Puff Daddy, located in Rogers Pass, is a pillowy goldmine of a run. The route forms a large part of the Grizzly Shoulder, the east arm of Grizzly Mountain harbouring some of the best falline skiing of Rogers Pass. There are at least four standard lines with many more variations possible, all offering a little under 1000m of vertical. Since it’s such a massive face, riddled with gullies, convex rolls, pillows and cliffs, it’s incredibly easy to stray off course, messing up your line and potentially exposing yourself to greater risk. At least 50% of my attempts ended up in a precarious descent through an unsupported slope terminated by cliffs that required some precarious billy goating. I believe I’ve finally figured it out! The slope’s SE tilt tends to preserve the powder for longer during the warmer months as well. The ascent up the shoulder starts less than 600m away from the start point, the Rogers Pass Discovery Center, making the effort rather breezy. We’re literally spoiled to have such a high-quality accessible run that can be done twice a day. It truly is a gem!
This route is located within a Winter Restricted Area (WRA) governed by the Winter Permit System. Please check the WRA status before travelling through it.
Related: Grizzly Trees, Rogers Pass: Easy Access Powder Turns
Report from December 31, 2022
After a failed attempt at getting a particular line down Puff Daddy, Phil and I drove up the following day to conquer this convoluted route. We started our ski tour at the Rogers Pass Discovery Center and ascended the mouth of Connaught Creek. Only 600m later, we switched to the creek’s north bank using the winter trail that travels up the Connaught Valley to its headwaters, Balu Pass. The month was characterized by a heightened avalanche hazard caused by three persistent weak layers (surface hoar/facet interfaces) and a consolidated storm slab problem. We cut a trail earlier than normal up the Grizzly Shoulder to avoid travelling through the massive Grizzly Slidepath. This was a great choice since we wouldn’t have to deal with the existing, super-slick uptrack that typically gets chewed up by inexperienced visitors.
We broke trail as high up as we could manage. Eventually, we were funnelled back onto the standard uptrack. Thankfully, the 10-15 cm of snow received overnight improved the old uptrack’s condition.
After about 90-120 minutes, the trees started to thin out and eventually terminated into an open slope at about 2100m. I always get spooked by that one as I’ve had quite a few settlements while travelling through. Beware, it rolls into a steep, cheese-grater-type feature with many trees and rocks that could cause serious trauma.
We crossed the slope, making sure to space out and walked past the steep entrance to Rogers Run, another classic. We traversed under some impressive cliffs and bootpacked up a rocky crux to gain the top of the shoulder. From here, the terrain expands into a series of convoluted gullies with Little Sifton towering above all else.
In order to keep our route conservative, we choose to enter Puff Daddy at treeline (2200m) which avoids travelling through some steep unsupported slopes. The higher entrance offers a slightly longer run but tends to be more wind-affected and offers low-angle skiing. We ski-skinned across the bowl, traversing above the 1st gully that’s often skied out. After double-checking our GPS, we stopped to complete our transition for the tasty descent to come.
After noticing several tracks in the first gully, we descended the second gully that guarantees good falline skiing. The snow was exceptional, some of the best snow I’ve skied at Rogers Pass. 10-20cm of new blower snow overlaid 70-80cm of consolidated storm snow that provided a stable platform on which to rail out turns. We skied down the left bank of our gully which was anchored by small trees. Eventually, the shoulder narrowed and terminated with cliffs. We dropped directly into the gully, circumnavigating pillowy cruxes and a waterfall. While we didn’t see any avalanche activity, we had to watch out for our own sluff which almost took me out twice. It’s worth mentioning that Puff Daddy offers incredibly complex terrain that must be managed with care. Failure to do so could put you in a precarious spot especially if the avalanche stability is questionable.
We followed a large avalanche path that led to the highway. The snow was so good, we barely stopped. Eventually, we met up at the highway and sidestepped back to the Discovery Center. Looking back at the Grizzly Shoulder, we were in awe at the Puff Daddy zone. Even after 4-5 runs, I have yet to ski all the possible variations.
The Puff Daddy face is a huge zone. Each variation offers a different flavour, from pillows and gullies to steep powdery slopes and rolling convexities. Beware, it’s far too easy to be sucked into large cliffs and nasty pillow fields. It’s best to consult terrain photos and satellite imagery before committing to a line.
Route Info
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