2020/21 Ski/Snowboard Season

[BavarianBeast]

Thanks for info regarding Japan g-m and cam. Much appreciated. I like steep and difficult terrain, I’m always looking for the gnarliest lines so I’ll have to look at the topography a bit closer to see which resorts and areas would be best. I’m doing the AST1 course and a back country course next week and I am hoping to getting into touring a bit more. Renting a split board and all the gear, super excited.

@sxtacy, I can’t recall if the atlas uses the mini-disk system or not. I used some Teflon and they seem to be holding right now. See how they go.

Some fresh lines from yesterday..

[bigboom]

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Thanks for info regarding Japan g-m and cam. Much appreciated. I like steep and difficult terrain, I’m always looking for the gnarliest lines so I’ll have to look at the topography a bit closer to see which resorts and areas would be best. I’m doing the AST1 course and a back country course next week and I am hoping to getting into touring a bit more. Renting a split board and all the gear, super excited.

@sxtacy, I can’t recall if the atlas uses the mini-disk system or not. I used some Teflon and they seem to be holding right now. See how they go.

If there's interest from others maybe we can set up an AST2 course for next winter?

[Brent.ff]

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If there's interest from others maybe we can set up an AST2 course for next winter?

Definitely the best way to get your moneys worth is to do a custom AST2. I did mine this year through Cloudnine and not only was it to the exact dates we wanted (we wanted two different weekends in a row), they also give a discount if you bring a group booking on. We really did an AST2+ as the guide we had essentially wanted to ski big days so we had some mega days vs the ones where a guy shows up at AST2 and doesnt know how to use his splitboard (have heard horror stories). We also wanted it in the Rockies as so many of the AST2's are in Rogers Pass, which is great, but not somewhere i ski every weekend

[BavarianBeast]

I would be down to arrange an AST2 course with some shredders next year. That would be a lot of fun!

I did the AST1 last weekend with Staywild Backcountry in revelstoke. The course was pretty good, but I would like to spend a lot more time analyzing snow and terrain. The conditions were awful so we didn’t get any good riding but it was educational.

I’m not quite sold on split boards. I don’t know if it was the boards we rented or the conditions but we both felt we would rather snowshoe/hike with our regular boards. I’ll give it another shot though!

[beyond_ban]

Anyone interested in a Sunshine adult day pass? I have an extra kicking around that i doubt i will be able to use this year, will let it go to first reasonable offer.

[dimi]

AST1 is basically an intro and was relatively useless for me because i had already been touring for 5 years when I did it. AST2 is a lot more value added and i really enjoyed it. Do it mid winter as that timeframe would generally present the most instabilities and that's the best situation for learning. The instructor is key for these courses as you want to get as much experience in regards to the other subtle nuances of touring like, optimizing your skin track, group dynamics, tips for your gear etc. If money and time was no concern I would do a course with Selkirk Mountain Experience. Those guys are world class.

You can forget about snowshoes, you'll get nowhere with those, not an option. Also, the more you get into touring, the more you'll want to ski vs. snowboard. I've split for 10 years now and if it wasn't for a few knee surgeries I would be on ski touring gear without a question. I rock a heavily modified hardboot setup for my splitboard and it works very well, but its just not as versatile as skis.

[Brent.ff]

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AST1 is basically an intro and was relatively useless for me because i had already been touring for 5 years when I did it. AST2 is a lot more value added and i really enjoyed it. Do it mid winter as that timeframe would generally present the most instabilities and that's the best situation for learning. The instructor is key for these courses as you want to get as much experience in regards to the other subtle nuances of touring like, optimizing your skin track, group dynamics, tips for your gear etc. If money and time was no concern I would do a course with Selkirk Mountain Experience. Those guys are world class.

You can forget about snowshoes, you'll get nowhere with those, not an option. Also, the more you get into touring, the more you'll want to ski vs. snowboard. I've split for 10 years now and if it wasn't for a few knee surgeries I would be on ski touring gear without a question. I rock a heavily modified hardboot setup for my splitboard and it works very well, but its just not as versatile as skis.

I felt that AST1 was built to scare those who have never spent any time in the backcountry and dont know what avalanche terrain is, and why you dont have the knowledge to be in it. And agreed on skiing, i grew up snowboarding and took up skiing after my first week of splitboarding.. Maybe in 10 years when they come out with a truly great hardboot setup that is designed for splitboarding vs having to 'heavily modify', i'll go back. Learning to ski in the backcountry is exciting to say the least

I do think your conditions were probably quite poor for your first splitboard experience, probably very slippery/icy uptrack, and AST1 you spend 95% of your day not using the board anyway

[BavarianBeast]

Is puff daddy and Rogers run (Rogers pass) a good place to dip the toes after just buying avalanche gear and split boards? Of course if the conditions are reasonable

[dimi]

You're probably not going to be able to find those without someone showing you to be honest. You can get cliffed out in some sections of that area so be careful.

I would just do the main run on Grizzly shoulder that sees the most traffic. Focus on getting your gear locked in, moving safely in the backcountry, doing a couple of beacon searches, and transitions. Most enjoyable part of the day is just being out there. Another option is the NRC gully side, it's relatively straight forward, and straight up from the parking lot, just make sure not to cross into Macdonald West. Most of the other areas involve bigger tour ins and more exposure/crossing slide paths etc.

[GT.....O?]

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Is puff daddy and Rogers run (Rogers pass) a good place to dip the toes after just buying avalanche gear and split boards? Of course if the conditions are reasonable

There is certainly terrain that would be easier and less consequential to learn on, that being said, those are probably some of the more popular runs. Be cautious though, and study a map and know where you are. You can end up in some large pillow drops/cliffy.

Its about 700m elevation gain, but it is really nice to basically ski back to the car.



Grizzly shoulder is the small ridge to the right, probably the easiest/safest way to come up. If you can make it the small outcrop where i am taking the photo and ski down skiers left to the next little knob, it is a decently safe run without any pillow or cliff sections.(Decently safe, but still a large avalanche run.)

Rogers in general is a pretty knarly place, so skiing slack country at Revy, or any other resorts to wet your feet wouldnt be a terrible idea. You also need to obtain your winter permit, if you havent done so already

[Brent.ff]

Pretty much all of Roger's is going to be Challenging or Complex terrain. Without a guide or mentor, likely a pretty poor place for someone fresh outa AST1 who doesnt have much terrain management or lizard-brain knowledge built up yet

[BavarianBeast]

Thanks for tips and advice. Picked up a map by Douglas Sproul of the entire area and its very detailed on the skin tracks and runs down. Probably won’t get in there until next season but I am looking forward to it.

[dimi]

What kind of splitboard setup did you get anyway?

[BavarianBeast]

Orca split and burton hitchhiker bindings

[bigboom]

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I felt that AST1 was built to scare those who have never spent any time in the backcountry and dont know what avalanche terrain is, and why you dont have the knowledge to be in it. And agreed on skiing, i grew up snowboarding and took up skiing after my first week of splitboarding.. Maybe in 10 years when they come out with a truly great hardboot setup that is designed for splitboarding vs having to 'heavily modify', i'll go back. Learning to ski in the backcountry is exciting to say the least

I do think your conditions were probably quite poor for your first splitboard experience, probably very slippery/icy uptrack, and AST1 you spend 95% of your day not using the board anyway

Count me in there as well. Went touring on a splitboard twice and decided I would rather learn how to ski.

[g-m]

+1 for NRC/Avalanche mountain. Great terrain, some fun cliff bands you can send and pretty much no walk in from the highway. And for some reason its not very popular (unlike grizzly)

[BavarianBeast]

Very sad to hear of one death today in the lake Louise region at haddo peak. Size 2 avalanche, 40 meters wide and 40-60cm deep. Sounds like it carried the victim 600 meters down some cliffs.

Stay safe out there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OepC2fM5JcE

[Brent.ff]

Pretty wild terrain, super shitty for the people involved. Cant imagine being the guy who skied back down to find his buddy

[sxtasy]

Any recommendations as to where I should go this weekend? Coming from the Okanagan where everything is shut down for the season.

[Rocket1k78]

Sunshine or LL should still be pretty good and theyre still open.