Ski/Snowboard – Mt. Washington, BC – Slushy >> Icy

Kris — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:36:15 +0000

Roller derby hangover … just kidding. To cap off a somewhat busy weekend of activity, Michelle, Shauna, and I headed out of town this morning at around 6am (uggghhh) to Mt. Washington Ski resort for a late-season slide. These types of excursions, as mentioned in some other post this year, are a bit of a rarity for me. I remember life in Vernon and Kelowna when I had more of a snow-sliding oriented life (albeit exclusively lift-accessed); friends, or friends of friends, from Vancouver Island (usually Victoria) would visit occasionally to do some skiing, snowboarding, or mountain biking and almost without fail they would be put through the wringer trying to keep up with us locals. Now, I’m the Victoria-ite, and although in my recent return to snow sports I have not yet had the boots put to me by the locals, I imagine it is only a matter of time. For now though, I get to ease back into things with some beginner and intermediate runs in the Spring slush at Mt. Washington. I can’t say I don’t feel like a bit of a lame-o, but it does feel pretty good to get out again and discover that even after a lengthy absence from skiing/snowboarding, the fundamentals are still there in my brain to serve as a basis for getting good again.

Today’s outing was much better than our previous one in January. Instead of bullet-proof snow like last time, the runs we were on had become a mostly-agreeable, sugary slush by mid morning. No rain this time either, although some wet snow fell in the afternoon. Blue skies in the morning were nice to have as well.

With a claimed snow base of about 5.5m, it sounds like Mt. Washington will be open well into April, but I’m not sure we’ll get up there again this season. We’ll see.

GPS Data (including chairlift rides): 59km – 5700m of descending – 4h09m – GPS Route (yes, I know the satellite photo is missing the snow).

A lift-accessed ski/snowboard outing at Mt. Washington, BC. Click on the map to see detailed GPS data on the Garmin website. Yes, the snow is missing from the satellite photo, but it was there in real life.

No rain? I'll take it. Mt. Washington village area looking towards the peak.

Michelle at the top of the Hawk chair waiting for her annoying snowboarder cohorts to strap on their boards.

I'm assuming this is 'all systems go' from Shauna and not a failed attempt at a double-middle.

Snowboard and Snowshoe – Mt. Washington, BC – Winter Isn’t Over Yet

Kris — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:39:17 +0000

It’s been a damn long time since I’ve done anything on the snow. Ok, it hasn’t been been forever, but two years is a long time to me. Add to that some pretty sporadic snow excursions going back to about 2003 due to school, and it almost seems like I quit. Well that was never my intention, so here’s to a snowier future.

Michelle and I are lucky to have friends who manage to coax us into things like weekends at Mt. Washington. On day one Michelle and I eased back into the snowsport world with a morning on the beginner and intermediate slopes. This might not sound to exciting, but with temperatures slightly higher than 0 Celsius, anything resembling soft snow felt more like quicksand; slow and sticky. Given that it was our first day back, we were satisfied with the groomers. We may have had loftier goals for the afternoon at one point, but instead we ended up relaxing back at the shack. After some fine dining courtesy of Kari, it was looking like a possible early trip to bed for those of us who weren’t planning on seeing the Sutcliffes, a Beatles cover band, at 10pm. Instead, someone suggested heading to the Mt. Washington tubing area (sliding downhill on tubes). Aside from some rowdy drunkards, the tubing was all good.

Day two got off to an unhurried start and gradually transitioned into a couple hours snowshoeing at the Mt. Washington nordic skiing area. There were rumors of Olympic cross-country skiers training, but I didn’t see any. In contrast to the previous day, we had mostly clear skies, which made the snowshoeing extra good despite the crusty snow.

GPS Data (snowboarding – day one): 35.3km – 2h55m – GPS Route
GPS Data (snowshoeing – day two): 5.5km – 1h53m – GPS Route

A morning of lift access snowboarding at Mt. Washington, BC. Click on the map image to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

Twas raining on us for most of our morning of skiing and snowboarding at Mt. Washington. Life was ok on the groomed runs, but sticky like sticky buns elsewhere.

Further evidence of rain in this photo of Michelle and I riding the Hawk chair.

Not quite as thrilling as the Log on cable TV, but the real version was nice to have over the course of the weekend.

Ahhh, the icy slopes of the Mt. Washington tubing area. Not something I would do on a regular basis, but surprisingly fun.

A snowshoe excursion at Mt. Washington, BC. Click on the map image to see GPS details on the Garmin website.

Raven Lodge at Mt. Washington; the starting point for our snowshoe excursion.

Michelle and Krista heading off on snowshoes to destinations unknown within the Mt. Washington nordic area.

We met up with some pole-shoers (Kari and Ken - Ken is camera shy) and, well, we don't mix with them types. Just kidding, we have no problems with the pole users.

Maybe the snow was interferring with my navigation skills, or maybe it was the map. Regardless, the map ended up spending most of the time in my pocket.

From my observations, most of the Mt. Washington nordic area is relatively flat. If you're on snowshoes, there isn't much stopping you from venturing off the beaten path aside from the occasional creek.

A nice view to the southwest, I believe, into Strathcona Park from the highest point on our snowshoe trek.

Snowy goodness, albeit a bit crusty. I shall make an effort to visit you again soon.

Blog: I Think It's This Way » Ski/Snowboard – Mt. Washington, BC – Slushy >> Icy

Ski/Snowboard – Mt. Washington, BC – Slushy >> Icy

Snowboard and Snowshoe – Mt. Washington, BC – Winter Isn’t Over Yet