Going to a new mountain range is equivalent to trying a new exotic flavor of icecream. In my own brain this seems to make sense, although my girlfriend does not agree, humor me and read on. Everyone has their favorite, well known and famaliar mountain zone where even in the driest most miserable conditions they get the goods. This home range is the the gift that just keeps giving. Most people have a favorite flavor of icecream and usually stick to that flavor, cause it always tastes good and consistently puts a smile on their face. It is hard to pull yourself away from your home zone to explore other areas, just as it is to try a new flavor of icecream. HMMMM... Should I try Bubble Gum or Rocky Road, as the Mint Chocolate Chip stares you down, mint chips and all. You know the Mint Chocolate Chip will taste so refreshing, but the alure and excitement of those other exotic flavors is too much to resist. So you go for it......
The Cariboo Mountain Range, a subrange of the mighty Selkirks, begins North of Kamloops and extends all the way up the Valemont. Very remote and home to Mike Weiglie Heliskiing and Wells Grey Park, it is a range that had to be sampled. Some friends had put together a New Years hut trip and my girlfriend and I decided to jump on at the last minute. Will it taste good? Will it be as refreshing? Will I be satisfied?
All these questions were answered very quickly on the flight into the hut. Our eye balls were glued to the windows of the heli drooling over all the delicious terrain. Alpine bowls, steep trees, chutes, skiable terrain in all directions and on all aspects. Settling into the hut, which is accurately named Trophy Mountain Lodge, we realized this new flavor would go down quite easy, maybe with the odd ice cream headache (considering it was -20C all week). The hut is in the Trophy Range at the southern end of the Cariboos and is a commerical hut with all the bells and whistles you would ever need in the hills.
Over the course of the next several days we sampled everything. Despite the low snowpack, the terrain kept on serving up scoop after scoop of tastiness.
The simplicity of a hut trip is the beauty of it: Wake up, look out at the sun rising, eat a great breakfast, pack your bag, go skiing, go back to the hut, have a sauna, drink beers, eat great food and then go to bed ready to do it all over again. You guessed it, just like icecream, so simple, but yet sooooooo good.
So the morale of the story is if you ever have chance to try a new flavor of ice cream like Super Kid or Lavender Earl Grey or ski and explore a new zone take the chance because it is always worth the risk.
Opps I almost forgot to tell you to watch out for Pinchy the hut custodian. He can be a little weird and touchy, but is really knowledgable.
