauty + October snow dusting

October 5, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Yesterday, after a shivering -4 C night in a 10+ C sleeping bag I got rewarded with what I hopped for – beautiful views over a lightly snow dusted Glacier National Park, BC.
For those that have been to Rogers Pass only in the winter or haven’t been at all these few pics should convince you to visit in summer or fall.
I hiko-runned-scrabled my favourite trail in the area, up and to the very end of Abbot Ridge. Just after 10am I was at the top, still enjoying the best light nature has to offer.
BTW, Abbott Ridge area is a permanently closed area in the winter, so your only chance for the below views is a snow-less season.

Rogers Peak and Swiss Peak morning light
7am light hitting Rogers and Swiss Peak.
Abbot Ridge
This could make for a nice hiking post card, missing the usual bear though. Left: looking to Mt Abbott from end of official trail, Right: looking back at the ridge from Mt Abbott (2465m).
Rogers Pass, Abbott Ridge
Random Rogers Pass beauty. Winter is slowly approaching.
Mount Sir Donald
Mount Sir Donald, with its spectacular climbing routes, is a deserved king of Glacier National Park. It was first climbed in 1890. The below 1902 photo, from Wikipedia, shows the Illecillewaet Glacier (to the right from Sir Donald) flowing all the way down to the valley. Now, it is about 400 vertical meters higher.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions Tagged With: Glacier National Park, Mount Abbott, Mount Sir Donald, Rogers Pass, Rogers Peak, Swiss Peak

Canadian team summer skimo training camp – Revelstoke, Sep 15-16, 2012

September 21, 2012 By Stano Faban Leave a Comment

Since 2009 Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team have been meeting every September for our summer training camp.
Previous camps were usually hosted in Canmore, AB by Steve Sellers but this year we thought it’s time for a change and organized it in Revelstoke, BC.
The team was pretty much complete with one exception – everyone’s favorite and North America’s fastest, Reiner Thoni, couldn’t make it as his old truck started to come apart a day before his departure.

Camp concept

The idea behind this camp wasn’t about training hard. It was about getting together and have good times.
We are also trying to blend in some younger blood into the team before people find themselves sharing a room at World Championships in February, 2013.
Attending: Melanie Bernier, Martha Burley, Steve Sellers, Stano Faban, Brad Schalles, Peter Knight, Adnrew McNab, Ian Gale, Jeff Colvin, Julie Matteau.

Day 1: hiko-running-scrambling Mt Cheops (2605m)

Summary of day one and all photos are from Brad Schalles (WestCoast Skimo – http://westcoastskimo.blogspot.ca/), one of new additions to the Team. Watch out for Brad this year, he will be the NA dark horse this year.
On Saturday the group split up, with five of us heading up to Rogers Pass for a run and scramble up 1300m to summit Mt Cheops. After meeting up with Steve, who had spent a cold night at the pass, we headed up the trail in the crisp morning air.
The run up to Balu Pass was fast and we all felt light on our feet on the superbly maintained trail. We made it to Balu in an hour and thirty minutes – we all remarked on how much faster it was to run up the valley rather than ski.

Just below the summit rock atop Cheops Mountain, from left: Steve Sellers, Martha Burley, Melanie Bernier, Stano Faban, Brad Schalles.
After a quick snack on top of the biggest rock we could find, we scrambled along the ridge to the top of Mt Cheops. At the summit we pulled a few bouldering moves to ensure that we were on the tippy top of Mt Cheops. We had a snack and took a group photo in our team Rab jackets, and then we set off down the ridge towards our next stop: an ice cold dip in Connaught Creek (which just might be the coldest creek in Canada).
We made a light-speed trip back to Revelstoke (thanks to Slovakian over-drive), and we regrouped at a fine local establishment with Andrew and Peter. They had spent the day at the Martha Creek Melt Down where Peter placed 1st and Andrew 4th. After a great night caching up and talking all things skimo, we headed home to rest up for the next big day of the camp.
Descending from Cheops with the Trans-Canada highway one vertical mile below us.

Day 2: Skimo pentathlon + bike ride

Watching the summer London Olympics left me with lots of inspiration and so on Sunday morning we all met at Revelstoke high school stadium. The leader for this session was Jeff Colvin – one of the fastest Canadian skimo racers few years back – who is a track & field coach at the school.
Under Jeff’s leadership we all completed the following “skimo pentathlon”:

  • 100m sprint
  • shot put
  • star run (agility run)
  • long jump (from stand-still)
  • 800m run

Everyone had loads of fun as none of us knew what to expect from each discipline. On top of that, by the time our heads somewhat grasped one skill it was time to move to something else – testing our adaptiveness in the process.
Women’s pentathlon was won by Melanie Bernier and men’s main prize went to Brad Schalles who blew everyone in the 800m run on top of winning the 100 dash.
» Revealing video coming soon 🙂
Afternoon
After a season planing meeting during the lunch we split into road and mountain biking groups.
In fact, it was only me and Brad riding the road. We had a good 3h ride in the sunset lit valley north of Revelstoke, riding the always twisting road on the shores of 130km long Lake Revelstoke.
The mountain bike group rode the shadowy side of the valley, however, great Revelstoke trails kept them warm too.

Next camp

Team’s next camp is in the works. It will likely be already on skis somewhere high in the beautiful Canadian mountains.

Filed Under: Skimo Racing, Trip Reports & Conditions Tagged With: Adnrew McNab, Brad Schalles, Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team, Cheops Mountain, Ian Gale, Jeff Colvin, Julie Matteau, Martha Burley, Melanie Bernier, Peter Knight, Rogers Pass, Stano Faban, Steve Sellers, summer rando skimo racing training

Hiko-run to Tomyhoi Peak via Yellow Aster Butte, WA

August 29, 2012 By Stano Faban 1 Comment

Just wanted to share an amazing spot for hiking and mountain running, or hiko-running. Spectacular views and mostly soft trails all day long. All you need to do is search “Tomyhoi Peak” in Google Earth to find it.
Access is 7.5 km up the Twin Lakes logging road. The turn off is about 20km up the 542 Mt Baker Hwy from Glacier, WA. Normal 2-wheel drive vehicle will get you up there no problem.
Here is a quick 2min video to give you a point-of-view taste of this beautiful area. You can see Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan in some scenes. I shot it with my newly purchased GoPro Hero 2 camera after giving in to pressures of society:

This little map shows the trails I went on, retracing my route back to junctions and car:

Running Tomyhoi Peak and Yellow Aster Butte
This is a south-to-north view. The US-Canadian border runs just behind the Tomyhoi Peak - you can see the thin yellow line little bit.

Filed Under: Trip Reports & Conditions

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About SkinTrack

Travelling through snowy mountains on skis is like flying… and experiencing life at its core.

Gear reviews, interviews, adventures, contests, skills, skimo training, race reports – we connect you to all things related to self-propelled skiing.

SkinTrack.com, created by Stano Faban, was born out of passion for ski mountaineering and ski touring. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular ski mountaineering blogs in North America.

Recent Articles

  • Kilian Jornet Interview: About His New Foundation, His Own Environmental Impact, and How He Wants To Help Athletes and The Outdoor Industry To Protect Nature
  • How Fast Are Glaciers Really Melting? How Will This Affect Your Mountain Adventures? Interview with Pascal Egli
  • Book Review – Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka
  • Forest Skis: Innovative, Custom Build, For Backcountry Skiing and Freeride
  • Lighter and Completely Redesigned: New CAMP Ultralight Ski Mountaineering Ice Axes

Useful Links

Comparing the lightest: Skis | Boots | Bindings

Skimo Training: Training Plans | Videos

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