Waldie Lake Exploration (aka 3 babes and a dude) - SOAPBOX
We gather at Kootenay Pass by first light. Myself, Leah, Fleur and Robi all skinned up and ready to roll. Our objective is to find the small rustic shelter on Waldie lake, drop our heavy packs and shred. Today will be a long day, we are up at 5am and will finish our last descent around 5 pm. The tour into Waldie takes 4 hours and thanks to directions from my friend Andrea who tracks wolverines (true story!) we will easily find the hut.
Our first descent to the hut is a fantastic steep treed line, we drop the bags and climb the rest of the day, 2 more lines were had before the light began to wane and we slide back across the lake gathering sticks and what standing dead we can find along our way.
We saw the wood into chunks and set about making fire, melting snow for tea and cooking dinner. Fleur cooks up a pot of dahl which we devour. After the last bites were eaten we drink a cup of tea to battle dehydration, we kill our headlamps and push sore limbs into the sack.
I wake up around 1:50 am, my face covered entirely by my bags. There's not enough oxygen under here, or maybe too much C02? either way my breath is more like a laboured pant so I fumble for the zipper and suck at cold air, I rezip and press the light button on my watch. 5 more hours of suffer. 5 more hours of pressure sores and shivering . Leah is already up and fiddling with the fire which was long since out. Her sleeping bag being less than adequate she stays up most of the night trying to keep warm. After several hours of fire she manages to raise the temp inside to -12…a small victory! It was cold as hell that night and I was glad to see the end of it. At first light I leave my bag and down climb the ladder to the rickety tin can stove below, leah is wrapped in her sleeping bag stoking the fire. We sit quietly, headlamps illuminating our breath. We make tea, eat breakfast and when we are finally warm; skin up and set out.
Leaving the hut there is a long lake one must traverse, we punch thru its sastrugi skin and shield our faces from the biting wind. We turn our eyes to the ridge above to see spindrift streaming, we must pass over and thru that zone to get out. I put my head down and keep walking.
I find it challenging to regulate temperature on the way up. The wind is so cold and strong you need to keep a jacket on, but then would sweat and the deadly cold creep in. I keep shedding layers, putting them back on and can’t stay long at break spots. In the end we made the call to GTFO. It was cold and getting late. One last freezer blast of wind crossing over the col and we are on the descent downdowndown.
The wind never left us, we walked straight into it for the last 40 minutes of flat traverse. Needless to say we were happy to see the old subaru, happier still that she started and in the absolute arms of bliss when the heated seats kicked in leaving leah and I to revel in the simple joys of a warm bum.