The 8812 Bowl can be summed up by one word: GLORIOUS. From its col at 2505m, it’s a 620m beeline down to the Connaught Creek. The sights of Rogers Pass’ world-class terrain are absolutely stunning. If the sun hasn’t gotten to it yet – it’s south-facing and sees much solar exposure – you’re bound to find deep, blower powder. From my experience, the snow conditions are usually pretty decent, even when the rest of the alpine terrain is trashed by high winds. Nowadays, 8812 Bowl is commonly linked up with Video Peak for a lengthy, 1750-meter day with the Bruins Ridge being the connecting route between the two awesome lines. Just like Video Peak, it’s a popular Rogers Pass ski tour. Get it early in the morning after a storm (stability dependent) to slay the freshies.
Related: Little Sifton Traverse: A Quality Alpine Stroll
Report from February 8, 2021
Note: This trip report is part of a bigger ensemble, which we now call the “Triple Crown”. The route starts with the Video Peak SE Face, followed by the 8812 Bowl through the Bruins Ridge, and finishes with a walk up the west ridge of Cheops Mt to ski Nicci’s Notch (report from 2020). Honestly, one of the better “big” days to be had at Rogers Pass.
Starting at the Rogers Pass Discovery Center, we bolted up the Connaught Creek, using an icy uptrack along its NW bank. It was -22C in the morning and the valley seemed even colder, probably due to a weak inversion lingering over Glacier National Park. The goal: keeping my previously frostbitten toes nice and toasty.
We veered right (off the Connaught uptrack) and up the sparse trees below Hospital Bowl. The ascent was quick and easy – in much better conditions than what I’ve encountered in November. By now, all the alders, usually the biggest hurdle at this elevation, were covered with a considerable snowpack.
From there, we ascended the gentle grade of Hospital Bowl to bag Video Peak, a beautiful summit granting us impressive views of our surroundings. This part of the trip is covered in Video Peak SE Face: A True Rogers Pass Classic. After our descent from the SE Face of Video Peak, we linked up with the base of the Bruins Ridge, which progressively narrows down to no more than one meter. Alternatively, if you’d prefer to head straight for 8812 Bowl, you can skin up the bottom of Hospital Bowl, wrapping around the Hospital Knob and traversing above the Hospital Gullies.
We put an uptrack through a large convex slope at the base of Bruins Ridge. This must be the sketchiest part of the route since our track traverses above a giant cliff: an avalanche here would definitely be fatal. Unfortunately, there’s no way around the convexity. We ascended the narrowing ridge with ease at no more than a 25-degree incline.
As the clouds parted, we reached a rocky outcrop, just time in time to soak up the sun. We wrapped around it and pressed on to the exposed section of the ridge. The section narrows down to about an uptrack’s width. On the right, there’s the steep E-facing slope of Bruins Bowl. On the left, there’s a steep roll into 8812 Bowl. As a precaution, Steph mounted her ski crampons – a smart move as the alpine ridge is usually swept clean by the drafty winds.
The top of Bruins Ridge was icy. With care, we managed the exposure. After a few minutes, we dropped 10 meters to gain the 8812 Col, marking the very top of our run. I stayed on the ridge, setting up for the shot. I watched a further party laying down some turns in pristine powder, nothing like the wind-affected crap off Video Peak. Freddy dropped first. Wow! In the shimmering light piercing through the rolling clouds, his line looked absolutely stunning.
I went last, after Rigel and Steph. Staying away from existing tracks, I slashed a large convexity. Here we go into the White Room! We reached the bottom of the bowl, veering off into the skier’s left trees below the Bruins Ridge cliffs. After a quick snack break – let’s remember it was frigid – we continued up the Cheops West Ridge to ski Nicci’s Notch. Usually, you would ski down Connaught Creek back to the Discovery Center.
Route Info
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