Wednesday, December 17, 2003

I was fortunate to get an excellent guide (Eric Riding from the Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau), fun tour companions, decent weather, and relatively safe conditions for a backcountry ski tour in the Flute and Harmony Creek drainages East of Symphony ridge (if I got my bearings right). The quiet of the backcountry, the hard work of the ascents, the smoothness of the descents, never stop surprising me. We were especially lucky that a huge storm hit the following day (62 cm of new snow, 100 kph ridge winds) creating a much more dangerous snowpack. A great start to my backcountry ski season, even if it taught me that my physical condition is not as good as I believed. On the picture, left to right: Rob, a Whistler local getting his first taste of touring, Eric, our guide, and Simon, who I met by chance at NIPS and happens to have some ski buddies in common with me. 9:36:27 PM