Words By: Simon Coward
Report and images by Simon Coward
After a few days out of the mountains and hearing tales of the conditions and watching things shape up, man was I pumped to get out yesterday (Tuesday). Much of the talk in the Rockies this year has been about the stability, which, considering the ski/ride quality has been amazing, the thing that has blown me away the most is how amazing travel conditions have been. We have been riding great snow and really, haven’t had a day of facet wallowing to date, I kind of feel like we are cheating.. ha ha
This consistent good travel quality and stability inspired a crew of 6 to head deeper into the mountains of 93N. We made use of the established skin track into the Mosquito Creek campsite, in order to access the zone around Ramp Peak.
Photos: Tracks and scenes from the day
Our original plan was to try and summit wither Mosquito Mountain or Ramp Peak, two amazing features that see somewhat irregular traffic. As we approached the weather was a bit in and out and the wind had been moving a bunch of snow around in the Alpine so those peaks looked to be a bit thin, so we altered our plans to riding some alpine terrain off the North shoulder of Mosquito and then to do a few laps in the pow filled, playful terrain at treeline.
In a nutshell, travel was amazing, trail breaking for the most part was boot top at most, the turns were soft, terrain incredibly fun and varied. We rode everything from low angle alpine cruising to pillows, from steep glades to open treeline fun terrain.
Photo: Looking up Mosquito Mountain
Photo: Some fun low angle turns in the alpine
In a nutshell, travel was amazing, trail breaking for the most part was boot top at most, the turns were soft, terrain incredibly fun and varied. We rode everything from low angle alpine cruising to pillows, from steep glades to open treeline fun terrain.
We covered about 20kms or so during the day and managed to make it back to the car just after dark, a great zone, amazing riding conditions in an absolutely beautiful part of the Rockies
Photo: Riding pics from this super fun zone
From the avy forecast it looks like the next few days are looking good, still check in on the avy forecast before you head out. Check avalanche.ca for up to date hazard report and current Banff, Kootenay and Yoho details on Facebook here.
I hope everyone’s holiday season is shaping up nicely and that you are able to make the most of these great conditions.
Simon
