My first time to Singing Pass (Whistler) on skis |
I know many mountain bikers and cyclists here in Vancouver who have been backcountry skiing for years and finally I decided it was time also to enjoy the mountains more in the winter on some fatter skis too.
Climbing back up Flute Mtn. at the end of the day |
The first thing I did was to register for an avalanche course. With the course date now decided on my calendar I quickly set out to get the gear I needed. With the instigation of another friend we visited the offices of G3 here in North Vancouver and got set up with all the gear (skis and safety) we needed. I ended up with a pair of very pretty Cake 100 skis with Ruby bindings. Chris at 3G mounted my bindings for me and gave me a quick clinic on how not to get tangled up in, or stuck onto my skins. And off I went for a few afternoon runs at Cypress mountain. The mostly manmande snow was a bit scarce in patches, but certainly good enough to get some first runs done on the new skis.
There is an awful lot to learn about winter travel in the mountains with route finding, navigation, avalanche safety etc - and taking the AST 1 + that I did over a weeknight session and 2 days over the past weekend was great, but only just scratched the surface. I am really looking forward to continuing my learning and ski development this winter, and of course to experience more of the special beauty that one enjoys in the mountains during wintertime.
Digging snow pits to look at the layers and do some tests |
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