Report from October 23, 2019

Adventurers at heart, Iannick Cyr-Michaud and I drove up a busy forestry road in search of yet more Halloween powder. This time, we were looking for the perfect gnar in the Monashee Mountains, seizing the opportunity to scope out this seldom explored terrain. To put it plainly, the Monashee Mountains are all about three things: steep chutes, pillow fields, and perfectly spaced old-growth trees. Sadly, the latter makes it quite popular with the forestry industry.

Related: Ski Touring Mt Macpherson: Glacial Day In The Womb

After an hour-long sunrise drive up the forest service road, we began our adventure not by skinning up some difficult terrain, but by completing a morning yoga routine. Iannick’s back had unexpectedly locked up. What a fabulous start to our day!

After dealing with the pain, we stuck our skins to our bases and proceeded up the remainder of the road on foot, most of which was buried in snow too deep for his mighty 4WD truck. The calming silence was only interrupted by the loud crunch of our skis breaking through yesterday’s rain crust. Hoping the rain had transitioned to snow in the alpine during the previous storm cycle, we pressed on shoving the thought aside for the moment. Any day in the mountains is a good day!

After a difficult bushwack up a recent cutblock, we climbed up a steep ravine to a col between two gnarly peaks where we spotted a large chute facing west. We opted to ski the chute after assessing the avalanche hazard based on our snowpack observations on the way up.

The skies parted, rewarding us with a glorious view of the surrounding peaks. With a little more snow, the face lying across the valley would be prime ski terrain judging from its numerous diving board and pillow fields.

Iannick hurried ahead carving a meandering path through the old-growth forest as the sun was warming up our southern aspect. Speed was key here: the warming snowpack wouldn’t remain stable for very long.

We eventually climbed to the top of the chute and found an icy crust eroded by strong winds. The poor snow quality did not bother us one bit. The view of the Monashee mountains was simply stunning.

After struggling to fold my ultra-sticky skins for a solid five minutes, we packed our gear and transitioned for the descent.

I won’t lie: the beginning of the chute wasn’t great… as expected. My dull edges were no match for the wind-blown snow, crust, and rocks that were encountered. However, there is no substitute for good technique. Both Iannick and I executed careful jump turns down the slope until we overcame the difficult section.

Later, we reached the same ravine we skinned up, scarred at its bottom by an open creek. The stiff rain crust made for tough work, but nothing could stop us at that point. We launched off snowy stumps and slashed quick turns inches from the creek. We had a blast!

We had already skied back to the truck by 1 PM, excited to have crossed off our extensive bucket list yet another run. A short, but sweet run lost in the midst of the Monashee Mountains.

We returned to Revelstoke just in time to enjoy handcrafted brews on the outdoor patio of the Mt. Begbie Brewery. Under the blazing afternoon sun, we discussed our next objectives and dreamt of further exploring our mountains.

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For more beta on my adventures, check out the Route Map. This online map interface is a repository of my ski touring and mountaineering adventures. Simply follow the rough trace!