Blogs
Tryst Lake Chutes 12.28.07
Submited By alberta_hoser On 2007-02-08
This was from December 27. I had problems uploading some of the images and finally just got a photobucket account and used that for the remaining two. Not that much hassle but I like getting POTD’s (two this week). <br />Basically we need snow. There's no way around it... <br /> <br />This massive high pressure system is finally showing signs of breaking down but last weekend there was nothing to hope for yet. This is what I consider my first real "tour". I have done extensive hiking from resorts to slackcountry hits but never starting from a car in true wilderness. All of my partners had the same experience. Money is tight for me and touring gear is expensive so we all rented snow shoes. Hiking in alpine ski boots and carrying big boards (ANTs, 189 Seths, and 179 seths.) proved to be very tiring. After hours of research we decided on Tryst Lake Chutes. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71384.jpg" /> <br /> <br />Daybreak. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71375.jpg" /> <br />We were slow. My snowshoes were not functioning properly and I was having a lot of trouble hiking. We used the guide book "summits and icefields" by Chic Scott (the bible for touring in the eastern Rockies and much of eastern b.c.) Using this book we were able to follow an already set skin track so breaking trail wasn't an issue. Before you jump down my throat, the skin track was rock solid...the snow shoes had no effect on the track conditions. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s185/alberta_hoser/1.jpg?t=1170990056" /> <br />Jeff and I working our way up a large cutblock. <br /> <br />This terrain looked amazing the first time I saw photos of it. Apx. 150-300 vertical meter steep chutes with awesome glades as well. Once I got my snowshoes working better (had to rethread one of my straps that was twisted badly) I felt a lot better about the hiking. We followed the switch backs up the ridge which were way steeper than I would have liked especially because traversing with snowshoes is pretty scary. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71377.jpg" /> <br />After gaining some vertical and getting up most of the endless ridge I saw this interesting peak. Looks like an interesting line… <br /> <br />We didn’t summit until about 1:30 pm and then sat down and had a long lunch. <br /> <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71378.jpg" /> <br />The chutes drop off to the right and you are constantly skiing under “the fist”. Kananaskis has some amazing rock formations and it’s a very beautiful place. <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71371.jpg" /> <br />Tom summiting <br /> <br />The feeling of exploration and adventure was present all day. It was easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. There were times where I would be so frustrated and tired and weak that I would almost rather sit down. Then the moments of euphoria; finally getting out of the forest, fixing my snowshoes, and defiantly the biggest one of the entire day…. <br /> <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71379.jpg" /> <br />The snow was dirty, crusty in exposed spots, and old. Right as this point, I didn’t care. <br /> <br />The anticipation of eating lunch on top of this terrain was getting pretty intense by the time we started gearing up. I went for a steeper chute right off the bat. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71381.jpg" /> <br /> <br />This first turn following the mini ridge down was a very fun one, the snow was better than I thought it would be (after almost a month with no snow). It also sluffed much more than I thought it would, and decided to point it out the crux and beat it down. I gained a lot of speed this way and it wasn’t the smartest way to warm up my skiing legs after hiking for a few hours. I went for a big slash to burn most of my speed once I was out of the crux but hit a crusty patch and had a nice little fall. One of my skis popped off and the breaks didn’t engage and I lost about ¼ of my vertical right there. But once I gathered my gear I skied over into the trees to watch Jeff and Tom drop in. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71372.jpg" /> <br />Tom, one of his first few turns on his new skis. I think he likes them…. <br /> <br />I skied one of my favorite glade runs ever down to the lake after watching both of them descend. Although we weren’t getting deep powder, the snow was fast and mostly soft. Linking turns through completely untracked trees was very tranquil. There is a portion of burnt forest that I came to which had a straight me-width tree chute down to the lake. I pointed that and redeemed myself for the earlier fall. <br /> <br />The lighting wasn’t great for photos and we didn’t take too many, they weren’t doing the day justice anyway. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71373.jpgp" /> <br />The terrain. (we skied none of these chutes) <br /> <br />Jeff and I spotted an interesting skinner/steeper chute that looked sheltered from the wind and might hold good snow. Tom wanted to ski a different chute so after watching him get to the lake we dropped in. My favorite part of the day was in the second chute, the snow was boot top deep in spots during turns. Very fun and technical. <br /> <br />I gave Jeff first tracks. In the Rockies this position is also commonly referred to as “mine sweeper”. Despite the rocks I was worried about, he charged it. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71382.jpg" /> <br />The $$$ shot of the day, huge fast turn down the crux. It was incredible to see from the top. However, in regards to the minesweeping he set one off. You can see it from the bottom but it wasn’t visible from the top. He is about to turn into it and if you compare this photo with the next one it’s obvious what he hit. <br /> <br />He had a nice fall after this and his sluff ended up covering one of his skis. I followed him down to help him look for his missing gear. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71374.jpg" /> <br />First turn, you can tell how bare it was in this photo. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71383.jpg" /> <br />Me coming out of the crux, I made much smaller turns than Jeff because I wanted to help him look for his gear and was worried about buried surprises. <br /> <br />It was getting dark. Jeff and I had some trouble locating his other ski. I scrapped down some of the slope and missed his ski by about 2 inches. Oh well, we found it eventually. <br /> <br />For the ski out we just followed the drainage, it was skied out hard in spots. But we were back to the car in about 45 minutes. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s185/alberta_hoser/1-1.jpg?t=1170992826" /> <br /> <br />Jeff pushing through the last of the flats. <br /> <br />An amazing experience and one I will never forget. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Next up: "The Month it stopped snowing." Coming soon to a forum near you.
Submited By alberta_hoser On 2007-02-08
This was from December 27. I had problems uploading some of the images and finally just got a photobucket account and used that for the remaining two. Not that much hassle but I like getting POTD’s (two this week). <br />Basically we need snow. There's no way around it... <br /> <br />This massive high pressure system is finally showing signs of breaking down but last weekend there was nothing to hope for yet. This is what I consider my first real "tour". I have done extensive hiking from resorts to slackcountry hits but never starting from a car in true wilderness. All of my partners had the same experience. Money is tight for me and touring gear is expensive so we all rented snow shoes. Hiking in alpine ski boots and carrying big boards (ANTs, 189 Seths, and 179 seths.) proved to be very tiring. After hours of research we decided on Tryst Lake Chutes. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71384.jpg" /> <br /> <br />Daybreak. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71375.jpg" /> <br />We were slow. My snowshoes were not functioning properly and I was having a lot of trouble hiking. We used the guide book "summits and icefields" by Chic Scott (the bible for touring in the eastern Rockies and much of eastern b.c.) Using this book we were able to follow an already set skin track so breaking trail wasn't an issue. Before you jump down my throat, the skin track was rock solid...the snow shoes had no effect on the track conditions. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s185/alberta_hoser/1.jpg?t=1170990056" /> <br />Jeff and I working our way up a large cutblock. <br /> <br />This terrain looked amazing the first time I saw photos of it. Apx. 150-300 vertical meter steep chutes with awesome glades as well. Once I got my snowshoes working better (had to rethread one of my straps that was twisted badly) I felt a lot better about the hiking. We followed the switch backs up the ridge which were way steeper than I would have liked especially because traversing with snowshoes is pretty scary. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71377.jpg" /> <br />After gaining some vertical and getting up most of the endless ridge I saw this interesting peak. Looks like an interesting line… <br /> <br />We didn’t summit until about 1:30 pm and then sat down and had a long lunch. <br /> <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71378.jpg" /> <br />The chutes drop off to the right and you are constantly skiing under “the fist”. Kananaskis has some amazing rock formations and it’s a very beautiful place. <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71371.jpg" /> <br />Tom summiting <br /> <br />The feeling of exploration and adventure was present all day. It was easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. There were times where I would be so frustrated and tired and weak that I would almost rather sit down. Then the moments of euphoria; finally getting out of the forest, fixing my snowshoes, and defiantly the biggest one of the entire day…. <br /> <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71379.jpg" /> <br />The snow was dirty, crusty in exposed spots, and old. Right as this point, I didn’t care. <br /> <br />The anticipation of eating lunch on top of this terrain was getting pretty intense by the time we started gearing up. I went for a steeper chute right off the bat. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71381.jpg" /> <br /> <br />This first turn following the mini ridge down was a very fun one, the snow was better than I thought it would be (after almost a month with no snow). It also sluffed much more than I thought it would, and decided to point it out the crux and beat it down. I gained a lot of speed this way and it wasn’t the smartest way to warm up my skiing legs after hiking for a few hours. I went for a big slash to burn most of my speed once I was out of the crux but hit a crusty patch and had a nice little fall. One of my skis popped off and the breaks didn’t engage and I lost about ¼ of my vertical right there. But once I gathered my gear I skied over into the trees to watch Jeff and Tom drop in. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71372.jpg" /> <br />Tom, one of his first few turns on his new skis. I think he likes them…. <br /> <br />I skied one of my favorite glade runs ever down to the lake after watching both of them descend. Although we weren’t getting deep powder, the snow was fast and mostly soft. Linking turns through completely untracked trees was very tranquil. There is a portion of burnt forest that I came to which had a straight me-width tree chute down to the lake. I pointed that and redeemed myself for the earlier fall. <br /> <br />The lighting wasn’t great for photos and we didn’t take too many, they weren’t doing the day justice anyway. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71373.jpgp" /> <br />The terrain. (we skied none of these chutes) <br /> <br />Jeff and I spotted an interesting skinner/steeper chute that looked sheltered from the wind and might hold good snow. Tom wanted to ski a different chute so after watching him get to the lake we dropped in. My favorite part of the day was in the second chute, the snow was boot top deep in spots during turns. Very fun and technical. <br /> <br />I gave Jeff first tracks. In the Rockies this position is also commonly referred to as “mine sweeper”. Despite the rocks I was worried about, he charged it. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71382.jpg" /> <br />The $$$ shot of the day, huge fast turn down the crux. It was incredible to see from the top. However, in regards to the minesweeping he set one off. You can see it from the bottom but it wasn’t visible from the top. He is about to turn into it and if you compare this photo with the next one it’s obvious what he hit. <br /> <br />He had a nice fall after this and his sluff ended up covering one of his skis. I followed him down to help him look for his missing gear. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71374.jpg" /> <br />First turn, you can tell how bare it was in this photo. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/2007/02/120x120/biglines_71383.jpg" /> <br />Me coming out of the crux, I made much smaller turns than Jeff because I wanted to help him look for his gear and was worried about buried surprises. <br /> <br />It was getting dark. Jeff and I had some trouble locating his other ski. I scrapped down some of the slope and missed his ski by about 2 inches. Oh well, we found it eventually. <br /> <br />For the ski out we just followed the drainage, it was skied out hard in spots. But we were back to the car in about 45 minutes. <br /> <br /><img width="490px" src="http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s185/alberta_hoser/1-1.jpg?t=1170992826" /> <br /> <br />Jeff pushing through the last of the flats. <br /> <br />An amazing experience and one I will never forget. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Next up: "The Month it stopped snowing." Coming soon to a forum near you.
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