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        <title><![CDATA[Icefields Parkway]]></title>
        <description>RSS of Icefields Parkway</description>
        <pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:28:10 -0800</pubDate>
        <link>https://bcs-stage.websites.px-bcs.pixxell.co</link>
                        <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Skyladder attempt Numero Uno]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[
Saturday was almost done when J messaged me letting me know that the road was open. The 93N had been closed for half the week after Parks avy control got a little out of hand, with a huge size 4 burying the highway. Warm temps and no overnight freeze had me polishing my cams in resignation. But there was a hope; the Columbia Icefields region was forecasting a solid freeze and only two out of five weather models we looked at said that it had rained up there. We decided at about 8pm to go for it.
&amp;nbsp;



The explosive triggered Hector avalanche. Took a little while to dig a hole through, but at least we get new glades next year. Source: Sunwapta Falls Rocky Mountain Lodge Facebook page
&amp;nbsp;

We got going at 2am, we&amp;rsquo;d had a combined total of 4hrs sleep. The drive up was grim. We got to the Icefields centre at about 4.30 and I took a couple of photos to see if the route was in. It&amp;rsquo;s a good trick; if you&amp;rsquo;ve got a camera with decent low light capability you can get a view of your route in question as if it was day time. Things looked good so we set out, crunching through the snow that had a bit of a crust. A good sign.
&amp;nbsp;



A scenic amazing notice board. The mountains are pretty ok too I guess. 
&amp;nbsp;

In my enthusiasm and zeal to get moving and warm I took a shortcut and punched through into a drainage ditch that had not frozen. A bad sign. 
&amp;nbsp;

A quick retreat to the car parked a leg burning 20m away to change socks and we were off again, squelching like no tomorrow to make up for lost time. 
&amp;nbsp;



J alpine short-striding towards the goal. Icy conditions are easily overcome with some care in your skinning technique. Leave the ski crampons at home! But that&amp;rsquo;s just like, my opinion man.
&amp;nbsp;

Once arriving at some snow patches travel became faster. The freeze had happened and the icy crust took an edge well. We skinned under the AA glacier and sussed out the classics on Andromeda, Shooting Gallery was looking good. The toe of the Andromeda glacier was choked with debris from a rather large cornice fall around the Photo Finish top out. The debris was amazingly miserable to skin up. J and I stopped to break out the rope and an unfortunate gust of wind sent J&amp;rsquo;s helmet tumbling down the toe and out onto the flats. Oh well. He needed a more photogenic lid in my opinion anyway. 
&amp;nbsp;

I&amp;rsquo;ve heard many, many horror stories about this glacier so we gingerly set out across the ice, probing and travelling in echelon to hopefully minimise the risk of falling in the same hole. The approach to the Skyladder cuts across the direction of ice flow, meaning that you&amp;rsquo;re travelling parallel to the crevasses. This can be a bad time as any holes you may fall in may also swallow your partner. Super scary stuff. Luckily the crust was very supportive and the snow was deep and we made it to the fan of our route.
&amp;nbsp;

We swapped skis for crampons and headed up. There was about 10-15cms of graupel on what could only be a rain crust. We were pretty bummed as it looked like the minority of weather models were correct. We hoped the freeze had permeated deep into the snow and kept on going up. As we got higher, the crust got weaker and the snow below seemed a little sticky. J and I dug some holes with our axes and got wet gloves. That&amp;rsquo;s never a good sign in your snowpack, it&amp;rsquo;s an indicator of instability and a good time to go home. We figured that a wind slab or thin spot could add some energy to the slope and set the whole thing off. 
&amp;nbsp;



Sometimes you feel like a fool wearing your ski gear on the Stairmaster&amp;trade; at the gym but it all pays off on days like this. 
&amp;nbsp;

Still, our decision point happened to be the top of the steep pitch so at least we got to ski the hard part. The unsupportive graupel and rain crust made for some interesting skiing but luckily it&amp;rsquo;s not actually that steep. I managed about twelve good turns and nearly fell over in surprise when some errant snow found its way to my face. We skied the glacier roped up and chattered through the debris on the the glacial toe. 
&amp;nbsp;



#picoftheday 
&amp;nbsp;

By now it was getting warm so I was hanging out for some corn on the way back to the car, but alas, not today. Rain patterned crust made my teeth rattle as we scraped down to the road. The skiing was louder than 11. The only consolation prize of the day was listening to tourists &amp;lsquo;ooh&amp;rsquo; and &amp;lsquo;ahh&amp;rsquo; at our tracks whilst eating a bagel on the sunny Icefields Centre patio.
&amp;nbsp;

As usually I&amp;rsquo;m feeling pretty down for bailing, but I&amp;rsquo;m getting daily messages from J trying to schedule the next assault. Until then I&amp;rsquo;ll be honing my edges in anticipation. 


&amp;nbsp;]]></description>
            <pubDate>2017-05-12 06:11:50</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/Skyladder</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/Skyladder</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Cha cha cha hey! Mt Hector Conga Party]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Last Saturday I gathered the troops for a ski ascent of the quintessential Rockies spring classic; Mt Hector. It&amp;rsquo;s one of the few easily skiable 11&amp;rsquo;000ers and was a perfect option for my girlfriend&amp;rsquo;s first ski mountaineering mission. I also brought JF along for some weight at the other end of the rope. I guess he&amp;rsquo;s decent company too but mainly he&amp;rsquo;s weighty. 
&amp;nbsp;



Two cool kids. Passing the rope through the backpack chest strap makes being the middle sucker bearable. #toptips
&amp;nbsp;

We left town early in the am, getting to the Hector pullout at 5. There were already a few parties gearing up to head out, including one with a drool-inducing Sprinter. One of these days... 
&amp;nbsp;

Travel up to the waterfall was fast and furious with a great freeze as we raced to beat the sun on those slopes. This part of the trip can be very high risk due to terrain traps and overhead hazard. Throwing the skis on the shoulder in the uber fast &amp;lsquo;rando carry&amp;rsquo; we booted up the waterfall pitch to gain the alpine meadows between Andromache and Hector. 
&amp;nbsp;



Rumour has it Kenny Loggins wrote Danger Zone about this area. Cornice for days!
&amp;nbsp;

Running again through the moraine below Little Hector we geared up in what we thought was a relatively safe spot for the glacier. About an hour after we moved on, the sun hit Little Hector and popped a cornice which brought down a size 2. The runout didn&amp;rsquo;t reach the skin track but the party behind us probably had a pants wettingly scary encounter with the powder cloud.
&amp;nbsp;



Yikes. The runout only reached halfway between the slope and the skintrack, but this really hammers home the importance of beating the sun in spring. 
&amp;nbsp;

The grind began, with the two parties ahead of us setting an excellent skin track. I&amp;rsquo;m a big fan when the track is low angle and minimises kick turns. All the little things add up when you&amp;rsquo;re trying to save energy for the long haul. Plodding for hours we finally ascended the steep roller below the summit col, exchanging choice banter with the parties taking in the views.
&amp;nbsp;



The Hector conga line. There&amp;rsquo;s two parties in front of us and three behind. &amp;nbsp;
&amp;nbsp;

We put our crampons on after a bite and headed up the summit block, which was well covered enough (excepting the very bottom and very top) that I brought my skis. After some incorrect exposure calculations JF kept on up to the summit with myself and H stopped about 2m from the top! I reasoned I wasn&amp;rsquo;t confident dropping the 2m rock step to the slope below so I clicked in and skied from below the top step, proudly executing a jump turn over the lower rock step. Alas, I failed to gesture and shout wildly before committing to the turn so no one saw it. 
&amp;nbsp;

It was down time, and we were looking at 1500m of spring powder and hopefully corn on the descent. It&amp;rsquo;s a tough gig but that powder isn&amp;rsquo;t gonna ski itself so we booked it on down, stopping to regroup and take selfies only once. Once off the glacier, the powder we&amp;rsquo;d lovingly farmed turned to heavy mush, making our ligaments tremble in fear. I managed to make it down with only one core shot which is a pretty good achievement. The waterfall chute presented an interesting feature, I felt like the best skier on the mountain as I jump turned down it a la TJ from Aspen Extreme. I&amp;rsquo;m quite sure I look a lot cooler than I am.
&amp;nbsp;



H verifying the snow is indeed soft, if a little heavy. Absolutely terrible vis though, we could see way too far. 
&amp;nbsp;

Quick travel through the isothermic snow below treeline saw us back at the car, parched and hungry from the big day. Not a bad run, and I&amp;rsquo;m absolutely stoked that H skied an 11&amp;rsquo;000er as her first skimo mission. I see lycra and race bindings in our future! 
&amp;nbsp;



&amp;lsquo;Yeah I guess it was ok&amp;rsquo; she says. &amp;lsquo;What&amp;rsquo;s next?&amp;rsquo;
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2017-04-28 06:49:20</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/Mt%20Hector</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/Mt%20Hector</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Ode to the consignment store Elans]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A couple of years back, the Switching Gear consignment store in Canmore picked up a bunch of Elan touring skis. There were a couple of pairs of&amp;nbsp; ski mountaineering race skis and some fatter skis that went quickly, but mostly the 160-170cm, 70mm-ish underfoot stores sat in the store. Prices were chopped. They are now at $100. I thought what the heck, the core doesn&amp;#39;t make much difference on a ski this tiny and went with the lightest ones, the women&amp;#39;s model! Binding mount was a tad sketchy with many of the screws spinning in the honeycomb core (pro tip, buy the Greenish-yellow or Red&amp;nbsp; ones with more wood in the core!).

I smoked a rock on my first turn and the ski ejected. This is why I bought these skis. Once down in the trees, the rocks went away, and with some light blower on top of a supportive base, the skis were fine. Great conditions for late October at Bow Summit! I lapped the slope until my legs died.
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2016-10-26 08:01:31</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/consignment_elan</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/consignment_elan</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Late October skiing]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[I will be in Banff&amp;nbsp;Oct28&amp;nbsp;-&amp;nbsp;Nov6, 2016 looking to ski BC or whatever&amp;#39;s available. I&amp;#39;d even ski uphill at the resorts if allowed and if there&amp;#39;s no&amp;nbsp;natural snow and BC available. Should I pack AT or&amp;nbsp;Tele&amp;nbsp;equipment? What routes for 4 hour day&amp;nbsp;trips&amp;nbsp;are possible within a car ride from Banff.
Any suggestions for hiking with traction devices and boot packing? &amp;nbsp;Huts and ski lift rides would be nice but it seems they&amp;#39;ll be closed till resort skiing starts.
please advise, thanks]]></description>
            <pubDate>2016-10-18 11:33:59</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/Banff%20early%20season</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/Banff%20early%20season</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Late season conditions]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Hey gang,
Just wondering if anybody has skied the parkers ridge area or down around/on bow summit. Looking to maybe have some late season fun next week. Anything on snow condition or any instabilities in the snow pack would be great. Thanks. Keep your tips up!]]></description>
            <pubDate>2016-04-23 00:30:33</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/late-season-conditions</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/late-season-conditions</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Quick condition update.]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[We skied Grand Daddy Couloir today. &amp;nbsp;Snow warmed up quick and there was a modest freeze ( not great ). Did not see any cornice failures and only a single small sluff. &amp;nbsp;When the sun was out it warmed up very quiclky and was feeling very spring like. In the alpine below 2300M is going through melt freeze now and ski pen in the a.m was nonexistant and ony slightly better around noon. &amp;nbsp;Snow pack is nice and tight early on so get out there!&amp;nbsp;


]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-04-15 19:12:10</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/quick-condition-update</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/quick-condition-update</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Jasper national Park Snowpack]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[hey everyone,
I am going to Jasper in about 2 weeks and i am looking to do some touring around the athabasca glacier (i.e. Parkers ridge, Hilda peaks, Wilcox pass). The canadian avalanche centre is talking about a deep persistent weak layer in the snow pack... anybody knows how deep and how weak it is??&amp;nbsp; also, I am looking for some partners if anybody would like to join me, let me know!
Thanks you!!]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-04-08 13:26:20</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/jasper-national-park-snowpack</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/jasper-national-park-snowpack</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[SOAP Box - Observations]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Driving down a wet highway and seeing the peaks starting to poke out through the clouds, we quickly switched objectives from a south-facing avalanche path with a low starting elevation to something more suitable: a north-facing glacier run!
Access was certainly not trivial.

Visibility was in and out, but we had some great views at the top.Said glacier run offered up a choice of heli wiggles or casual straightlines.


We enjoyed a couple of runs, refilled in by the howling winds before heading back up to get out of there. The exit was a little sporty up high, skiing very &quot;dry&quot;. As we got lower, the skiing improved, but the snow was definitely getting damp. After a tough exit up high, this reinforced our decision to ski north today!
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-03-30 23:34:35</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/soap-box-observations</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/soap-box-observations</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Laying tracks in May?]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[I m likely in the area early May...Wondering if anyone has any feedback on getting some turns in that late in the season...Bow. observation, Parker Ridge...etc.?!
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-03-28 21:53:07</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/laying-tracks-in-may</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/laying-tracks-in-may</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Bow Summit profile]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Just wanted to write down a few observations about what I saw and experienced this past weekend along the Bow Summit area:
I arrived just before 8AM (Saturday) to high mixed clouds. It had not significantly snowed in at least 24 hours. Temperature along the road (about 2070m) was below zero. No real wind either.
To my surprise with a weather bulletin of heavy snowfall in the area (beginning the evening before) it seemed I was ahead of the weather. There was noone in the parking area. Looks like no Alpine Start for the sleepy heads.
Skinned uphill for the first hour.. whole place to myself. Looked over the NW ridge into the small valley beyond and saw lots of wind effected terrain and exposed rock. Coverage was good on the way up, but you could sure see the wind effected areas. Nice view looking north too.
I then pretty much followed the contour towards the south up to a spine that overlooked quite a nice constant fall line. I set up camp &amp;amp; did a pit at about 2400m.
I found the real concerning layer &amp;amp; what people at Parks Canada and the (CAC) Avalanche centre is very concerned about: the aspect was right in the ballpark of 25 degrees, snow depth was about 2m to ground. The first 62 cms of snow had a variety of storm &amp;amp; usual settling I would expect. Not really any significant or scary crusts.
But.. at about the 60 cms (from top of profile) there was a very definitive layer with the beginnings of ball bearing type snow. Below that &amp;ndash; maybe 80+ into the snowpack was just.. sugar. Actually, it was not even sugar. Big swipe with my glove gave me a sickening feeling. Kinda like when you see Hella freezer burn in your freezer. Yikes.
So, there ya go. not much below that layer that needs to be mentioned. Had a bite to eat, filled in the hole and skied some pretty good conservative turns along the skin track I walked up along. No drama for the rest of the morning either. People I met coming up hill were having a good time too.
I left around 2 PM and noticed alot of people up high making their decisions along Num ti Ja, Crowfoot and others. Arriving back at Louise around 3PM, Park rescue trucks, support vehicles &amp;amp; Louise Fire were hot on the way uphill. I heard that they long lined out one subject while doing compressions on him all the way to the Louise Warden office. I hope he makes it.
This morning, Sunday I awoke (sore) to at least 10 and maybe 15. Roads were about to be closed west of Goldie, low valley cloud and it was&amp;hellip; warm. Confirmed it brushing the truck off. Pretty easy to make a snowball. So, today was a have another coffee and sit and chat to people day. I&amp;#39;m too cheap to buy a lift ticket at the ski area.. but that woulda been another option.

(edited for spel-ling &amp;amp; clarity..Im fallin asleep here z..z..zzzzz)]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-03-17 00:15:17</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/bow-summit-profile</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/bow-summit-profile</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Current Glacier Bridging? Especially Hector]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Hey all, just wondering if anyone has any news on how the bridging is looking on Hector? Supposed to head out there in 2 weeks time but the weather this year has me nervous that the bridging might be weak or not well formed. The forecasted nice weather this weekend does not help my confidence. Any recent experiences or advice given the time of year would be appreciated. Cheers.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-03-05 14:59:36</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/current-glacier-bridging-especially-hector</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/current-glacier-bridging-especially-hector</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Condtion report and soap box entry number two!]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[

The drought is finally over! After a slow and seriously dry start to the season things have finally turned around and conditions are deep albeit very touchy when it comes to the stability. The resorts have been skiing splendidly this week &amp;nbsp;and the crowds were minimal generally speaking. Here&amp;#39;s a visual condition report from Sunshine Village.









Screen grab shot with the MUVI HD








































Skiing conditions have certainly improved in the last few days, with 85 cms so far and another 40 on it&amp;#39;s way it&amp;#39;s safe to say mother nature has hit the reset button but our uncrowded slopes would soon be overrun by holiday skiers visiting for the Family day long weekend. &amp;nbsp;Saturday we headed off for whiter pastures and opted for a tour on the Icefields parkway on highway 93N located just north of Lake Louise. The avalanche bulletin was reading &amp;nbsp;as HIGH across all elevations for the forecast region, we would have to stick to simple terrain during our outing, bummer! &amp;nbsp;As we passed the Lake Louise ski area there was a 5 kilometer line of cars lined up for the resort ( seriously )with many more vehicles to follow suite shortly and just like that we felt much better about our decision.&amp;nbsp;












11


Kicking our way across the flats








With the new snow we wanted to have a look at what the snowpack was doing with this new load and warmer temperatures. &amp;nbsp;We found that the storm snow wasn&amp;#39;t playing nice with the two surface hoar layers from January. Then we looked at what seems to the be the only constant in continental snowpacks. Some dirty, square , huge depth hoar.




















Kevin breaks trail
























Zach had some other issues. Nothing duct tape , a shoelace and some zip ties won&amp;#39;t fix.








After a quick lunch break we chatted about the conditions and what we should be skiing with the conditions we had, It was quite obvious that anything steep and open was out of the question. We had some deep snow below us with plenty of little pillows , little cliffs and well glades trees but most of all we were comfortable with our choice of terrain. &amp;nbsp;3...2...1..drop.









Tree skiing here is as good as it gets in the Rockies















Tasty
















Enter white room.















Always good to look back up at your mountain squiggles&amp;nbsp;








Good times were had with good people and although this is considered to be a pretty popular area it seems people only chose to ski the classic way own, too bad for them! If you haven&amp;#39;t yet, for the love of everything holy get out there! After all who knows, it may be another two months after this storm leaves us before we get snow again.&amp;nbsp;

]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-02-18 20:19:49</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/condtion-report-and-soap-box-entry-number-two</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/condtion-report-and-soap-box-entry-number-two</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Condition update and Soap Box Entry]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Conditions are what you might expect , no snow, wind affected and just plain hard. &amp;nbsp;I took my sister and her boyfriend out on the 93N to Parkers ridge for their very first tour a few days ago.
Car&amp;#39;s loaded


&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I knew we would find any great skiing but the conditions were even worse than i have anticipated with ski penetration in the nothing to 2 cm range but hey, sun is out and these two are ready to earn some turns.&amp;nbsp;
Sun&amp;#39;s up!&amp;nbsp;


After a brief beacon explanation, little practice and a gear run down, we were off weaving our way up the ridge. Moving up the mountain was strange for these two northern Ontario transplants but they got the hang of it fairly quickly.



After a short 25 minute skin ( if you know the area then you know we took our time ) we maxed out the vertical of the ridge and were rewarded with the real treat of the day, the views.


Sara looking small!&amp;nbsp;


It was a pretty rewarding experience to &amp;nbsp;introduce these two who only a short year ago had absolutely no idea what ski touring was and believed that all back country skiing was done by helicopter or snow cat. We made our way down the ridge (the term dust on crust comes to mind here) down to the car where we took a few moments to refuel and hydrate. We spent the rest of the afternoon running beacon drills, digging holes , preforming stability tests and practicing kickturns ( always good for a laugh or two ) . All and all &amp;nbsp;fun day, sub par skiing , great views and good times with family. Who know&amp;#39;s maybe they will post here in the near future? All backcountry skiers start somewhere!&amp;nbsp;

]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-02-03 03:03:44</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/condition-update-and-soap-box-entry</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/condition-update-and-soap-box-entry</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[One of these years is not like the other...]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Great blog post on the Canadian Avalanche blog site by Mark Klassen. Be patient and wait to venture into more complex terrain.
http://blogs.avalanche.ca/one-.....other-one/
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-01-01 19:58:44</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/one-of-these-years-is-not-like-the-other</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/one-of-these-years-is-not-like-the-other</guid>
                    </item>
                <item>
            <title><![CDATA[Bow Summit]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Went for a walk in the sun today up at Bow Summit. It was ok. It felt like a good day at the Lake Louise ski hill actually - a few cms of light fluffy snow on top of hard pack! Still lots of weak spots we hit while skinning. Wind really&amp;nbsp; picked up in the late afternoo. Parking lot was full but we only saw 2 other parties and not a lot of fresh tracks suprisingly! A&amp;nbsp;lot of other spots seemed busy - Pulpit, Mosquito, the usual suspects. Sorry I forgot to take pictures!]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-01-01 19:56:34</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/bow-summit-1</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/bow-summit-1</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Conditions]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Anyone know how it&amp;#39;s shaping up around observation peak?
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-11-28 14:51:30</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/conditions-1</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/conditions-1</guid>
                    </item>
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            <title><![CDATA[Rockies Terrain]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[I have never toured in the Rockies before, but only in the Kootenays. Is there anywhere along the Icefield Parkway that has the more diverse terrain as the Kootenay mountains? Is there good tree skiing on the Parkway? I tried looking at it from Goole Earth and everything below the alpine looked quite flat. Does it get busy on the Parkway if the snow is good or is it pretty quite?
Thanks for the help. I&amp;#39;m looking forward to getting out there this winter.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-09-29 19:40:05</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/rockies-terrain</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/rockies-terrain</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Alpine Climbing-Achilles Spire]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[
We climbed a great new route on Mt. Andromache a few days ago called Achilles Spire. The route was put up by Eric Dumerac last fall and is 12 bolted pitches. We were super lucky with the weather and had great views of several ski lines (see pictures below).


Looking down the climb.


Looking towards neighbouring Mt. Hector.


Looking across the valley towards Bow Summit with West Nile and The Grand Daddy colouir. Bow Lake on the right and Hector Lake on the left.


A close up of the same view.


Almost directly across the valley is Mt. Balfour.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-06-30 23:40:07</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/alpine-climbing-achilles-spire</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/alpine-climbing-achilles-spire</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Observation Sub peak]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Not a bad day up the icefields parkway today. Started off with great vis but rapidly deteriorated to no visibility. Snow was pretty decent on north aspect and surprisingly fun and fast skiing back to the road after we pulled the pin because we couldn&amp;#39;t see a thing!]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-04-07 23:25:44</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/observation-sub-peak</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/observation-sub-peak</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Another day up Bow]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[&amp;nbsp;Another beautiful sunny day in the Rockies. Woke up with a cold this morning so slept in and went to Bow Summit for the afternoon. Surprisingly there was no one else around. Snow was soft when in the sun on all aspects but still a&amp;nbsp;hard crust&amp;nbsp;when in the shade.
We saw really recent avalanche debris. It had a pretty deep looking crown but hadn&amp;#39;t propagated far. It slide down to a bench just outside the bottom of the picture. We also saw some minor activity across the valley.



]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-04-01 00:03:41</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/another-day-up-bow</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/another-day-up-bow</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Great Views Terrible Skiing]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[We attempted a bit of an exploratory ski today. Unfortunately we were denied on where we wanted to go and ended up with terrible icy or breakable crust skiing on&amp;nbsp;west facing&amp;nbsp;slopes. The conculsion: it is not yet time for corn skiing in the Rockies. No big surpirse there. Thought it was worth posting some of the beautiful shots from the sunny morning anyways. I didn&amp;#39;t get any good pictures, but we saw lots of interesting wolverine tracks who appeared to also be exploring



Skinning up with Jimmy Simpson and Bow&amp;nbsp;Summit behind.


Looking across the valley to the Wapta with Rhonda, Gordan and Saint Nic visable in the background.


The battleship-like Dolomite Peak
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-03-29 20:39:31</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/great-views-terrible-skiing</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/great-views-terrible-skiing</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Game On! Rockies Conditions]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[November served up some fantastic skiing in the Rockies. Lots of kitschy phrases being tossed around like &quot;Snow-vember&quot; or &quot;November to Remember&quot;. The other thing everyone seems to be talking about is just how many people there are out there, and there are a lot. Roadside objectives definitely aren&amp;#39;t the place to go for serenity right now. Look around within 10km of Bow Summit and it feels like going to the mall on Christamas Eve.

November has indeed been pretty good. It seemed to be game on from the start, at least on 93N. Slopes in every direction are reasonably slaughtered. Sliding seems to be relatively care free already with a supportive base that is covering a lot of the typical early season hazards. Creeks and lakes still have some freezing to do and some thrashing is still encountered in valley bottoms.

Excited for the rest of the year!

A quick look at some November snow.

November 3rd

November 12th

November 17th

November 18th

November 24th

November 25th

]]></description>
            <pubDate>2012-11-26 20:59:38</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/game-on-rockies-conditions</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/game-on-rockies-conditions</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Bow Summit]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Had a super fun day at Bow Summit yesterday, beautiful sun and great snow. Talking to others, it sounds like the snow has really settled over the past week and a base is starting to form. Despite the 20+ cars in the parking lot there were fresh turns to be found as there were at least 4 avis courses happening.
Despite the great early season snow and reasonably warm temps, remember it is still early season skiing in the Rockies, and caution should be used.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2012-11-26 10:35:16</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/bow-summit</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/bow-summit</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Mind packing a beaver carcass? This could be for you...]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A team of scientists is asking for backcountry skiers to pack in beaver carcasses for a wolverine study in the Rocky Mountains. Do you mind carrying 25 pounds of dead beaver for a long tour? This could be for you...
From CBC:&amp;nbsp;
A team of wildlife scientists is looking for people able to carry a beaver carcass long distances through the heavy snow to help track wolverines in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks this winter.
Volunteers will help researchers by nailing beaver carcasses and barbed wire to trees in order to attract wolverines and collect their fur.
Calvin Sime worked on a similar project in the Columbia Valley two years ago.
&quot;[You get] fantastic views &amp;hellip; in a mountainous terrain,&quot; he said. &quot;Once you get up, there&amp;#39;s some pretty nice views and some nice features to enjoy while you&amp;#39;re volunteering.&quot;
Researchers are hoping to map wolverine migration patterns across 6,000 square kilometers.
&quot;There is something about wolverines that just fascinate people. A lot of people are interested in helping out on a research project like this, getting out skiing in the winter time,&quot; said Tony Clevenger, who is spearheading the project.
Clevenger says the goal is to see how the Trans-Canada Highway is affecting the animals&amp;#39; movements.
&quot;It&amp;#39;s an exciting project,&quot; he said. &quot;We had more than 40 people sign up two years ago and I&amp;#39;m expecting a similar amount this year.&quot;
Volunteers need to be able to ski long distances through heavy snow in frigid temperatures.
]]></description>
            <pubDate>2012-11-26 02:40:19</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/mind-packing-a-beaver-carcass-this-could-be-for-you</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/mind-packing-a-beaver-carcass-this-could-be-for-you</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Early Season on the Icefield Parkway]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[
We got up on the Icefields Parkway again on November 12th. &amp;nbsp;Below treeline the surface was temperature affected making for only slightly more challenging turns over and around shallow obstacles. In the alpine boot top blower was sitting on a firm rain/temperature crust. The cold snap on the 10th and 11th made for some impressive frost.


&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;

The snow pack is still thin and the ice is thinner. Might be in more danger of drowning crossing a lake than getting caught in an avalanche. Maybe that&amp;rsquo;s what makes the early season fun. Or maybe it&amp;rsquo;s because expectations are low&amp;hellip; any turns at all are sweet, juicy, wonderful turns.



]]></description>
            <pubDate>2012-11-14 15:49:30</pubDate>
            <link>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/early-season-on-the-icefield-parkway</link>
            <guid>/index.php/forum/bcs/category/icefields-parkway/topic/early-season-on-the-icefield-parkway</guid>
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