Condition update and Soap Box Entry
Conditions are what you might expect , no snow, wind affected and just plain hard. I took my sister and her boyfriend out on the 93N to Parkers ridge for their very first tour a few days ago.
Car's loaded
I knew we would find any great skiing but the conditions were even worse than i have anticipated with ski penetration in the nothing to 2 cm range but hey, sun is out and these two are ready to earn some turns.
Sun's up!
After a brief beacon explanation, little practice and a gear run down, we were off weaving our way up the ridge. Moving up the mountain was strange for these two northern Ontario transplants but they got the hang of it fairly quickly.
After a short 25 minute skin ( if you know the area then you know we took our time ) we maxed out the vertical of the ridge and were rewarded with the real treat of the day, the views.
Sara looking small!
It was a pretty rewarding experience to introduce these two who only a short year ago had absolutely no idea what ski touring was and believed that all back country skiing was done by helicopter or snow cat. We made our way down the ridge (the term dust on crust comes to mind here) down to the car where we took a few moments to refuel and hydrate. We spent the rest of the afternoon running beacon drills, digging holes , preforming stability tests and practicing kickturns ( always good for a laugh or two ) . All and all fun day, sub par skiing , great views and good times with family. Who know's maybe they will post here in the near future? All backcountry skiers start somewhere!
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