Rogers Pass

I dropped Brian off at the airport in Calgary and picked up my Dad who few in for the final week of my Canadian Rockies trip. 

Terry Deshler

My Dad was a ski instructor in college and at that time in his life skiing was among his greatest passions. He taught me how to ski when I was 10 and during high school we spent many weekends on ski trips to Utah and Jackson Hole. After that my Dad for the most part stopped skiing while I was away in college. When I moved back to the Rockies I took him ski touring a few times and he was hooked. The solitude and fantastic skiing justified the required labor. 

 Dad and Classic Rockies Scenery

We spent a day touring in the Canadian Rockies, practicing beacon searches and warming up the legs before heading west to the Selkirks, and Rogers Pass.

Rogers Pass is arguably the best roadside ski touring in the world but some of the approaches are long. My Dad is very strong for his 66 years of age but I knew we would ski more if we didn't have to deal with the approaches. I convinced him that we should camp in the Asulkan Valley. A promising weather forecast helped the decision but as we skinned up the valley the clouds showed no signs of relenting.

Skiing Up the Asulkan Valley

 Camp On the Triangle Moraine

We did a little skiing in the afternoon but the visibility was terrible and the clouds only thickened as we made dinner and climbed into our sleeping bags.

It was a cold night and I think we both questioned our plan until we woke up the next morning and unzipped the tent to this view...

A clear day at Rogers Pass is what ski touring dreams are made of. Our gamble paid off. We ate breakfast, soaked up the early morning sun, and got ready for a big day of skiing.

Far ahead of the folks hiking up the valley we started up towards Sapphire Col with breathtaking mountain views spilling in every direction.

 Camp

 Sapphire Col Hut

 Tea Time

 Heading Down from Sapphire Col

 Father and Son Tracks

We headed up to Dome Col afterwards to complete 4,000 feet of spectacular powder skiing. The suffering the night before paid off as we carved effortless turns through soft powder with one of the most spectacular backdrops in the world. It was among my best days of ski touring, and in all likelihood, my Dad's finest day of skiing.

Dome Col

 End to a Perfect Day

 Another Cold Night

 Mt Sir Donald

The next day we awoke to more cloudy skies. We tried to make it to Dome Col but were thwarted by lack of visibility. After waiting for an hour for things to improve we threw in the proverbial towel and descended in the thick fog. 

 Dad in a Rare Moment of Visibility

Clouds

We found some better skiing below camp and then we headed out - skiing out the Asulkan Valley to the Wheeler Hut. We spent a warm night in the hut and were shocked to wake up to blue skies. Only a fool would pass up a clear day at Rogers Pass and so we went skiing.

 Heading To Lookout Col

 Father and Son

 Sapphire Col on the Left. We Camped on Top of the Triangle near the Bottom of the Photo.

 Heading Back For More

We skied over 5,000 feet and started the drive home tired and content, beating a big storm that hit the Selkirks the next day. As the avalanche danger quickly increased we headed south, back to the states. Ski touring is fickle and when the right conditions come together it should not be taken for granted. I marveled at our good timing but above all I was thankful for time spent with my father. It was special to know that after all these years we could still share our common love of fresh snow together. Here's to many more years of father and son tracks!

Wapta Icefields

After a week of ice climbing with Rolf I dropped him off at the airport and picked up Brian Gardel, my backcountry ski partner from Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Brian Gardel, aka "Frenchy"

Brian and I met kayaking but have spent just as much time if not more skiing together. A few years ago he told me about skiing in Canada, namely Rogers Pass. I was hooked. We had made plans to ski for a week at Rogers Pass, arguably the best roadside ski touring in the world, and Brian's favorite place to ski. Unfortunately touchy avalanche conditions and an incoming warm winter storm meant that Rogers Pass would undergo an avalanche cycle and should be avoided. We quickly went to work on plan B once Brian arrived.

Plan B was the Wapta Icefield, near the Icefields Parkway in the Canadian Rockies. Better avalanche conditions and generally drier than the Selkirks (Rogers Pass) to the west, we made an ambitious plan to complete the Yoho traverse across the Wapta Icefield and into the Yoho Valley.

 Brian Heading into the Wapta

Our first destination was the Bow Hut, built on the edge of the Wapta Icefield.

Bow Hut (Center of Photo)

 Brian Nearing the Hut

We spent the evening poring over maps, entering coordinates into our GPS and planning our route into the Yoho valley. The next morning we awoke to heavy snowfall, winds, and extremely limited visibility. We were grounded. We skied a little near the hut, and rested, hopeful that the storm would break the following day.

The next morning the storm showed no signs of abating. There would be no Yoho traverse, we were now onto plan C. We decided to make the traverse to the Balfour Hut, a relatively easy traverse in good conditions but one that promised to be challenging in the current conditions. We mapped our route and headed into the whiteout.

Once on the glacier we lost all visibility. The only way I could walk in a straight line was by constantly looking at my compass. 

Where are We?

It took us nearly 8 hours to make the traverse. Most of the way we were totally disoriented and had to trust our instruments completely. It wasn't the epic powder skiing we'd been dreaming of but it was a good adventure and great for improving our navigation and glacier travel skills.

 Brian in the White Room

It was quite a good feeling to see the hut after following our compass bearings all day. 

 Brian Arriving at the Balfour Hut

 Balfour Hut

 Shelter From the Storm

The next morning the we woke up to strong winds and continued snowfall, the blizzard wasn't letting up. We took our time getting ready, drinking multiple cups of tea, trying to psych ourselves up for the long slog back. The wind and snow had obliterated our tracks; we bundled up, broke out our compasses, and headed out.

Tracks

 Back in the Whiteout

 Descending the Col Between St Nicholas and Olive

The storm started to break as we skied the toe of the glacier down to Bow Hut. We dropped our packs and spent the afternoon skiing the 2-3 feet of new snow that had fallen. Things were starting to look up.

 Sunrise

The next morning we awoke to relatively clear weather and we feasted on all the new snow, trying to track out the slope near the hut. Finally we were treated to views of the peaks.

Enjoying the View

 Brian with St Nicholas in the Background

 Our Tracks

We predicted that with the passage of the storm, the avalanche conditions would improve at Rogers, so we headed out.

 Brian Skiing Out

 Bow Lake

Nearly 3 feet of snow had fallen since we left the car and it took a long time and lot of digging to get back to the Icefields Parkway.

 My Car After the Storm

We finally struck gold in the 9th inning of the trip. Blue skies, fresh snow, and improving avalanche conditions at Rogers Pass created all the ingredients for an unforgettable day of ski touring.

Brian Heading up the Asulkan Valley

 Track to Asulkan Pass

More Terrain than One Can Imagine. View from Asulkan Pass

As a photographer I'm constantly in awe of the forms in snowy landscapes.

Youngs Peak

 We skied over 7,000 feet and drove back to Calgary tired, sore, and content.