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BACKCOUNTRY RIDING GUIDE

SUNSHINE VILLAGE AND HEALY CREEK

Name: Confessions Of A Ski Bum - Bow Valley: Banff to Castle Junction
Brand: Marcus Baranow
SKU: 9780991748532
Price: 45.0 CAD
Availability: InStock

In this post we look at some of the key riding areas and terrain located outside the Sunshine Village ski area and also the neighbouring Healy Pass Drainage.

SUNSHINE & HEALY CREEK SKI TOURING CHARACTERISTICS

SUNSHINE VILLAGE

The Sunshine Village backcountry is either accessed by the resort gondola and lift system, or you can do the 5km skin up the ski out. If skinning up, please be sure to know and adhere to all the resort rules about uphill access.

The backcountry around the resort is diverse and includes everything from mellow meadow skipping up to white knuckle descents suitable for only the most experienced. The beauty is easy access to the alpine, diverse riding options and some of the deepest snow in the Rockies.

HEALY CREEK

Healy Creek is accessed via the lower ski out and the Healy Pass trail. It is a very popular winter hiking, snowshoeing and alpine cross-country ski route. Most of these users are heading to the gorgeous though low-angle Healy Meadows and Healy Pass. Not really a destination for quality turns, however, this drainage accesses a bunch of really fun terrain from mellow to scary.

This drainage is also a ‘catch basin’ for a bunch of longer and more committing runs accessed from the Wawa chair at Sunshine Village. It makes a very easy exit after a long lift-assisted back-country run.

SEASON

The skiable season up here is long, starting as early as late October some years through to June or July in longer cool springs and summer. Typically however mid November until late April is a safe bet for some awesome skiing and riding.

SNOWPACK

The Rockies is home to a notoriously thin, dry and dangerous snowpack. This region of the Rockies does get more snow than a lot of the range but it is still very much a continental snowpack. This comes with long lingering avalanche problems, shallow rocks and lots of wind effect. That being said, the flip side, when it is good, it has some of the lightest and driest powder snow on the planet.

SUNSHINE VILLAGE BACKCOUNTRY ZONES

As we mentioned, Sunshine has a wide range of backcountry adventures on offer, these are just some of the options available

Wawa Ridge East Facing -The popular slopes surrounding Wawa Bowl, are easily seen from the Wawa chair.

Wawa Ridge West & North Facing -Some mellow lines, some steep lines and some that end in cliffs and frozen waterfalls. Best to go with someone who knows these areas for the first time

Backdoor & Sidedoor - Considered resort slack country, accessed with a short bootpack. Although many don’t, it is worth noting that there is still avalanche terrain that is unmanaged and should be treated accordingly

Twin Cairns - The obvious peak you see to the west of standish chair. You can ski/ride multiple aspects and there is a range of mellow to no fall lines on this minor peak. There are often backcountry jumps built on the east slopes lower down in this zone

Grizzly Glades - A fun, short and steep zone of tree skiing through old growth forest. Short runs but an equally short walk from Standish chairlift

Rock Isle & Larix Lake - Short, fun shots down to these lakes. Rock Isle is a fun pillowy zone, Larix lake west glades are a bit steeper and more challenging.

Quartz Ridge - The classic ridge that catches all backcountry skiers/riders eye from many of the chairlifts. Located south of Rock Isle and Larix Lake. Lots of different lines.

Fatigue Mountain - This is a long day trip or a multi day from the resort. Both Fatigue Mountain and the unnamed peak to the north have some big committing ski/board lines

If your curiosity is piqued after reading about our favorite riding areas below, be sure to grab yourself a copy of the Confessions Of A Ski Bum - Bow Valley: Banff to Castle Junction book; it's your ultimate guide to finding the most epic lines and secret stashes in the area!

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HEALY CREEK BACKCOUNTRY ZONES

Healy Creek is a location all on it's own, popular with mellow backcountry users and skiers/riders alike. It also acts as an exit from some of the more rowdy runs coming from the resort high above

Healy Pass -A classic backcountry tour. A few hours of skiing the summer trail leads to the Healy meadows and mainly short, low angle ski slopes.

Monarch Ramparts -The ridge extending SE from Healy Pass, lot of short, steeper lines here that you can lap. It is a long access however for the length of these runs

Simpson Pass - Very much a ski tour, starts up the Healy Pass drainage and follows summer trails up to the backcountry on the west side of Wawa, most people doing this tour finish at SSV and ski down the ski out.

Healy Creek Avalanche Paths - A couple of kilometres up Healy Creek you will emerge from the trees and a couple of obvious avalanche paths present themselves. In safe conditions these make for some good skiing and riding.

The Big V - A bit further up the Healy Creek Drainage is the Big V avy path, this thing is big and scary so best left for an experienced group on a good stability day. This line is often admired by the throngs of people boot packing Wawa Ridge from SSV. The safest and easiest access to the top is by contouring up and around the Y drainage starting from the summer campsite just up hill from the Big V runout

Bourgeau Meadows - – I really enjoy this area though it is a bot of a pay to play scenario where lot’s of people think the walk in is not worth the effort. It is however a beautiful zone with a mix of mellow tree skiing and large avalanche paths and peaks. This can be accessed by a somewhat bushwhack route out of Healy Creek or via the Y Drainage. Each access will bring you to distinctly different parts of this large zone

Center Peak - (Accessed by Y Drainage) - Lots of fun, rolling terrain in this area that is also accessed most easily through the Y Drainage from Healy Creek. Loads of terrain to explore and if low angle meadow skipping is you jam, this is a great area. Center peak and some of the surrounding peaks have some steeper, albeit short runs on them. This area makes for a great day exploring if you have good fitness and time on your hands.

The Healy zone is also super well covered in the Confessions Of A Ski Bum - Bow Valley: Banff to Castle Junction book; it's your ultimate guide to finding the most epic lines and secret stashes in the area!

FURTHER INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

The best guidebook to this area by a mile is The Confessions of a Ski Bum – The Bow Valley. You can find it on our website at this link. It covers all the areas listed here in great detail and the author Marcus Barranow has skied this area more than most.

Fatmap can also be a great resource for backcountry riding zones for Sunshine Village and Healy Creek.

Lastly, avalanche.ca or the Avalanche Canada app is your go-to resource for all things regarding the avalanche bulletin.

The Bow Valley also has a plethora of ski and splitboard guides that you can hire to show you around the Sunshine Village and Healy Creek backcountry.

Confessions Of A Ski Bum - Bow Valley: Banff to Castle Junction

$45.00

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Confessions Of A Ski Bum - Bow Valley: Banff to Castle Junction is a completely rewritten and expanded edition of the book that started "confessions". Confessions Of A Ski Bum - Bow Valley: Banff to Castle Junction includes detailed descriptions, directions, terrain photos, and maps for near-endless options, including everything from playful powder laps to yet-to-be-skied big lines.

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The Writers

Marcus Baranow has dedicated the last decade of his life exploring, documenting and writing about the backcountry skiing found in and around Banff National Park. His previous books covered the area found along The Great Divide between Citadel Pass and Egypt Lake. He spends 100-150 days a year skiing in the Canadian Rockies and his blog Confessions Of A Ski Bum is regarded as a go to source for current conditions by many local skiers and guides. He currently lives in Lake Louise Alberta, found just minutes away from The Icefields Parkway.

The four guest writers for this book include:

Kevin Hjertaas, ACMG Ski Guide, ex-pro skier and Rockies big line legend.
Andrew Wexler, IFMGA Guide based out of Canmore Alberta
Rauri Macfarlane, Mt Cook SAR team, and IFMGA Guide
Kai Seifert, Calgary Native, and bow valley resident, avalanche forecaster.