Pemberton Day 1: The No Sleep Spines

After arriving at my friends, place and turning off the lights around 3am, (see previous post) I couldn’t get close to falling asleep. My brain kept me white-knuckling through the Star Wars Lightspeed snowflakes for 3 or 4 hours of tossing and turning before the knock on the door told me it was time to get up. “I don’t think I can make it”, I said, as I was as wired as I’ve ever been. “It’s going to be the day of the year”, Jon said, so despite the total lack of sleep I packed up and I’m glad I did because it was the exact kind of day I drove all the way up here for.

We met Jon’s friends Dave and Delaney and I quickly realized why everyone up here rides their snowmobiles in soft boots with their ski boots packed away- the approaches aren’t groomed like I’m generally used to in Colorado and the road had exactly 1,739 whoop-de-do’s to negotiate along the way. OK, I didn’t really count, but it was a nasty road anyway you slice it. But once we got up high, it was easy to see that it was going to be a day to remember, with 2+ feet of fresh that was continental dry, but maritime solid. I love this place.

Shuttle after shuttle, the runs kept getting better as we gradually worked up to the bigger lines. I’ll let some photos do the talking. Jon:

Find Dave:

A sequence of Delaney:

The scenery was OK:

Sometimes you’ve got to mix it up and ski the opposite of a spine:

Part of my impetus for being here was to ski some of Jack’s favorite lines, and see some of his favorite peaks, and those goals were accomplished on day one, along with some unbelievably stellar skiing. POV:

More Road Trip 2011 Posts:
Stevens Pass
No Sleep Spines
O Face
Pemby BC
Luna Creek
Trandem Trees
Whistler/Vancouver
Down Days and thoughts on snomo skiing
Dope Creek 1
Dope Creek 2

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Frank Konsella

Frank loves snow more than anything... except his wife.  He ensures his food is digested properly by chewing it 32 times before swallowing.He is a full-time real estate agent serving Crested Butte and Gunnison and would be honored to send you his monthly newsletter.

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