ASCEND & WANDER

After doing tricouni peak on skis we had passed the road junction to cloudburst which sparked my interest for this side of the valley Confident with my new tires on the old car along Squamish valley road  Steep and gaining elevation. It appears the first section of road was maintained for mining equipment nearby, but the road was completely decommissioned after that. This is the spur road to the mega shack. Easy to miss!  The back side of the shack. The other side looks out towards the valley with tricouni on the other side  Some awesome looking ski touring nearby and a friendly photo book  Ski routes from cloudburst mountain  Rainy and swampy at the base of the Hut area which is hard to find. Considering it's just in the middle of the forest. You would need a GPS  Looking north along the Squamish River valley  Hop Creek f...

  We did a part of the sunshine coast trail. A loop from the Saltery Bay ferry terminal. I had initially done this when working as an outdoor education guide. I think we did 2x nights on trail and used the huts.  Egmont, BC Skookumchuck Narrows You could leave your car on this side of the ferry since the hike is walkable from Saltery Bay terminal  Saltery Bay The coastal trail was closed for a bit with BC Hydro doing some work in the area. AB waited near their staging area while I ran to check on car and she apparently got asked a few times for rides or any help. Doubt I would have gotten any of those offers lol. 3 KM road walk Rainy Day Lake & Shelter Route well marked Biggest climb on trail. Maybe same as Tin Hat? 2x summit shelters Elephant Lake Golden Stanley Hut Lois Point Good spot for a swim Hitch back to the ferry. Always easier with 2 people and a girl. Just better odds

TS had the great idea and the capability to access Tricouni Peak from the Squamish Valley which I have had my eyes on for a while but always feared the logging road access.  Gaining elevation on the drive in Parked and hiking to snow line Soon after the snow filled upper parking lot it is an easy tour into this terrain Staying higher on skiers right and not trusting the snow bridges Tricouni in the distance Campsite here in the summer While skinning I had actually broken a ski (it must have been water logged?)  Nice terrain nearby  Not fun for the ski out Managed to rig something to keep the tip up but it felt more like dead weight than anything  Back at the truck. Thanks TS for being a great ski buddy   

  We only had 2 nights in Golden. I had always heard lots of good things about the city and saw that there are good bus options from Calgary especially in Summer. Also a good place to basecamp for the other side of Rogers Pass but I would prefer Revy overall for the town.  Downtown Golden Columbia River Slab avalanche  Lots of bowl skiing  Grizzly Looking out over the Rocky Mountain Trench Ski patrollers deserve a raise. Good idea for a sign

Coming from Field, we drove the Kootenay Highway 93 and overnighted in Invermere then skied Panorama the next day Field BC Elk on the frozen Kicking Horse river Alberta / BC border Lots of great trailheads and hiking and ski terrain along this stretch of road. This area came up lots in research of where to backcountry ski near Invermere Massive wildfire through the whole zone Invermere BC A small downtown area with many near condo complexes being built down the hill and closer to the lake. There was a great bakery in town. A cool spot we didn't get to check out would be the fire lookout tower on the opposite side of the river from Panorama access road   Mostly frozen Lake Windemere There are many advertisements for people to live at the base of the mountain. Then a short and old-school gondola shuttles you to the ski area every day until 10 PM.  Low snow year and unmarked hazards We followed the uphill access policy and skinned up ~700 meters of elevation gain Top of Summit ch...