Well, It’s been a pretty busy few weeks for backcountry adventures…
I went up to Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park over reading break and spend 3 nights at the Naisset huts with some friends. This was the first proper back country trip I’ve had the chance to do, and it solidified my desire to get out more.
The ski in is 28 km, starting at Mount Shark provincial park, heading into BC over Assiniboine pass. Normally there would have been the option of staying at the Byrant creek shelter, about 14 km from the trailhead, but the shelter was fully booked for the day we were heading in. Instead, we got up extra early and trekked in the full distance.
Assiniboine lodge is closed this season while the lease for the land is being renegotiated, but the rustic Naisset huts, and the Wonder Lodge cook shelter are still open.
The second day we headed up towards Eli’s dome, but had to turn back about 3/4 of the way up. the light was so flat it was hard to tell what was happening. I managed to get in a few good turns on the way back, which made up for the lack of vista.
The light was still really flat on the third day, and according to the other people up there, the snow up high was pretty gross and slabby. We opted to stay a bit lower and did laps on the Niblet. The Tele skis I am currently using belong to my mother, back from the days before children when she and my father did a lot of backcountry stuff. They’re about a foot too long, have basically no side cut, and there is no heel lift for hill climbing. So it was a bit of a challenge, but I still managed to pull of some pretty good turns.
It wasn’t until the morning we left that we actually had a view of Assiniboine. Spurred on by the cold and wind, we made our way back to Mount Shark and down into Canmore for nachos and beer.
We made pretty good time, 10 hours in, 8 hours out and the trip went off without incident. (A good thing considering we lost the group’s SPOT device somewhere between Bryant creek and Assiniboine pass.) Backcountry skiing is making me reconsider why I spend so much money at resorts. This is far more rewarding.
