Telkwa ski club on the hunt

  the ghost zone, thats what we decided we would refer to it as so people wouldn't hear a all to familiar name when we are talking about the zone we have been riding for a few days.  i don't even have to get on a paved road to get there and with the use of graeme's sled the hour and a half tour was a 10 min. powder ski at 40 kms hour. Our friend Tom enjoyed his first days back in b.c. with us out ridin pow and havin beer. the beer went longer than the riding and left us all sick this morning taking back coffee and mcdonalds to ease the hurt stomachs.

graeme taking off

with turns like this straight off the plane who wouldn't be happy

graeme sending it off the peak

me working my way into the line

graeme getting a couple good face shots

little men on a big face

**********************************************************************************************

Sitting around the skibum lounge getting hammered with hairdoo we started to do the obvious and started to talk about were to ski on the weekend. deciding to drive 200 km through the worst (or best, depending on how you look at it) seemed like the thing to do. all reports said go so with nicky, teeps, dev, hairdoo and myself we piled into the very sketchy tyhee special. 3 hours later we had only made it 120 kms. That would normally drive most people crazy but to the drunk group of us it was just fine. i should point out hairdoo was driving and sober. anyhow 4 1/2 hours of driving later we made it to johnny b's place. looking at the 3 meter high snow banks on his street and the 5 feet in his yard we knew it was going to be a sick trip. spilling in his house and drinking until we couldn't anymore we started to make it one. i had plans to take pictures of my friends in neck deep blower pow. i had plans to stop in the middle of my runs that is, but it just wasn't going to happen. with over a meter of fresh pow there was no stopping. I was giving that kind of pow the respect and love it deserved, the whole trip, and so was everyone else. Like snow ninjas with only our heads and shoulders poking out for a breath of fresh air from time to time we flew through the forest with a smile that won't go away for a long time.

*******************************************************************************

    This is a chute i stumbled upon while hiking, i don't want to say where it is but if you have skied it you will know it. and thats what i want to know, has anyone in the vallley ripped this line? conditions were shit the day i was up but it must be skied!

the sleeping beauty

**********************************************************************************************

 Up Astlais we went. Teeps and i were looking to hit something close to home, so we took the high road out of town and the quick way up.  we were completely blown out by the wind but found a line off the top protected by some rocky outcropings and made 2 laps on a really nice zone i'll be back to soon.

near the top

on top

my first line.

teeps on his way in

the run down

*********************************************************************************************

 So have you even gone for a run through the park since it opened? that was the question given to hairdoo as we were about to bypass the work and the reason we get a free pass to go on a sweet pow run into the nest. his answer was returned with some laughter, 'maybe i am not the person for this job this year. You can have the pass back, i'll go touring.' with that logan realised he would be the one to rake the crusty jumps and the trio of hairdoo, nicky and myself would be ripin pow and not 'park rangering anymore'.  the amount of time spent on H.B.M. to get the pass was just not worth the benefits.

nicky in really flashy pants.

hairdoo, he might look out of control, and he is.

me pre-faceplant

Teeps on patrol

we'll miss those free rides up to the sun pit to get drunk and loud, but just because we have to walk up there doesn't mean we won't be there.

**********************************************************************************************

 I was being chased by a tiger and jumped into a pit that was full of snakes. clutching a vine for all my life i realized my worst fears when i saw a mouse chewing on the vine.

Dev making his way up and across reaction ridge.

That climb ended in 2000 feet of ice. fucking ice, top to bottom. The most hellatious run of the year. The next morning we had a loose plan to leave. That plan started to change when i walked out side to piss at 3 in the morning and it was dumping. it really changed at 8 in the morning when there was 15 to 20 cms and it was still coming down.  Dev probed this shoot off the start to see how the new snow was holding.

Looking for a different way up the mountain we took a steep climb that turned out to be supper quick and fun.

me looking for the elevator

dev rippen a chute that ripped.

my first run down Press Peak.

no its not the heavy pack that is making me sink this much

 I was being chased by a tiger and jumped into a pit that was full of
snakes. clutching a vine for all my life i realized my worst fears when i saw a mouse chewing on the vine.

*********************************************************************************************

  With winds blowing strong enough to blow us over, it a easy call to stay in the trees. We just couldn't go any further. That was cool though because after 4-5 kms of walking Nicky, Teeps and I were ready to go down the hill. This hill was definitly worth the walk. 

Nicky with Evelyn in the background.

Nicky and Teeps from the high point of the day

Nicky ridin a wave of pow

Into the trees! teeps with a ninja iron cross

Flying through the trees

Nicky at home in new glades

*********************************************************************************************  

   It was 4:30 in the morning and Press was rolling in the driveway. the destination was a new 'day use' cabin that just happens to be nicer than some ski bums permanent resedence. equiped with a wood stove and chopped dry pine flown up to the tree line make it very inviting.  the fact that the hike is only 2 hours makes it even more inviting. the fact that we are getting first decents on most of these lines makes it most inviting.  we wanted to get a sunrise line or 2 in so we toured up in head lamps arriving at the cabin long before sunrise. the next 2 days were filled with wide open untracked runs that seemed to never stop happening until the legs were just to tired.  the legs did get tired though, at 10o'clock graeme stormed into the cabin smile on his face and 26er of rum in his hand.  we passed around the bottle until it was gone with graeme downing most, than press and him went night skiing, or night puking, i am not to sure what to call it. anyhow it ended late and started ruff but the snow was sick and so was the new cabin.

all the skiing was accessed via this ridge making for some epic walks.

Press dropping in for the first line

dev working his way down 1700 feet of goods.

ahhhhhhh, sunset in the mountains.

morning number 2 the lines moved over onto the opposite bowl and into the alpenglow.

Dev

Graeme

Papa Press

  "we came, we saw, we shredded"........

********************************************************************************************

Arriving at the trail head to the new Elliot peak glades and seeing that there was no skin track was just what Dev, Teeps and I wanted.  First ever tracks on the new zone that was just cut this fall.  Our valley has been lucky over the last 2 years with government funded cutting squads tearing the sides of heavily tree'd mountains making some wicked riding for anyone who is willing to walk for the goods. Elliot peak is one of those mountains and recieved its first haircut in the form of a 3000 vertical foot by 50 yard wide strip of glading that goes all the way up to the alpine. sounds good eh? I want  to thank the guys who did the work because the zone is AWSOME!    

looking across this valley makes think i'll be here for a while.

walking up this zone has the same effect.

The guys stamping out the take off on one of many mid run kickers that the trail building crews made out of fallen trees.

And finally some riding, dev ,

yes i am a amature photographer and here are some blury pictures of some sick riding to prove it. (sorry boys)

teeps throwing a 3

snow walker rippen pillows and pow

teeps jibbin.

and jumpin. must of been the jacket.

this place is good to the last turn........ 30 seconds from the car.

**********************************************************************************************

6o 7o 8o 9o, where to go? i don't fuckn know.  that is the frequent answer you get when asking or talking about a sick but reputely narly side country stash on H.B.M.   You know who does know where to go?  Papa Press, one bad ass skier who has so much enthusiasm for pow he could make a whole desert full of aussies want to freeze their ass' off and buy fat skies. i tailed him for a day, well tried my best to chase him around and get to know the  medows and treelines that decide whether or not you are going for a day making pillow line or 100 foot drop off water falls and instant pain.

press in pillows.

when riding with press you see him one of 2 ways, buried or flying

After the lifts shut down there was still 2 sweet lines we wanted so there was only one way up.

and one way down.

my turn

seeing the snow more clearly in the flash than with our eyes we called it a day, one really sick day.

***********************************************************************************************************

Yes it is true, i am a terrain park ranger on hudson bay mountain.  its not what you think though, i am not one of the colorfull skittles you see in the saturday morning lineup sizing up the 40 foot rail. i merely facilitat the good time of others to fullfill my good times and score a free seasons pass for just 12 days of work. free powder is always deeper. to save you all from shots of skittles and especially because hudson bay mountain refuses to pay for photos. i have stolen some sweet shots from graeme from the last 2 weeks, thanks graeme.  enjoy.

***********************************************************************************************

  With the first trip to Hankin ending up so epic it was a easy decision to go back for round 2.  it was especially easy with the fact that we were in the middle of a 2 foot snow fall and it showed no signs of stopping. showing up at the trail head all of the old tracts didn't exsist anymore and we we going into a blank canvas yet again.  we arrived in the alpine and a real storm was letting loose and visibility was really low.  we opted to go up a treed ridge opposed to the chutes we rode 2 days earlier.  deep snow made for some hard touring and harder climbing ut we made the ridge and pick'd our lines.  i dropped in first releasing a large slab that took me throgh a narrow chute of trees and rocks. skiing out of it i was pretty spooked making sure i was clear of any run ot zone from the guys on top of me. graeme dropped in second and the same thing happend to him.   needles to say we retreated to the forest full of pow we walked up through. that turned out to be the best decision of the day.

dev on top in the storm

dropping into the storm

and ripin it

you can't see my smile, but its there.

there are some pillows. and yes, there fluffy.

this area just keeps getting better and better every time we go back, i hope it continues.

**********************************************************************************************

Looking for a new place to ride this time out we decided to go to Hankin.  This mountain is a touring only zone with some really big terrain, 2 huge bowls filled with chutes and spines. with this years new parking lot 2 kms closer than before we were through the trees and in the alpine in less than a hour.  we got pretty excited when we felt the snow under our skis, 15 -20 cms of blower pow on a stable base, a quick bit to eat and it was time to rip.

bill and dev scoping out the lines.

Teeps picking a sick first line.

This curve ball was my first run of the day, the entrance is hidden in the upper right.

graeme digging in

Graeme's picked a wicked second line and really sent it. this guy rips.

he is really threading the needle on this one.

After 2 sick lines we all had a lot of momentum and decided to head to the summit and really rip a big one to end the day. Bill and i skied a really really really long chute from the summit. words won't do justice to how sick this line was to me.

Teeps and graeme from the summit.

with 10 000 vert under our belt for the day our feet and kness and sunshine were done and it was time to go home again. i can't wait to get back to that mountain.

********************************************************************************************

When your back up plan for the day is to do 80 wide open turns at full speed on huge alpine face your not doing to bad.  and thats where we were at today.  returning to the apline zones we hit this weekend we found the heating and cooling of the snow made for sketchy snow conditions and where forced to look in the other direction for some turns.  with really good visibility still on our side the crew of bill, graeme, trevor, kent and myself decided to go for a ridge walk  ending in turns that would for sure be a great time.

did i mention it was a really long walk. just ask these guys

nearing the top all of the lines staring us in the face is enough to make a rider go nuts

finally, the 80 turns i was talking about.

how fast do you think bills going?

graeme

kent

after a break half way down My knees where ready for the next 40.

at the bottom our knees were the only thing complaing as we all piled into the cars and back to town.

*******************************************************************************************

we lucked out this week with 3 killer days of visibility and stability. i lucked out with getting to ride with some of the better riders in this area in a zone that is normally hammered by the wind and ice.

me in my own playground.

dev charging

bill droping in

hairdoo loving the weekend off.

i didn't get near enough pictures to do the riding justice but when the conditions are that good and your not filming with some ski hollywood producers the riding is all that matters.

*********************************************************************************************

Today started off a lot like the others this week, one sweet pow lines to other sweet pow lines. my legs love this warm up.

round 2 was 2 good to stop and take pictures, ghost lines will have to do.

we toured up after our first line and saw a wicked dranage we have looked at for 2 days was in the light and full of pow , enough said.

with the day light leaving we decided to hit one more line and call it. we found a roll in a series of cornice and snuck in for the sweetest one of the day. 

snow walker setting up and going down

 fucking sick, thats i was thinking at this moment.

the road home always looks sweet in this light.

**********************************************************************************************

 So it was devs first day back from the cariboo and the obvious thing to do was to try and find some lines wich was proving hard to do with me forgeting my boots at home....  not to fear though, kent was also with us and had a key to the volunteer patrol cabin. we popped in grabbed some boots and headed for the hills.

1 500 meters of white out seperated us from some sweet snow, a little disorientated we pushed through sure that the storm would clear.

luck was on our side as we arrived at our zone the patchy clouds started to roll out and we could see! Time to get some turns in.

we gave the storm lines a look over and the joint a hit then it was time to get to more goods.

kent finding a sweet line

my turn to lay one in

as the day went on, conditions improved and so did the lines.  Transformer Ridge was finally full enough to hit. 

Dev was feeling pretty happy to be home, but who wouldn't.

snow walker, lovin it to the last turn, literally

we only had one really rocky day trying to get out to early this year.  once it started to snow it kept coming and we are sitting in the middle of mountains full of untouched goodness again. and it feels great. 

I don't think anyone in smithers will be complaining for a while.

I know i won't be!