Columbia Icefield via Saskatchewan Glacier May/21

To preface, this trip was a mild disaster. But, we learnt a lot about the Saskatchewan glacier, physical limits, and how quickly a ski will ski by itself. My birthday is in the first week of may, so unofficially this was a party, to which we invited 2 friends. I'd also just got a new tent from Hyperlite, which isn't relative to the story but is pretty cool. 

The new tent! It is the 4 person Ultamid floorless tarp. And it only weighs 1.44 lbs/652g!  Packability isn't phenomenal but the weight saving is unbeatable. And it's waterproof.

We start the day at the pull off on the big bend (icefields parkway), not early, but a reasonable 9:something. Our goal was to just make it onto the icefield and set up camp, as we had 5 days designated. We start hauling our massive packs in towards the glacier, across the expansive flats of where the Sask glacier used to reign. There was still enough good snow that travel was smooth, until just below the ice where there were thawing moats. 

Snow was still present and abundant enough that we never had to take our skis off on the way in.

Geared up for the glacier  and started the 8km long trudge up the steady incline. Great coverage the whole time and didn't see one crevasse. There is minor danger towards the headwall, from seracs on climbers left off Mount Castleguard. Upon cresting the steep final section, we circled a bit around Mt Andromeda and made camp, at around 4pm. Now that we were in direct sunlight on the big flat icefield, the snow was sticking badly to our skins. Had a chill evening, because an early wake up for Snowdome was on the table for tomorrow. 

Phil chilling with the final evening glow over Mount Bryce

Woke up at 5am and were moving by 7am. It's a bit shocking how much slower you are to get moving when it's freezing and snowy outside. Everything takes more time - making water, heating breakfast, getting out of the sleeping bag, putting ski boots on and trying not to grimace. 

The first light chasing the moon to bed behind Castleguard. Our tracks from the day before trailing away.

The route up Snowdome is quite straight forward, but crevasses pose a constant threat for the entirety of the climb. Always rope up, even if you can't see a hole! 

Snow Dome is not so impressive from it's backside, as opposed to what faces the Icefields Parkway. It's elevation is 11,339ft, ranking 22nd in Bill Corbett's list of Canadian Rockies 11,000ers

Our group summitted Snow Dome at 11:30am and took the mandatory hydrological apex summit tinkle. Took a bit longer to get to the top, but we're on holidays! One friend stepped in a crevasse on the summit, a minute after he decided to ski down not connected to the rest of the team. So yes, the top of Snow Dome is still very much crevassed - and only going to get worse.

Not much of view on the top today. And it was windy.

Zoomed back to camp in an hour and took a good break for lunch. Then 3 of us decided to ski the shoulder of Castleguard, for an extra little excursion for the day. Marty and I practiced skiing down roped up, but I took a tumble in the front, causing Marty to then fall, and as a consequence ejected from one of his skis. We watched it ski down the slope, make an unbelievable 90 degree turn and, to our horror, ski off down the vast Saskatchewan glacier. 

Our buddy skied back to camp to let our other friend know what happened, while Marty skied one-legged down the glacier, with me behind feeling foolish. How far did it go? Did it fall in a crevasse? Would we even find it? Do we have to go all the way to the bottom to find it? Bugger...

We see an abnormity far in the distance on the major flat section just past Castleguard on skiers right. It's the ski! Relief. We sit and moan about the whole situation for a bit, then start back up hill again. Just 15 minutes from camp, we see our two friends skiing down towards us. They had everything with them. The whole camp packed haphazardly, making them teeter under the weight. Dang. Guess we're going home. 

We had crossed this pond confidently the day prior with no issue - the next day it was melting fast. The same happened to all the snow but much quicker. It was shocking how little was left after just 30 hours.  

Admittedly, the ski down the glacier was a lot of fun - low-angle and a constant glide. A good workout for the quads though. Ouch. Upon reaching the end of the glacier, 80℅ of the snow on the glacial flat was gone. Regrettably, I did not take the time to attach my skis to my pack, but hoisted them over my shoulder and sauntered off through the mud and rocks. Hiking in ski boots is quite shit, frankly. I don't think anyone was having fun at this point. Finally made it to the trees and we could put them back on. Then to just really top off the day, not 100m from the car at the crossing over the North Saskatchewan River, I slipped off a rock and fell face first into the (shallow) water. My pack held me down for one second longer than I liked and when I resurfaced, I looked around and no one was there to watch my epic fail! Wasted anti-talent. 

So, of a 5 day, epic, multi-peak bagging trip, we scored one 11,000er, retrieved a rogue ski and concluded we probably won't ever travel on the Saskatchewan glacier in order to access the Icefield summits ever again. This is mainly due to time. However, it is a great easy and safe ramp if you were to summit Castleguard, or other peaks to the south. I highly recommend brakes on skis!

Skoki tour 11-13 April 2021

Skoki area is a back-country gem situated in the mountains out behind the Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta. It is both a summer and winter destination, with a graceful little log cabin community - Skoki lodge - that offers cute accommodation in a bountiful landscape. I've never stayed there, but you only hear great things about the place. The area is full of objectives - ski touring, scrambling, hiking, climbing. We went back there towards the end of winter, though it was still very much winter at night, reaching -17C and -14C on the respective nights. 

Skoki Lodge has been in operation since 1931. 

The first day we skied to Merlin Meadows, which is just a 5 minute slide downhill from Skoki lodge. It took roughly 4.5 hours ( 2hrs 45min to Boulder Pass). A late start meant it was nearly 5pm by the time we made it to the meadows. 

Deception Pass with a majestic cloud illumination to the west. 

 With no tent with us, we tried out sleeping in snow caves. That first night, we dug down (at least still 1m on flat meadow ground!) around the site and piled the snow into the middle, where a 2m tall mound eventually stood. Then we began to tunnel in from low to the ground, up into the deepest part of the mound. Cold air sinks, so theoretically it would seep out the entryway and the hot air would get trapped in the dome. This was very time consuming, uncomfortable and tiring. Trying to carve out the roof, lying on your back on snow, and wet. I'd recommend to always wear waterproof clothes or just one quick-drying layer AND lie on a foam sleeping mat. You get very wet. Also a great idea to poke some holes in the roof with a probe, once the cave is complete, for ventilation.

 Camp layout. Even a table and seats for the breakfast we didn't bring to eat. Amazing amount of snow.

The sleeping was quite comfortable. Snow is a great insulator and very effective at keeping the early morning sun out. So much so that we only woke up close to 10am. Unheard of time while camping! On a less positive note, we forgot oats for breakfast. So after some snacks and trail mix, we headed off towards Merlin Lake, following broken trails that hugged the creek at first then entered the woods just left of a small talus field, in search of a good run. This trail was steep but soon petered off then quickly got really steep. It was evident people had come up and down, but I was silently dreading coming back down. Tight trees, sharp turns and large drop offs. Eventually we popped out on a plateau, smattered with smaller trees. The lake quickly came into view, and wow what a view it was.

Merlin Lake with Mount Richardson, Pika Peak and Wall of Jericho R to L

It was getting significantly warmer as the sun crept higher in the sky. Skiing on snow that was in direct contact, as we skirted the right of the lake looking for a nice line, was making the skins stick pretty bad. We stopped for a short break in the shade, but didn't faff and were climbing again in 5 minutes. Hugged the trees just right of the wide (glacially formed?) rolling hilly section west of Mount Richardson. When it started to flatten out, we turned around and had a pleasant ski through deep pow and fun light trees. Perfect for the extent of my skiing skills right now! 

Hand drawn (ie not perfect) depiction of our paths travelled. Green is going TO Merlin Lake and red is coming FROM the lake. Red is ideal, for both up and down. Blue is where we got a downhill line. 

On the way down, we tried a different way that contoured Merlin's Castle a little more and consequently was a much more agreeable grade. This was a lot of fun. It passes across one slide path. You then drop into a rocky gully which spits you out on the opposite side of the talus field,  to the left of which we previously entered the forest. 

Marty, the best volunteer for my greatest trick, The Separating Man. 

After the great pleasure of collapsing the snow shelter, we stopped briefly at the lodge to chat to some employees, who were having an end of season staff party. They gave us a good tip for the next leg to Baker Lake campground. After getting over Skoki-Fossil Pass (very mellow), look for a sign leading into the woods on the right that reads 'Cougar Boy'. I forget the origin behind the name but it is a very helpful short-cut. The view down the valley and of the Sawback Range is just incredible. It is easy terrain on a well- marked/travelled trail, with minimal up and down, but it was arduous, no doubt. 

Lost in the many beautiful  jagged peaks of the Sawback. It would be lovely to see it in summer too.

I depleted my body a little too much, trying to save snacks for the next morning and water for dinner that night. We arrived late and nearly in the dark to Baker Lake. Instead of making the mound for a snow cave, we just utilised a snow bank and dug into it. Still quite a bit of work, but not nearly as much. Took a break halfway to make dinner, i.e. pour hot water into freeze dried meals. I couldn't even stomach it, I was that drained. It was a prominent reminder to listen to and obey your body's needs. I went back to shovelling for a while, let the few bites settle and after a little distraction, I felt much better. 

Baker Lake, with a ponderous layer of snow and Fossil Mountain ruling the heavens in the fading light of nightfall. 

Snow cave bedroom #2. Less work and a pretty nice view of Brachiopod Peak in the stark morning light. 

Another cozy sleep left us feeling rested and restored for the final leg of our trip. It was a gorgeous bluebird sky and the snow was sparkling in the hot sun. The day began with travelling the length of Baker Lake and climbing up to Ptarmigan Lake. We decided to climb up to Deception Pass again to ski down it. I literally skied shirtless it was that warm. Quite refreshing and exhilarating. Then it was winding back through the trees to the ski resort and out! Pretty amazing and eventful trip. Camping at Merlin meadows is a safe and sensible option to practice winter camping, as if shite hiteth thy fan, there's civilisation just up the hill from you. And it's still winter camping into May, when the days are getting longer and warmer. Not to mention it's a quiet camp in a magnificent location. 

Skiing from a little ways up the Fossil shoulder down Deception Pass

 

Trip course travelled; 

• 13.9km to the lodge from Fish Creek parking
• 1.7km to Merlin Meadow campsite 
• 2.9km from MM to Merlin Lake
• 8.1km between MM and Baker Lake
• 3km from Baker Lake back up to Deception Pass
• 11km Deception Pass back to parking
• TOTAL: 43.5km (maybe 45km with the extra past Merlin Lake)