Hey Kev, another great post. Looks like some great weather out your way - any chance on getting some detailed info so we could post some of these routes for others? We have a "submit a new location" option under "touring locations" and would love to expand this area to include your neck of the woods and not just the West Kootenays?

Just a though.

Brad

Thanks for the post Kevin. It's great for us Kootenay folk to see what is going on in the Rockies. Purdy pics too!

I think north of Louise is where you want to be as the drought continues, imo. The skiing around Bow/Cirque/Dolomite this weekend was pretty good (for April), especially after the long days of fog we've been having in Cowtown.  That big bright dot in the middle of the shot is called the "Sun", apparently.

Climbing above the scrum on south cirque

Hero shot of lovely wife

Contemplating the next line - beware windloaded lee slopes above TL! Shooting cracks, whumphs, soft slabs, generally bad joo-joo

lots of pointy dark things poking through the snow (note brain bucket). Ya ya, shoulders down the fall line, and all that crap...

tele in a sky of diamonds. Repeat as necessary :-) 

admin said:

Hey Kev, another great post. Looks like some great weather out your way - any chance on getting some detailed info so we could post some of these routes for others? We have a "submit a new location" option under "touring locations" and would love to expand this area to include your neck of the woods and not just the West Kootenays?

---

Hey Brad!  Thanks for the suggestion.  I'm trying to think how that might work?  The problem I'm struggling with is that these areas are just so big that it's often hard to nail down a specific area that people ski.  The area around Dolomite, for example, probably has about 400 sq kms of skiable stuff.   That said, there are some (over) popular spots like Bow Summit and Crowfoot Glades that are a bit more contained...  dunno, needs some thought. 

In the mean time, we were back dorking around on the SE side of Dolomite last weekend.  The romantic weekend started with a lovely stay at the Chateau LL.  Not your average backcountry hut by any means but it still manages to give a pretty classic experience

Our main objective this trip was a peak just to the east of the normal Dolomite traverse route.  I don't know if it has a name, we always just call it "the big slope"

The turns didn't disappoint, but the snow pack is getting down to about 1m now.  LOT of stuff is starting to poke through and/or lurk just under the surface

It's kind of a weird thing when you haven't had snow in so long that the old tracks recrystalize back into something resembling 'powder'

Meanwhile, glad to see that you folks to the west are starting to get some accumulation again. Only 11 sleeps till we fly into Sol Mtn Lodge!!

Hey Kevin, no touring lately? Must be the lack of snow - if you get out please be sure and let us know what you are up to in the Rockies. Not much new snow around here - I hear Le Massif in Quebec just got hammered with over 70cm in two days,.... maybe time to move east?

sf

No kidding, I'll bet the Chic Chocs are awesome right now.  Oh well, we had to content ourselves with a bit of recon in some new areas last weekend which basically amounted to a lot of XC skiing.  The weather was gorgeous though so we didn't feel hard done by at all. Snow-wise, if it wasn't for the snow we got in November, we'd be kayaking by now.  Lots of big lines going up – stuff you don't normally see until late spring.  I find once you get off the old tracks in many spots, you're pretty much wading in facets which is not a good feeling in big terrain. 

Anyway, my wife and I are in Revy tonight watching the game, visiting friends and getting stoked about flying into Sol Mountain Lodge for a week of Powder (assuming freezing levels stay in the valleys).  I'll post a few picts when get back.  Play safe!