Training Log Archive: revy

Last day of the trip and everyone was interested in a longer day of exploration so headed to the Valkalla zone. A bit cooler and with snow settlement the conditions were much improved. A number of convective flurries through the day topped off the snow with more face shot snow.

Skied right down from the lodge and then down to our uptrack to gateway Ridge from the end of the Norns. Luckily it was still there despite all the new snow and wind. The run into marsh trees was the same spot as the previous day, then we climbed up the south facing slopes across the valley. Looks like at least four or five possible lines down this side. Skiers right would be the most sheltered. The other lines do get you into some really nice open pitches. The upper parts of 4/5 look the most steep. We went down the middle one and cut left part way down to the fourth one as this made the run 150m longer. A short climb brought us back to the the usual talus slope we often stop at. Set the uptrack skiers right of the creek then crossing to the left and climbing to the cliffs. You can sneak through the cliffs on the right side and then we rejoined our old uptrack. Added on bonus run off the nose of the ridge that I had been eyeing up on google earth. It turned it to be quite nice - planar without a gully, cliffs or Xmas trees. Finished by climbing all the way to the top of the ridge and skiing the last norn. Some great turns to finish the trip...

Overall some of the best sustained snow conditions we've ever had on a hut trip. Good times:)

Today was the most blustery weather day with the most snow forecast so stayed close to the lodge. We didn't get as much snow as forecast but the winds at treeline were very strong. Lots of wind pressed snow in open areas up high. Started with a skiers left espresso line feeding nicely into the chute to the right of the sauna chute. Then three laps in the mead pot. Good runs including the usual honey stick, left glades, and into the battelfield but felt a little like we were just putting in time with the multiple laps. Perhaps some end of the week physical and mental fatigue too... Last run of the day helped redeem the day as we had great turns down the lodge ridge bowl and then a run down the sauna chute. We fit four people down it and still enough fresh snow for me coming down last. Heaviest snow conditions of the trip today but still very high quality.

The next system moved in but unfortunately this one brought warmer temperatures (FL 1200m). The new snow was a little denser and was creating some upside down conditions. It wasn't too bad initially as the upper layer was thin but things got noticeably heavier during the day. We had some reactivity of the new snow on the first runs but it seemed like it was bonding better as the day went on. Given that the upper slab was pretty thin we were below the cusp of it being a big problem. Certainly trail breaking got a lot harder... the last few days had been easy trail breaking despite the blower pow.

Given the changing conditions thought it would be a good day to ski the Norns before any hazard made them a more committing option. Started with a run on Espresso (forgot how narrow the gully part way down is) then Wishbone and Naughty Norn. CO and James joined me for a climb back up yesterday's uptrack (it was better than I thought and certainly much easier not breaking trail) while the rest of the group did another run from gateway Col. Had a great run down into Valkalla - despite the heavier snow was still getting face shots and if anything the wetter snow made them seem more forceful. Breaking trail back to the ridge was certainly hard work. Once on the ridge skied Flight of the Valkyries. Legs were feeling tired on that run and the heavier snow exacerbated things. Despite the warmer snow still amazing skiing.

The first in a series of storms moved through overnight. A little bit of fresh snow (9cm) and lots of wind. We headed up to the lodge ridge thinking we'd stay in the lodge basin but it was rather windy on the lodge side so changed plans and dropped into Burton Direct. Very nice steep tree skiing into a nice open path. Pretty much 600m of fall line skiing to valley bottom. The crust that we had felt 30cm below the surface at lower elevations seemed less noticeable. Then explored a new run across the valley lookers left of Illicit Smile. Other than a short crux near the bottom (go right around the little drops - could maybe even climb the illicit smile path) the uptrack was no problem as the trees were widely spaced. We made it to where the gully pinches off and steepens a little. The actual run is surprisingly planar (no creek) and no xmas trees. A little narrow for a big group but I bought up the rear again and it was fine.

By this time it had calmed down and was puking nice big snowflakes (another 19cm during the day). Back into the lodge basin with a detour to Scimitar. We didn't quite go far enough to find the start but the initial part of the run was still good through a glade in the forest. The scimitar itself is getting a little tight in spots due to the xmas trees. Best in a deeper snowpack year. Climbing out this time was way better than our previous bushwhacking experience as we climbed the path for about 50 vertical meters. For the last run we pushed the uptrack higher onto the ridge. Pretty steep terrain up there - kept thinking I would find some easier pitches but never really did. It is certainly doable but not sure if there is a better route than the one I used. Anyway after traversing the ridge and seeing that there wasn't much slab or wind affect dropped into the Norns (Secret Lover). Such good low density snow on a great steep and consistent pitch. We were commenting that the run ranked up there in terms of best snow conditions...

Back into Hilda East as the skiing had been really good and with the snow forecast for later in the week didn't think we'd make it back here. Also wanted to ski the Broom before the next group flew into Lequereux. To mix things up we used one ski col for access. Nice of the mist to burn off before our first run down:) Short skin heading south and then dropped into the skiers right line below Unamed. The drop in didn't seem too bad - my memory from last time was of more cliff hopping. Could have been even easier if we were 5m lower. Climbed across the valley to the Broom and had a nice run in the trees there. Sun was out but not affecting the snow too much. Everyone was keen for the keep skiing option so back to ridge top and into Illicit Smile from the top. Still eyeing up a sweet steep line off the top of the ridge into the Windy Lake zone...

The upper part of the run took a fair bit of sluff and group management as we skied a lot of it one at a time. For future reference the 4th glade on the right drops into a bit of a gully. Fall line and slightly right off the summit seems to take you into #3. Might be worthwhile to spread out and ski #1/2 as long as you cut right to #4 before the cliff. After regrouping we dropped through the next crux and then into the main path. I brought up the rear and was still finding lots of good snow so manageable for a group of 9. A little bit smaller would be nicer though. Back to the lodge via Hilda Creek and the cedar grove.

As we had some nice weather today and the previous group had not touched this zone we headed to Hilda East. Found some interesting old wind effect on the ramparts (covered by 15cm) of new snow. The other side was excellent though with no wind effect and great skiing. Headed off towards Dago but detoured part way to the south end of the Hilda east basin and made it to the lake there. One boot pack along the way. A nice long eight hundred meter run to valley bottom. The last time we climbed back to rampart col from valley bottom we found some nice cliffs so this time tied heading closer to Burton direct. Worked ok - though still some tricky bits. Can likely stay close to the burton direct run longer than you think. a few of us did an extra run off the top to loop back to the back of the pack. Was tempted to keep going as the skiing was so good but it was getting late in the day. The run down the ramparts was a little less good due to the wind effect underneath.

First day of a week long ski trip to Hilda Hut. Fourth trip here (took a break last year but here every year the three years prior). Participants are Courtney, Atsuko, James, Wakana, Sean, kevin, russ, Vikki, Carbon and CO. Unfortunately Stuart broke his femur two days before the trip while snowmobiling.

Flying in seemed like it took a while due to weather and the other lodge flying first. By the time we were ready to ski (we didn't seem that organized either) it was after 1pm I think. The group before us had done a lot of skiing in the lodge basin and though there had been new snow not enough to cover their tracks. We did a warm up on the battlefield and found some fun turns between the old tracks. A slow run as a number of equipment issues along the way. Then above to the cabin for a run in the lodge trees. Snow was super low density blower. Felt quite tired and hungry after the ski today - chalk it up to being the first day and also being at altitude (hut is at 1900m).