havecarryonwilltravel

Mistaya Tracks

Murray’s photos of his trip to Mistaya are now posted. To find them, go to the “Photos” menu item, hover over the word “Photos” until the drop down menu appears. Scroll down (you may have to use your mouse wheel to get to the bottom of the list) until you come to the “Western Canada….” item. Click on it and wait for the photos to load. Scroll down to the bottom of the photos. The Mistaya photos are the last group of winter photos, right after the bike race pics. Click on the first Mistaya photo and use the arrow button on the right to move through the slide show.

Enjoy!

The ultimate day of skiing. When we get up there is 13 cm of new snow on the ground and it is still snowing when there is enough light to see out the window. A short while later a bit of blue sky appears, the hole gets bigger and bigger and finally we realize it is going to be a clear day.

This is the sixth full day of skiing and everyone is moving just a little slower. We are still moving to getting on the snow but it is obvious we are not going to be out there at 10, the time we seem to have hit 5 days in row. Ten minutes late and we are bound for Grindl Glacier. We had skied there a couple of days ago but the tracks have been filled in with wind drift and with the snow last night we expect to have a clean slate to work with.

The up track has to be reset but we have an idea where we want to go, we learned that last time, the big difference this time is we can see. The end goal is visible, making it far easier to set a track. The vision is good and there is no reason to let me go first but the folks I’m with say go ahead, there is lots of room for tracks, and someone doesn’t have to ask me twice so I get to etch my mark on an smooth ubiquitous surface. By the time we leave we have used up about ½ the available snow, but we have other fish to fry.

Mohawk ridge awaits. J and I were there yesterday and T and Jo had not been there this trip yet. The 13 cm of new snow is quite evident on the wind sheltered up track and even though there is a set track we still have to plow our way to the top. J and I know where the good snow is and we let Jo and T in on our secret. Oh, the run is good. All of us have a grin. J and I go up again.

J and I have skied together all week and our last run is off Red Ridge through the trees which tends back towards the lodge.

Oh my, what a day, what a week. We had a few OK runs and a whole bunch of great runs. The chopper comes tomorrow. I think we have had an abundance of skiing, but civilization beckons.

The reason for the trip up is the trip down. I spend a lot of time talking about the trip down which is of course is the reason for the trip up. But traveling on the up track has its own appeal.

The routine. Lengthen the poles. It is much easier to use the poles to assist my forward movement if they are 15 or so cm longer than my regular ski poles. Flip the switch on my boots to walk mode. The ski mode limits the movement of the cuff and inhibits the for/aft movement of the ankle making walking more difficult. Apply the skins to the base of the ski. This is absolutely imperative. The skins have a hairy texture that allows for sliding forward and which grabs the snow stopping any backward movement.

Unzip the side zip of my pants to my knees. When walking uphill the large muscles in the legs produce a lot of heat and having the breeze blow through at that level helps keep my core temp down. Put the jacket zipper at ½ mast. Again allowing heat to disperse and keeping the core temp down. Off comes my tuque and I tuck it into my jacket ready for use if required. Last I lock my ski brakes up and free my boot heel from the binding heel lock down mechanism.

The walk starts. We start as a group but different rates of travel and different fitness levels determine how the single file line of skiers shakes out. We all travel at our own speed but gather up every 15 or so minutes. The faster group sets the track making it much easier for the followers to travel. Unless there is an old up track to follow we have to walk through unpacked snow, it is rough travel, hard work and energy sapping so we share the load.

Often along the track I find myself alone. The walking movement is repetitive. There is absolutely no sound other than what I am making with my skis and it is in sync with the movement. All of a sudden the world disappears. I call this Zen. Everything is calm, any pains I have are no longer evident and each step brings me closer to my goal.

Every once in a while we stop and smell a few roses. We watch a winter insect frolic in the snow, check out the prints left by animals that have passed through, notice unusual types of flora, like white bark pine and look high to see the majestic rocky surroundings.

We also constantly monitor the weather and snow conditions. Not only because we are interested in the quality of our run down but we keep our eyes and ears open and feel the snow trying to determine the conditions of the area and if an avalanche is likely.

It’s a walk in the woods, a winter walk in the woods, it’s beautiful, but it is a means to an end. I finally reach our destination and the routine at the top is reverse of what I did at the bottom. I turn my skis down and the smile appears on my face.

We walk all day, up, up and up. Every step burns a calorie or two. Skiing down is also work but not too many calories are used up on the descent. Funny but I don’t think any of us are losing any weight. It may have to do with the food we eat every day.

Every breakfast is like Sunday brunch at a fancy hotel restaurant. The suppers are all like a meal prepared for a dinner party. Lunch is a little more controlled, we make our own from leftovers from the night before or the ubiquitous PB sandwiches.

Breakfast today is two courses. Two courses? Greek Yogurt mixed with almond milk, chia seeds, vanilla, Agave syrup and small bowls of nuts and blueberries, and then the frittata is extracted from the oven. It is 50 mm thick, filled with ham, spinach, potatoes, and other assorted veggies. This is a typical example of how we start each day.

If we are back at the chalet by 4:30, there on the table is an array of goodies available to take the edge off a day’s skiing and help tide us over until dinner. Cheese and crackers, nachos, or vegetables and humus are typical and somewhat more healthy than the bag of cheesies I would normally suss out.

Dinners this week have ranged from stew to vegetable stir fry on rice with peanut sate sauce, to roast beef with green beans, and roast potatoes and gravy.

We eat like kings. It is a ‘special meal’ every day. For the most part the meals have been served buffet style which to me is a great asset. I don’t eat a great volume of food and by sizing my own portions I should at least not gain weight and can still enjoy all of the wonderful dishes that are presented to us daily.

We are miles from nowhere. 2,040 m above sea level. 20 km from the nearest building. It is a ‘back country lodge’. Ha!

We have all the amenities. Indoor toilets. Yes, I don’t have to go outside, risk my neck trekking up a slippery path, and stand in the night cold to have a pee at night. They are composting toilets and the compost has to heli’ed out but is completely decadent.

There is electricity. A small generator on a mountain stream feeds a bank of batteries and the entire cabin has 12V electricity. The light is LED and it provides more than adequate illumination for any activity we wish to engage in. There is a 110V converter and some of the outlets provide power to charge camera batteries and the ubiquitous computer.

We have as many bedrooms as we need. Separate spaces to sleep and snore and talk in our sleep without disturbing our cabin mates.

The kitchen has a fridge for the things that need to be cold and handy. There is a cold room/pantry for the storage of dry goods but it is cold enough to be fridge for the stuff you do not need often. The freezer is ‘outside’ and the temperature is controlled by the environment but it too is accessible from the interior. The commercial stove/oven is powered by propane and although aging is completely suited to the preparation of gourmet meals prepared nightly by one of our skiing buddies.

There is running water, both cold and hot, throughout. Both indoor washrooms and the kitchen are connected.

Heat is provided by a single Franklin stove that is kept burning all day. The cabin stays warm all night and is only cool at 6 am when I get up, the fire has burned out and has not been relit yet.

There is a sauna 15 m from the main building that Dave lights every afternoon and when we return from skiing it is warm and ready for use. There is a system for heating water on the stove, we fill a 5 gallon bucket with the heated water, temper it with a bit of cold, carry the bucket to the shower stall, place a small submersible pump into the bucket, turn on the pump, and voila! a real, but somewhat quick, shower.

This is not 5 star accommodation, there is no fancy lobby, no bell boys, no spas, but this is luxury. Near the top of the mountain it is silent but for the wind. There is no ambient light, no urban odors, we do have way more amenities than would be envisioned for a ‘back country lodge’, all we really have to think about is skiing, sleeping and eating.