"With each turn I sunk up to my nipples in snow... remember that feeling?"

After weeks of shreddin' the hardpack on Whistler/Blackcomb, skiing was getting old, so I set out on a mission to find some powder. I knew there wasn't even a drop of fresh snow in the resort, but what about the backcountry? Obviously my fellow resort skiers didn't have a clue, or they wouldn't still be skiing in-resort. But what about Red Neck Kurt who had just finished 2 weeks without a ski-pass? If there's any freshies to be had, he'd know where it's at.

So Kurt and I headed North out of Whistler, through pemberton, and up the Duffey Lake Road towards Lilloet. The destination... Cayoosh Mtn. An hour and a half later we were at the pullout, and geared up for 2 hours of easy-cheesy skinning up a logging road to access the goods. Gazing up at the steep gladed runs and chutes above us, I was getting the hint that some freshies were waiting for us up top, but couldn't have imagined how sweet it would really be. Cayoosh itself was totally clouded in, so we stuck to the lower ridges and chutes, and we weren't disappointed.

A 30-40 minute skin up a steep gut led to an untracked playground of billgoat ledges, chutes, and glades, all for us and one other group to enjoy. Recent winds had safely deposited a retarded amount of snow on all the Western aspects, but I still didn't really believe it until I was blinded and choking after my first turn down a narrow pin-ball chute we had chosen to session. Endless faceshots after weeks without snow?

After our first run we couldn't get enough of it, so we did lap after lap until until dark. 40 minutes skinning up for 5 precious minutes of snow billowing over our heads on the way down. With each turn I sunk up to my nipples in snow... remember that feeling? If you've been to Cayoosh recently you'll know it well. If you've been skiing icy laps in the resort all winter, it's time to check this place out.

DETAILS…
Cayoosh Mtn is located about 1.5 hours north of Whistler, accessed by taking the Duffey Lake Road from Pemberton towards Lilloet.