Back Country Skiing in the Rocky Mountains

The blue bird spread it’s considerable wings over Banff National Park two days in a row. Again it is a gorgeous day, the temperature is around 0 C, there is no wind and the sun is shining bright. At the end of the day yesterday J said he had 4 days till he is scheduled to have surgery on his shoulder and he was going skiing on Friday (today). Yesterday was a great day and I said I was willing to go along. By the time we made contact last night there was 6 or 7 ready to head out for a day in the back-country.

On our way up the mountain yesterday we passed several open glades as we trekked further up the valley in pursuit of the area we had skied previously. They look enticing but we were on a mission. J decided that we should return to those glades and see what we could do about leaving our mark on the area. Especially since we set the uptrack, the weekend was coming and the untracked snow probably not long for this world.

Back Country Skiing in the Rocky Mountains

The decision proved to be a stroke of genius. The 6 of us skied 4 runs each and hardly had to cross a track. The snow was like silk. It was anywhere from boot top to knee deep. Skiing like this is the reason I walk for 2 or 3 hours up the steep slopes of a mountain,  ski 40 turns, and walk up again to ski down again. This type of skiing is called Yo-Yo skiing. Some folks like the walk in the wilderness. I don’t mind the walk but I go for the skiing.

Back Country Skiing

Today was my kind of day. We had 600 or 700 vertical meters of skiing with perfect snow on a day with moderate temperatures and skies as clear and blue as any day you have ever seen.  I’m back and I’m high, it was a great day and our trip to the Rocky Mountains has already been a success for me.

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