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.

When the sky begins to lighten we realize the sun is going to be visible. It a clear morning except for the clouds attached to the peaks. It is a day to go above treeline. The avalanche hazard is high but we are not going anywhere that might slide.

The group meeting determined that all who are going out this morning are going to head in the same direction. Mista Vista is the goal. The vision is good when we all get to the top and we can see the entire area available to ski.

Here we split. J and I go over the end of Mista Vista, a very short, very steep pitch. J watches me ski just to make sure I don’t get into any trouble but I disappear over the crest and he doesn’t really see much of the run. I get to the bottom turn around to watch him and I can’t see him until he gets over the crest. Not exactly protocal but you can only do what you can do.

It’s noon and time to eat but J and I decide to make a few turns before we take a break. The snow is great, the slope is easy and turns are smooth. I can’t stress enough how big a smile these situations produce. Perma grin. Beyond where we stop is another 100 or so turns but we thought where we were was a nice spot for lunch so we stomped out a small spot and dined with the most spectacular sunny scenery.

The sun has been out and it has begun to affect the snow. Our next turns are in heavier snow. Still very skiable but more work. Skin up and we go back to the top looking for the lighter snow. J and I yoyo two more runs but since we are on KP tonight we thought it best to head back.

Took a bit of a wrong turn and missed a few turns on the way out but most of the run back is knee deep.

I have mixed feelings about the sun. It is great to have vision and be able to go above the trees but it does affect the snow.

It just keeps snowing. It is quite a change from last year. The weather sites aren’t saying there is any precip. but we keep getting snowed on.

We are out the door reasonably early today. The up track is snowed in. It means more work but it should also result in better skiing when we turn the skis down. Four of us share the tracking today and it makes for quite a light load really. The skis are penetrating the snow only to about boot top, it doesn’t sound like much but is does take a toll. A few hundred steps and the leader drops to the back, sort of like riding a bicycle on the velodrome. The snow is great and we are looking forward to a good run down.

Heather Ridge is our destination. It is cloudy, the light is flat, and we are reluctant to venture above treeline. It’s to the last krummholz we go. Skins off, poles shortened, pant zips up, touque on, ski brakes engaged, ski boot to ski mode, point our skis downhill and smiles appear on each of our faces after a turn or two. The snow is great! The area we have chosen to ski today has more than enough room for a dozen or so runs. We hike up and ski down one more time.

When we cross our up track we plunk our butts in the snow for lunch and the sun appears. It remains out till we are about to mount our skis again and the clouds and snow return. Two more runs and the consensus is to return to the lodge. We have 5 more days of skiing left and although it will go fast we have to have enough energy to ski till the end of the week.

Today the snow is boot top to knee depth. Amazing how I get to ski this every time we are out and if I were to frequent resorts it would be only once every two or three years I could ski that much snow. “What a glorious day!”, T says as we slide our way along our early morning up track back to the lodge.

Breakfast, pack, and off to the airport. If it is snowing and the visibility is bad we will sit and wait. There is a crew of people that spent yesterday doing just that. Today, even though there is a bit of fog hovering about it looks like we are going. At our appointed 9:30 departure time, the chopper starts up and we’re on our way.

By about 11 am we are all high up in the Rockies, staying at Mistaya Lodge, organizing food for the week and packs to head out skiing. Every lodge has different routines and we are filled in on where the garage goes, what is recycled, dry areas and wet rooms, and assorted other details.

Motivation is ebbing so it is time to make the suggestion and get everyone off their butts. Since I have been here before I have an idea where I want to go. It is easy terrain but it is high and we can see most of the area we are going to ski from there and get our bearing for the week. Jo, Br, and K decide to come with me.

The up track is hit and miss. We follow it but every once in a while the track is blown in and we have to search. At the top the wind is howling, we turn our skis down. The snow is quite deep but it is dense and we don’t sink too much. Maybe only up to our knees. To the south is another slope we have been eyeing up. The up doesn’t look too bad and there is still lots of light so up we go. It is only the first day so Br doesn’t want to burn out and he waits as Jo and I go up. The light is bad, all I see is white. The skiing is great. 40ish turns in very skiable snow. If it stays like this we are in for a good week. The route back to the lodge is short. I’m tired but not dead. As the sun goes down the snow again starts to fall.

Tomorrow there is no chopper ride and not nearly as much organization so we will be on the road early.