After freezing levels skyrocketed to the tops of peaks (roughly 3000m) the day before, we started our day with a conservative mindset. We expected crusty conditions but were soon surprised by the amazing snow quality above 1700m. After all, this is Rogers Pass – I can count on one hand bad snow days. Our plan: skin up the SE shoulder of Ursus Minor Mountain and ski down the Ursus Trees. Spanning between 1850m and 2050m, the Ursus Minor Trees route provides a straight 200m of excellent open tree skiing with some alpine turns if you’re willing to get a little higher on the shoulder. With a relatively straight-forward, sheltered uptrack and moderate slope angle, it’s the perfect ski tour for beginners and experts alike, looking to slay powder during those heavy storm cycles where visibility and stability are questionable.

Related: Christiana Glades: Skiing the Old Growth

Report from November 18, 2020

Izzy, Mel, and I teamed up for a bit of ski touring (and splitboarding) at Rogers Pass, my favorite place of all times. With unseasonably warm temperatures, we would maintain a cautionary mindset regarding avalanche conditions. We had no clue what hazards were waiting for us up there, whether a thick crust would be present or new storm snow would be slabby. With that decided, we left the Rogers Pass Discovery Center at 9:30 AM with no expectations.

We headed up the well-established uptrack along the Connaught Creek, a busy artery for ski tourers and splitboarders. We quickly crossed under the Grizzly, Frequent Flyer, and Dispatcher Slidepath.

With temperatures so close to the melting point, we could feel a thin, breakable crust over 10cm of moist snow. As dense clouds engulfed the towering summits, flurries of snow started gently falling. Even in a storm, the sights here are still incredible. We veered off into the dense forest below Hospital Bowl, an open alpine slope topped by Video Peak, a common ski route.

The Hospital Trees uptrack was steep but manageable with good technique and moist snow providing a sticky grip. This section is the most demanding vertical gain when it comes to gaining the SE shoulder of Ursus Minor Mountain to ski the trees. A few techy switchbacks later, we reached the open fields of Christmas trees marking the base of Hospital Bowl.

We took a brief lunch break and looked at Ursus Trees across the valley. We skimmed through the terrain, looking for possible downhill options. We found three obvious routes where trees were sparser.

we broke off the existing uptrack which went directly up the bowl. With the avalanche hazard at “Considerable” and limited intel about our young alpine snowpack, we choose to avoid the set route. Instead, we toured up through sparse trees until we reached an open alpine slope bounded by a large convex roll.

Related: The Early Season Snowpack: How It Affects Your Winter

Climbing this slope was a risk. Convex roll, large planar slope, 20+cm of unconsolidated storm snow, you name it. We could have ducked for the trees at that point but I preferred to gather some observations before declaring this slope unstable. Our group dug a shallow test pit with the goal of assessing the stability of the upper storm layers down to a thick crust-sandwich buried 70cm down. Our test revealed a few unstable layers but no slab properties. Without slab properties, instabilities within the snowpack cannot propagate, reducing the likelihood of triggering large avalanches. After doing our due diligence, we proceeded up the sketchy slope towards the top of Ursus Minor Trees.

With seemingly stable snow conditions, we raced up the SE shoulder through deep powder until we emerged in the alpine where strong southerly winds had formed a stiff slab on the ridge’s crest. The visibility improved considerably during this final ascent. We wasted no time transitioning for the down… which was absolutely, positively EPIC.

The exposed alpine ridge was obviously scoured to hell, although Mel still found pockets of deep powder lee of micro-features. As for Ursus Minor Trees per se, we were the second party down the section. The fresh snow was blower, nearly bottomless, typical of Rogers Pass. The supposed crust was nowhere to be seen. Most likely, the spike of warm weather was too brief to form a melt-freeze crust in the alpine and at treeline.

After a thrilling run, we grabbed a bite and discussed our options. We decided to avoid the horrible bushwhack through the uber-tight trees right below Ursus Tree, technically the continuation of said run. Instead, we put our skins back on and skirted around the base of the Hospital Bowl to gain the entrance of the Hospital Gully which supported mostly open terrain. To our collective surprise, the snow was way deeper here, most likely from wind transport. I cautiously dropped in, testing the snow for any signs of instability. Everything seemed fine.

We maneuvered through the open gully and stumbled back on the Connaught Creek uptrack. From there, we plowed through ice and crust to get back to our ride at 3:30 PM. I didn’t expect anything from today but Rogers Pass still delivered the goods… as always.

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