When good ideas go wrong...

Tobin Seagel — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:18:14 -0500

Rating

The guidebook made Mt. Wilson's couloir out to be something dreams are made of. 6000ft of skiing, what more could I ask for? I was pretty stoked on the mission in the Saskatchewan Crossing area of the icefields parkway. Stoked to explore another mountain in Canada, stoked to keep on skiing the deep pow that has been following us around all year, stoked for a little friendly hecklin' of friends at home that missed the mission.

On first glance, we thought we hit it right. The couloir looked fun, the peak hidden in clouds. The approach was direct, the snow good in the trees, the sun coming out.

Wish you were me?

Possibly, but likely not. The couloir turned into a bowling alley for avalanche debris. One side solid ice, the other side rotten sugar to ground. Still with nothing better to do, we ventured up to the col. I was strangely happy when the sugar ended, replace by solid ice buffed by the constant wind to a consistency any hockey rink would envy...

(good times)

Skiing down was possibly the funniest thing I've done recently on skis. Even the swiss army doesnt make edges sharp enough to interrupt the 800ft slide to the first reasonable snow. Skiing looked more like railsliding; butt checks were legitimate technique.

Morals learned from this mission: 1) When you know there's better snow elsewhere, go there. 2) Any junction with Saskatchewan in the name can be categorically crossed off your tick list of skiable areas. And 3) Always leave plenty of beer in the car (obvious general guideline).

If you want to learn to ski ice, consult this helpful website before your trip: http://www.ifyouski.com/Technique/Alpineskiing/Pistecraft/Ice/

(dinner)

Doglotion.com - Freeskiing Community - Mt. Wilson

When good ideas go wrong...