March 7th was looking like the final bluebird day before at least a week of storms were forecast to pound the Coast mountains of British Columbia. So, it was with both a tinge of sadness and anticipation that I decided I would starting heading back to Colorado as soon as the clouds came back. Though neither Jon nor Susan could ski with me, they set me up with their friends Lisa, Chris, and Lon so we had a good group and we made our way back to Dope Creek, since there was already a track and plenty of room for more turns on the face.

The only change that had occurred in the previous two days was a bunch of ski tracks on the 20 degree “drag race hill”- apparently left by heli skiers. I can’t imagine getting dropped off a heli to ski flat terrain with snowmobile tracks on it while being surrounded by steep spines and faces everywhere. Maybe some day I’ll have top secret information and I’ll be tortured in this manner- I’ll give up my secrets pretty quickly to get on the good stuff.

The only regret of my trip? That the stars never quite aligned in a way for me to get on the big lines like this one:

Next time. I wasn’t exactly crying about the lines we were about to ski. I don’t think my photos (and certainly not my POV) do it much justice, but it qualifies as “steep n deep”. Lisa:

Lon:

Chris, straight killing it off the top:

We got 3 runs on this spine wall before we decided to switch it up and ski a nearby steep face. I only got a couple of runs in on the helmet cam, but that’s probably enough anyway. I used “Back in Black” by AC/DC because to this day every time I hear that song, I think of Jack Hannan and a competition run he had at Kirkwood 10 years ago. He was way back in about 20th place and had the best comp run I’ve ever seen to move all the way into 2nd place. This video also features “Jackass Pass”, a crazy snowmobile line between a wind drift and the mountain which somehow goes cleanly:

Dope Creek Spines 3-7-11 from 14erskiers on Vimeo.

The last line we skied in this zone was one I had looked at a lot on a poster made for Jack after the avalanche last year. We got to the top and clicked in, and at that moment a bald eagle flew by, maybe twenty feet away. Lisa was the first to yell out “Yeah Jack!” as we watched him fly across the valley. I came to Pemberton to ski, but I also came to feel some connection to Jack, and this moment was one of many that qualified. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since he passed away. I know the eagle is hard to see, but he’s on the left in front of the cliffs.

I guess that’s about it. The skiing in Crested Butte has been pretty amazing for the past 3 weeks, so I haven’t felt like I was missing out on too much since getting back. Tomorrow, March 31st, will be the one-year anniversary of Jack’s accident on Mount Currie, so I hope everyone shreds a line or tips a glass in his honor. “Jack’s got My Back”

Other PNW/ Pemberton Reports:

Steven’s Pass
No Sleep Spines
O Face
Trandem Trees
Down Days and Thoughts on Snowmobile Skiing
Dope Creek Part 1
Pemberton Icecap
Dope Creek Part 2

We awoke the morning of the 23rd with hopes and aspirations of skiing a pretty big line. Jon really wanted to get Brittany and I on something big and scary (and for us, fun), and the weather was forecast to be nice and sunny. Unfortunately, the clear weather was the result of an “arctic outflow”, as they call it up there. As the name implies, the temperatures plummeted to numbers well below zero Fahrenheit, accompanied by some wind and humidity. Big lines with possible ropework and windslabs started to sound like a bad idea in those conditions, so tree skiing plan B was adopted.

With only three snowmobiles, four skiers, and an easy sled road to follow, “Trandem laps” became the plan of the day (3 people, one sled). It’s goofy, but it works:

Though cold (both Brittany and I got some frostnip on our faces), it was a gorgeous day. A look back at the terrain I skied my first day in Pemberton:

And “Norain”, Brittany’s first day:

Despite the wind, we we on a generally protected slope, so it was nearly perfect conditions on varied terrain with pillows, chutes, and actually pretty steep terrain (notice the sluff piles everywhere). On with some pics…
Frank:

Read more

Day 2 in Pemberton featured a return to a peak I skied the last time I visited the area, but thankfully it’s a great mountain that even got some time in MSP’s movie Yearbook. Both Jon and Susan were able to join me, with their young baby watched over by Grandma, plus their friend Jim who crushed the snowmobile approach through the woods in over a meter of new snow. After that, it was nothing but pure gluttony- 6 laps on a roughly 2,000′ face with less than 20′ of climbing per lap. Just step off the snowmobile and go…

The face:

A few photos of Jon:

Nice spot to park a snowmobile:

Jon and Susan, psyched to be skiing together:

We skied in the same area the following day and I took this photo of our tracks on the O face. Yeah, it was good. Notice the figure 8′s thrown in by Jon and Jim just for kicks.

The video contains all 6 runs, with the bottom flat turns edited out. It also has one of the snowmobile tandems up, which were almost as much fun as the skiing on the way down. It’s a little long for a POV for some people, but it was also some spectacular skiing and I hope you enjoy it as it’s some of the best footage I’ve gotten (and getting photos on this face was next to impossible anyway)

O Face 2-20-11 from 14erskiers on Vimeo.

Other PNW/ Pemberton Reports:

Steven’s Pass
No Sleep Spines
O Face
Trandem Trees
Down Days and Thoughts on Snowmobile Skiing
Dope Creek Part 1
Pemberton Icecap
Dope Creek Part 2

Get 25% off orders of $125 or more at Sierra Trading Post. Use code AVMARCH1. Valid until April 6, 2011. Coupon Code: AVMARCH1