Ski Drama

Ive been going through the ski paces this year thats for sure. I ordered some beauty BD Stigma 183cm's in October and mounted them up only to discover that they are stiffer than a 4 ounce sambuca shot at 3am. I was whipped around like a towel and givin my ski technique of barley follwing my friends down the slopes I was in need of new sticks. Enter the Rossignol B3 176. Medium Stiff, Medium Fat and all round-Perfect. Had 6 good days on those babys until last week, skiing in Utah during outdoor retailer when I heard the sound of crunching corn flakes. My ski had delaminated from tip to tail and were rendered useless. Luckilly my friend John at the movement ski booth loaned my some nice thunder 177's to finish the day and my legs as we skiied the 22 inches (yes inches) from the day before. My new pair is an updated B3 for '08 and they are being mounted as we speek. Cant wait to ski em!

Asulkan Heli Days

Just arrived home last night from two great days of skiing in Rogers Pass. With M-A, Jeff and J Billing we loaded up the car, stuffed everything inside and pointed west towards deep powder and better snow stability. We followed the well used track up to the Asulkan hut which is recomended for every timber framers apprentice. After some tea and Landjaegers it was time to follow the glaciers and shadows to Asulkan pass where we found calm skys and enormous views. It was time to go down-we followed each other in pairs and laughed all the way to the hut, reveling in the perfect fast skiing and views. After skiing most off the way down to valley bottom and bouncing off pillows in the rolling trees, we made our way back to the hut and enjoyed a good meal and flowing scotch. The next day we got to do it all over again and as we skiined our way to the alpine near Saphirre col, we could take it all in- Great views, great skiing and good time with good friends. Another good weekend in Rogers Pass.

3 Dog Days

Hey All,

Just arrived home from three great days of ski touring
with Jeff MacPherson, Marc-Andre Cousineau and Chris
Haywood.


Day 1 we fired a 1000m up-track towards the col above
Emerald Lake slidepath, noses out and ears perked,
waiting for signs of instability. The conditions and
snow were oddly silent and after digging around we
found a pretty decent pack with about 180cm at around
2160m, no major reactive layers either...hmmm. We
ripped the skins off and let the skis run. Cranking
the first turn the snow hit the knees, the second and
third turns blew our minds as perfect rocky mountain
powder eventually hit our waists and caused enormous
smiles to span our shiny faces. Steak and scotch
awaited us at the Hostel, as well as enormous talk for
the upcoming days.

Day 2 we ventured to the "snow zone", a line of peaks
just east of the south wapta that seems to trap absurd
amounts of snow. Last year for instance, we found 2+m
of snow there in December, perfect untracked dream
runs and bowls noboday seems to go to. Deep and
perfect snow awaited as we went back up tp the sunny
summit of one of the peaks as many times as we could,
trying to soak it all in and revel at some of the
deepest and best snow we had seen-anywhere. With the
fading light, we shot back to the trees and made our
way to the highway and to the huge meal and sauna we
knew was waiting.

Day 3 we awoke tired and content from skiing dark to
dark days in a row and a relaxing pace was in order.
We skied up the frozen creek and canyons leading to a
valley south of Observation peak in the bow summit
area. A weak snowpack and highwinds kept us from
venturing too high but allowed us a few nice runs in
the trees as well as another great day in the
mountains with good company. We could smell the dark
roast coffee and pastries at Laggans so we did the
luge run out to the road and answered the call in
short order, reflective and happy.

A stellar few days!