Jumbo Pass Day 4

On day four we decided to give the alpine zone another try, so we headed up to this col.

We enjoyed the fine views across the valley on the way up.

 Steve. Almost there.

From the col, the view north. Jumbo Pass is this broad, treed low spot along the ridge.

The view south into the next sub drainage of Jumbo Creek, with Blockhead Mtn in the back.

We skied down a fair ways into the next drainage encountering sun crust, so we headed back up to the col.

The skiing off the col was better than expected especially skier's left. Steve makes it look easy.

We explored around a little more, but had to take one more run in the glades. Momma Larch and me.

Good times for sure!

Jumbo Pass Day 3

The third day brought a crisp, clear morning with a hint that a little new snow had fallen.

Distant peaks and glaciers at first light.

Right from cabin the skiing was noticeably better.

We quickly found an area with open glades where the new snow had accumulated nicely.

 Ego snow!

 So good we decided to lap it.

Lots of laps! This is the transition zone at the top.

Wheeeee!


The terrain was mostly cruiser, with a few steepish rollovers.

This Larch, dubbed "Papa Larch", was one of the landmarks we used to guide us through different open glades.


This is the view of Jumbo Glacier where developers seek to build a year 'round ski area. Hope it doesn't happen. Check out the advocates trying to halt it here.

 This is the view of our morning turns on the way back to the cabin.

Heading home.

I dig my new sticks!

We were all happily tired after a fine day of powder skiing.

Jumbo Pass Day 2

The second day at the Jumbo Pass Cabin dawned with the shocking realization that some sort of animal had stolen all of our meat and cheese products. We had stored them in a bucket labelled "food refrigeration" which had been slightly melted such that the lid did not seal tightly.

The damage consisted of 1.5 Salames, ~16 Laughing Cow cheeses, 250g of smoked Gouda, four Italian sausages, 2 sticks of butter, 16oz of red pasta sauce, 400g of breakfast ham, and 200g of sliced ham. Quite a haul!

A perusal of the cabin log revealed several mentions of Pine Martens stealing food. We had no idea!

Thus we wrote a warning on the "Fridge bucket."

We followed the tracks and determined the whole cache went down this hole.

We recovered from the shock as we determined we still had plenty of food, but with a little less protein, fat, and flavor than we originally planned.

Then we skied up to the small peak above the cabin.

Note the cabin along the sunlit ridge on the right.

Up high we found big cornices and variable skiing.

We then headed over to some west facing slopes where we found a little good skiing in the lee of these pines.

Larch abound in this area. Not only are they beautiful, but they have the distinction of being one of only a few deciduous conifers.

We found some real nice skiing in the northeast facing glades just below treeline.

Topped the tour off with a steep little chute with wind affected snow.

Back at the cabin we were missing our evening hors d'oeuvres.

Scenes from the cabin.

Spirits improved after a few spirits.

Jumbo Pass Day 1

We started the trip at the end of the plowed section of the Toby Creek Road up canyon from Panorama where we met Ted and Uoelke for a ride up to the Jumbo Pass trailhead.

Ted is a First Nation tribe member who had recently undergone chemotherapy for a large tumor in his intestine area. His energy and color had returned, but he brought his buddy Uoelke along to help.

They were two of the greatest guys you could ever hope to meet!

Ted readies his machine.


Uoelke gets it together.

 At the start Steve and I were towed while Anne rode along with Ted.

The first few kilometers were scary as we were moving right along on an icy, rutted track. Our legs were burning almost immediately!

After a couple of breaks and several kilometers the snow softened and the towing was much better.

Anne goes "no hands" while I tow behind.

We had a wonderful time chatting with Ted and Uoelke at the trailhead as we enjoyed hot tea and energy bars before the climbing commenced.

The skin track was instantly a solid challenge with plenty of steep, firm, and tight sections.

Higher up the views opened up.

The "Cabin Bowl" on the way in. The cabin is set near the line of trees far left skyline.

The Helis from RK Heliski were buzzing around all afternoon.

Lots of tracks as we neared the hut.

Almost there.

Anne enters the cabin first.

After settling in we went for an afternoon tour up the cabin bowl.

Fine views.

Back to the cabin.

Where we celebrated and enjoyed the amazing scene. 

Sipping a little wine in my evening attire.

Group photo.

Memorable stuff.