COMP- Gettin' Stoked @ Glade 2 Tree
I have been looking at this line longingly since the first day I saw it eight years ago. 
Every time I summit Blasters Ridge Glade Two Tree was there taunting me. Never been hit... Always calling me... I wonder how those trees survived there, a couple of the largest and healthiest spruces in the area and the only thing left standing in an avalanche chute.
A long high pressure system had been in the area for over a week. All of our usual runs were tracked out. Everyone was craving fresh powder so convincing my friend Andrei and my beautiful girl friend Jillian to head out on a long hike really wasn't that hard.
Having never hit this line before we had no idea what we were in for. Preparing the night before we packed large lunches and made sure we weren't forgetting any of our gear. We planned to get first chair so we set the alarm for 6:30 and went to bed.
On the morning of Febuary 6th, the three of us set out on our journey. I parked our truck at the 6.5 marker on the Whitewater Skihill Road and hitched up to the lodge. We loaded the summit chair by 9:00 am. Electricity was in our bellies. We were on our way.
We skinned to Prospector Ridge in twenty minutes and dropped in with the morning sun hitting us heading fall line towards Qua Creek. As we headed down the light steadily faded, getting darker and darker as we decended. At the valley bottom the snow had never snow seen direct sunlight.
We estimated a 3 hour hike up. No one spoke as we mentally perpared for the unknown and instinctively broke down our gear.
Hiking up the guts of a northern faced bowl was mellow and direct. The hoar frost breaking under our feet was the only sound. Cresting the ridge, I looked over the other side. We had found it!!! GLADE 2 TREE!!!
Enjoying the view we refueled our bodies, no longer silent, bubbling with anticipation, planning our line.
Dropping in, it was open and steep and with only the two trees to avoid. Glade 2 Tree is a western face, and snow quality was amazingly dry and stable.
2,000 vertical feet in 4 min's, dropping us back down into Qua drainage. We were so excited we hugged out the moment. We have all hit big lines in the area and have experienced hip deep face shots but this line was like no other.
As we hiked out of Qua basin, we couldn't help looking back and boasting about the three awesome lines etched into Glade 2 Tree. A beacon to anyone hiking in the area. We had left our mark...
``Who skied Glade 2 Tree? We Did, WE DID!!``
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