Whitewater Backcountry TR - winter ain't over yet

You would think with these spring-like temps down here in Nelson and plenty-o-sunshine that things up in the Whitewater backcountry would have gone to shit by now. Not so. Having returned from a morning tour yesterday, I was quite surprised as to how well things were holding up.

We caught the first summit chair (literally) and headed for the skin track up blasters ridge towards Prospector Bowl and West Ymir. Once arriving at Prospector and seeing plenty of opportunity for fresh lines and soft snow we decided to peal our skins right away and take advantage of the opportunity. The skiing was solid with little more than minor sluffs to manage. Top-of-the-boot skiing as they say and mighty fine at at that. Closer to the bottom, trending skiers right we hit the open avi path and skied back in bounds shocked at just how good things were holding up. 

With a round trip time at just 1:10 we headed back up, this time with West Ymir the objective. Once on the ridge we took some time to watch a few boarders jump into Dog’s Leg and a gaggle of skiers skinning up to the summit. Once we skied the first bench we realized that West Ymir’s shaded North face held just as good snow as did Prospector’s even though most of the resort was in full sun. The skiing was mid-winter like and the lack of tracks everywhere told us that most people have already retired their touring gear for the season. Tsk, tsk.

Even though it was a quick morning tour with only two laps, they were still some of the best of the season given how calm and sunny it was—are rarity this season. If you are on the fence about a spring tour, do yourself a favour and get out there, with more snow on the way you won’t be disappointed.

Check out our route here (on our Suunto Moves Count page) if you are not familiar with West Ymir and Prospector Bowl routes get more info on our Whitewater Ski Resort routes section.