It was a cold November day at Rogers Pass. Our group planned on skiing the famous STS Couloir with Nicci’s Notch as an option if conditions in the chute were unsuitable. A series of good suggestions by Peter and unanimous group decisions led us to ski the Notch instead.

Related: Little Sifton Traverse: A Quality Alpine Stroll

Report from November 27, 2019

We started our day on skins at 8:30 AM at the Rogers Pass Discovery Center after a long debate on which lines to chase. The initial idea was to ski the Grizzly Couloir but we decided against it. More than 40 cm of snow had fallen over the last few days over a series of slippery sun crusts and hoar layers. This recent loading combined with our unfamiliarity with the terrain discarded our original idea.

We concluded STS couloir, a wide 1000-meter long chute, might be a great option if and only if the conditions were stable. Additionally, ski touring towards the line meant traversing above Nicci’s Notch, a great alternative if things didn’t work out.

On our way up, we succumbed to the freezing alpine temps, high humidity and wind chill. It was frigid. Nothing an abundance of layers and thick gloves couldn’t solve. We headed up the Connaught Drainage carefully feeling the snow and looking out for signs of recent avalanche activity. In the distance, we soon spotted a fresh crown in the lower half of Grizzly Couloir which confirmed our earlier worries: the alpine snowpack was still rather unstable.

Further up the drainage, we gazed at Nicci’s Notch, a NW-facing chute that fans out into a large alpine slope. To our relief, the untracked snow was definitely tempting us and the chute looked stable enough from afar, a theory that remained to be tested once on site.

A fast steady climb got us on top of Balu Pass. The howling wind propelled the ridgeline snow through the air with the morning light filtering through the frosty veil. Meanwhile, the sea of peaks emerged as we rounded the pass. We gasped in awe at the stunning scenery beyond our tracks.

We found shelter behind a tight group of evergreens where we scrutinized the ridge to be ascended and rehearsed our day’s plan. We climbed the west ridge of Cheops Mountain, aiming towards Nicci’s Notch. There, Peter and Jay dug a snow pit a little above the entrance of the chute to evaluate the snowpack’s stability. This would provide valuable insight into the conditions in STS couloir. The results were worrying. We found a weak 30cm thick slab, most likely from the recent storm snow as well as wind drift. This meant STS couloir was a definite no-go. However, we judged Nicci’s Notch was still an option.

A few minutes later, we were all bundled up and ready to drop into the line. Jay descended the chute cautiously, feeling the layers under his skis at every turn, followed by Peter who went all in. He carved big bombastic turns from one end of the chute to the other. It was clear this wasn’t his first rodeo.

Inspired by Peter’s fearlessness, I launched off into the chute with my new touring skis, the Scott Cascades. The skis handled the conditions with ease, providing the float I needed to stay atop the deep powder and the stiffness for fast powerful turns.

Stoked on our perfect run, we finished our day with yet another one. This time, we skied Balu Pass, a moderate descent through terrain we know too well. Having already laid our ideal skin tracks, progress was fast. Like our previous run, we were gifted with a solid 30 cm of light, dry powder from the top of the pass to the bottom of the drainage. We returned to the car at 4 PM with high spirits, ready for another exciting adventure.

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