June 20 ski tour -- Whitewater Ski Resort

You never know 'til you go, eh? I was keen to get one more little tour in before hanging up my skis and found a bud who was up for it–it was actually our third annual early summer assault on the Whitewater slackcountry. We'd skied First Choice before and decided to go for it again because it was a little sun protected and the cover looked good. In years past, we didn't time it right with the sun exposure/time of day, and the snow was unskiably hard at the top.

This year we found a free day and a good window in the crappy weather we've been having. We were at the Whitewater parking lot at around 8:00 a.m.–full sun but still coolish. The hike for the first 45 mins or so was on grass and rock, then we hit the snow. Travel wasn't easy but it was doable. The best combo was skins and crampons. We boot-packed up the last few hundred metres of the couloir, had a sangwidge up top then headed back down at about 11:45 a.m. The top 2/3 of the snow-covered bit was really, really nice. Totally carveable, but fast, spring snow. The bottom third was skiable but a little more schmooey and grabby. All in all it was super fun and highly recommended. I may have to venture out just one more time….