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        <title><![CDATA[Fernie]]></title>
        <description>RSS of Fernie</description>
        <pubDate>Tue, 03 Nov 2026 17:29:16 -0800</pubDate>
        <link>https://bcs-stage.websites.px-bcs.pixxell.co</link>
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            <title><![CDATA[Fernie in Feb]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[

I escaped the questionable Rockies snowpack this week and headed down to Fernie for some average powder skiing.


I&amp;rsquo;m told turns like this are average..
&amp;nbsp;

My local guide-bro led me up Tunnel creek to check out the glades. The approach is a bit of a slog (5km, 750ish m) but this means the ski out is fast and fun. I was a little concerned given that the trip started with a slippery track up a rain crust, but this quickly gave way to soft snow. We ground out the forestry road having our thoughts constantly interrupted by the heli flying in firewood every five minutes. A quick break at the hut then it was up to east ridge between Planetary peak and a nublet I didn&amp;rsquo;t get the name of. 
&amp;nbsp;

Two day old storm slab releases and cornice failures from were conspicuous across the valley on N/NE aspects however the southerly runs we were planning to hit were treed and stable, showing only evidence of slough over cliffs. About 30-50cm of recent storm snow hadn&amp;rsquo;t had much of a chance to soften up so things were looking pretty good. Three runs later and we were back at the ski out, the fatigue in our legs buried under big grins. We even shared a sneaky fist bump when we were sure no one was around. 
&amp;nbsp;

Easing into run no. 1. Why slash when you can slarve?
&amp;nbsp;

We were thinking about hitting a bigger objective the following day but reports of large naturals running off the aspects we&amp;rsquo;d have to skin up toned things down for us. The plan was to head up and poke around Fish bowl or Liverwurst Ridge. A quick approach up some snowshoe trails took us to the resort ski out and then onwards and upwards to the 2000 foot ridge (that&amp;rsquo;s it&amp;rsquo;s name, don&amp;rsquo;t ask me why it&amp;rsquo;s called that).

Seeing more evidence of some releases across on Liverwurst Bowl we pulled the plug on that idea and decided to rip the well covered ridge we were on. Kickturns galore saw us transitioning below the rime dome guarding the summit of the ridge. 
&amp;nbsp;

Neat. Rimey 

Sticking to the ridge on the descent gave me some of the best turns of my life. Yup, that good. My gps tells me we got a solid 700m run of consistent&amp;nbsp;weightless turns.
&amp;nbsp;


I am an artist and the snow is my canvas #soulful 

Unfortunately it was time to leave because some of us gotta work. I spent the four hours back to Canmore rethinking my life choices and regretting not heading down sooner. 


]]></description>
            <pubDate>2017-02-24 09:07:42</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/Fernie%20in%20Feb</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/Fernie%20in%20Feb</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Middle Sister Soap Box Comp]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Andy and I had been talking about this one for a while, so when good weather, cool nights and enough remaining snow came together we put the plan into action. A (very) early start, some steep front pointing and a beautiful sunrise lead to the Middle Sister summit and a sweet ski back to town.




]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-02-19 22:56:56</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/middle-sister-soap-box-comp</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/middle-sister-soap-box-comp</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[When things Go Wrong... soap Box Comp]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[The Lizard Range is a popular early season destination for the Kimbo/Cranny crowd due to copious snowfall. Sunny weather added to the early season excitement and the first powder turns of the day were promising. Unfortunately it all got cut short when one member of our group had a twisting fall that resulted in considerable pain in the knee and ankle. I had a SPOT on me and was ready to push for heli evac but she&amp;#39;s quite a trooper and was keen to hobble her way home. A two hour crawling, pulling, pushing, limping piggybacking marathon ensued. After some great effort by T we wound up back at the sleds, waiting to whisk her home. Those who remained couldn&amp;#39;t leave the remaining powder without a quick lap.




]]></description>
            <pubDate>2014-02-19 22:13:35</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/when-things-go-wrong-soap-box-comp-1</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/when-things-go-wrong-soap-box-comp-1</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Two survive a Grizzly Attack]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Imagine getting attacked by a Grizzly Bear and surviving it to tell your tale, thats just what happened recently to two men near Fernie BC.
&amp;nbsp;
Brian Braconnier and Keith Farkas are very fortunate to be at home with their families tonight after a close encounter with a grizzly.

&amp;ldquo;We are so thankful we&amp;rsquo;re sitting here, the two of us, making these statements,&amp;rdquo; said Farkas. &amp;ldquo;Rather than our wives writing our obituaries.&amp;rdquo;

The two Fernie men who were attacked by a grizzly bear on Wednesday morning shared their story at a press conference late Thursday evening. Both men, in their mid thirties, were hiking along a basin heading for the side of a ridge with heavy elk trails on Mount Proctor when a mother grizzly attacked. The men said what happened in 30 seconds seemed like an eternity.

&amp;ldquo;I heard a growl and then we heard a second growl,&amp;rdquo; said Farkas. &amp;ldquo;Before we could even react, the grizzly was on us. She hit Brian in the back, knocked him over, took him downhill and out of my sight behind some shrubs. I couldn&amp;rsquo;t see what was going on. I could just hear him screaming my name and the bear growling. I saw a cub following her downhill and it was also growling. That&amp;rsquo;s when I reached for my (defender) shotgun that was strapped to the outside of my pack.&amp;rdquo;

&amp;ldquo;She hit me four times in total,&amp;rdquo; explained Braconnier. &amp;ldquo;On the third time, she grabbed my arm with her mouth and flung me through the air. When I landed, I grabbed my pepper spray. When she came at me again, she was at an arms distance as I used the bear spray on her. It deterred her but she still ran me over. In two lunges she was back up the hill towards Keith. I could hear him screaming but I couldn&amp;rsquo;t see a thing.&amp;rdquo;
&amp;nbsp;
Farkas continued, &amp;ldquo;I was fumbling with the straps on my backpack trying to get the gun off. I was fumbling with the shells trying to load my gun. I managed to load a shell. I saw her paws. I took one shot. She stood up and seemed to writhe in pain like the shot had connected with her. Like lightening, she was around a corner and coming at me airborne from above. She clawed me and pushed me back. I landed on my back in the most terrifying position with my head downhill and my feet uphill. I was screaming. Her face was one foot away from my boot and she turned around and left.&amp;rdquo;

&amp;ldquo;We knew we had to get out right away,&amp;rdquo; said Braconnier.

They grabbed Farkas&amp;rsquo;s backpack that the bears had dragged a few meters down the trail. The men left in the same direction they had come, looking over their shoulders in fear that the grizzly was coming back.

&amp;ldquo;We got to a safe zone,&amp;rdquo; said Farkas. &amp;ldquo;I was bleeding badly. I took off my shirt and put on bandages. I took a look at Brain&amp;rsquo;s hand. He had three cuts so I bandaged him too. Brian couldn&amp;rsquo;t see a thing. The pepper spray had hit him, the bear and me.&amp;nbsp; Brian was practically blinded by the spray. We had an ok field (first aid) kit. I knew his wounds were worse than mine but I didn&amp;rsquo;t say anything to him. I just bandaged him up and said, &amp;lsquo;Come on. Let&amp;rsquo;s get going.&amp;rsquo;&amp;rdquo;

&amp;ldquo;I knew right away this was an extreme situation,&amp;rdquo; said Farkas. &amp;ldquo;I knew we had get down the mountain. We had to get home safe and I knew we had to go to the hospital.&amp;rdquo;

What normally takes them two hours to hike, took them one hour to get down the mountain.

When asked what they might do differently, Braconnier stated he would be more cautious of noises while Farkas said he will practice loading a shotgun as if it were a timely, stressful situation.

Both men look remarkably healthy but their wounds are deep both emotionally and physically. Braconnier suffered injuries to his arms, legs and right wrist. Somehow her teeth managed to miss the main vein in his wrist by millimeters when she threw him through the air. His legs are scratched and bruised from being &amp;ldquo; bounced around&amp;rdquo; by the bear.

Farkas has puncture wounds on both arms from the bear&amp;rsquo;s claws so large that you could stick your finger into them. His left arm is swollen from the impact and it does not have full range of motion yet.

&amp;ldquo;Both gentlemen did nothing wrong,&amp;rdquo; said CO Sgt. Joe Caravetta. &amp;ldquo;They&amp;rsquo;re smart. They were prepared. They had different levels of defense and they had a gun that wasn&amp;rsquo;t even loaded. The men were not hunting. They were out for a walk to do some scouting for their next elk hunt this fall.&amp;rdquo;

&amp;ldquo;Three conservation officers looked for the grizzly for two days and we were unable to find any evidence that the bear had been seriously injured,&amp;rdquo; said Caravetta. &amp;ldquo;We searched that area with a fine-toothed comb and no blood was found. It&amp;rsquo;s possible that the bear got hit and it&amp;rsquo;s possible that it didn&amp;rsquo;t.&amp;rdquo;

COS closed their investigation at 6 pm on Thursday.

The Fairy Creek and Mount Proctor Recreation area remains closed but will reopen Friday morning.

This report is by&amp;nbsp;Tamara Hynd - The Free Press]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-07-05 13:49:05</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/two-survive-a-grizzly-attack</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/two-survive-a-grizzly-attack</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[COMP - Tunnel Creek Hut]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[Last week was my reading break. Instead of taking full advantage of my time to study for midterms and write papers, I left the coast and headed out to Fernie, BC for a whole bunch of skiing. The week involved 3 nights at Tunnel Creek Hut, a new hut built in the Lizard range.


Tunnel Creek Hut!
We had low expectations about snow as it had been dry for a very long time, but with decent stability. We were&amp;nbsp;pleasantly&amp;nbsp;surprised to find ourselfs some amazing snow that had not been sun-affected on quite a few aspects.

Making do with the tree skiing
The Tunnel Creek Hut is a really neat little building with some fantastic terrain within an easy tour. It sleeps 6 comfortably (although cooking with 6 in there is a bit of an adventure). Apparently it is pretty popular, on our way up we met up with some people skiing in with a huge amount of gear. Their friends had messed up their booking and gone up 3 days early!! Since they were a huge group, they ended up sleeping in a snow cave until it was their turn to take the hut. Brave guys!

&amp;nbsp;A glimpse of planetary&amp;nbsp;peak through the fog gave us some ideas about places to explore, but the weather kept us below tree-line the whole time. We were lucky enough to get some snow during our stay which was a welcome surprise!&amp;nbsp;

&amp;nbsp;
A rare look at Planetary!

Pretty stoked that it is snowing out here! Finally!

What goes up&amp;hellip;&amp;nbsp;

&amp;hellip;must come down!

Powder rock out session
It couldn&amp;#39;t have been a much better week. Now back to school to recover from my holiday.]]></description>
            <pubDate>2013-02-28 17:18:06</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/comp-tunnel-creek-hut</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/comp-tunnel-creek-hut</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[New hut in the Lizard Range near Fernie]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[This from fernietrails.com:
New Tunnel Creek Cabin
Tunnel Creek Cabin is sitting in its permanent home at 5700ft in the Lizard Range just south of Fernie.
At this time the cabin is not being booked as the toilet is not functional. This should be taken care of shortly, a posting will be made regarding the booking status. Booking will be managed at the Guides Hut and the policy will be similar to Thunder Meadows.
Here are a few images from the first ski tour from the cabin!

]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-11-30 13:39:12</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/new-hut-in-the-lizard-range-near-fernie</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/new-hut-in-the-lizard-range-near-fernie</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Heaven&#039;s Gate: Gondola from Fernie to ski resort proposed]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[This just out from the Fernie Free Press:

Plans for a second ski resort in Fernie, with a $100 million gondola running from downtown to the summit of Fernie Ridge, have been unveiled in a City of Fernie meeting.

Heaven&amp;rsquo;s Gate, Fernie is described as a &amp;ldquo;four season, multi generational mountain experience connected to the heart of downtown Fernie,&amp;rdquo; in the document presented to the City of Fernie committee of the whole on Tuesday by developers Heaven&amp;rsquo;s Gate Holdings, which includes former Snow Valley Ski Hill owner Heiko Socher.
&amp;nbsp;
The company wants to build a gondola mid-station above Ridgemont and adds this would be &amp;ldquo;the home of a future pedestrian area, including envisioned leadership training facilities, all in walking proximity to the gondola mid-station and base station located in downtown Fernie.&amp;rdquo;

The document lists planned activities as &amp;ldquo;life services high altitude downhill and Nordic skiing, accessible touring, snowshoeing and nature walking and hiking, mountain biking and zip lines, four season gondola sightseeing.&amp;rdquo;

A total of four ski lifts would serve downhill ski trails for different abilities and allow ski touring access to the backcountry, which is also listed as a potential expansion area.&amp;nbsp;

It claims the project would create &amp;ldquo;the highest base elevation in the province&amp;rdquo; with a restaurant and observatory providing 360-degree views.

Road access to the mid-station would run from Coal Creek and public parking would be created in downtown Fernie for gondola users.

The document adds that &amp;ldquo;maintaining affordability and enjoyment for all generations is also one of Heiko [Socher&amp;rsquo;s] passions and desires for Heaven&amp;rsquo;s Gate.&amp;rdquo;

The proposal was last presented to the City in 2006 but the development did not progress further.

The company returned this week to ask the present council for a letter of support for the vision, similar to one written by the 2006 council.

Speaking on Tuesday, Coun. Randal Macnair, who was mayor last time the project came before council, said: &amp;ldquo;I think we should be upfront with the proponents that we don&amp;rsquo;t have any means by which to bind a future council.

&amp;ldquo;This is just going with them on an exploratory journey because there are many, many processes this would have to go through and we don&amp;rsquo;t want to structure the letter in a way that could get ourselves in trouble in the future.&amp;rdquo;

Coun. Phil Iddon added: &amp;ldquo;The potential for investment in the area is going to be a huge plus for the community if it can be seen to fruition.

&amp;ldquo;We need to have more information, there is a whole pile of processes we don&amp;rsquo;t even have a say in that this would have to go through before it comes close to coming back for our approval, such as environment assessments etc.&amp;ldquo;

Coun. Kevin McIsaac said: &amp;ldquo;I would like to express in the letter that we consider this idea very interesting, we are in support of groups investing in the community in this way, but we have to word it in a fashion that we haven&amp;rsquo;t created legally-binding processes that we are not prepared to get to at this time.&amp;rdquo;

Council voted in favour of writing a letter of support for the concept.&amp;nbsp;

Craig McLeod of Heaven&amp;rsquo;s Gate Holdings would not comment further on the development, but said the company is currently in discussions with land owners and plans to move ahead with the development as soon as possible.



By Rebecca Edwards&amp;nbsp;
Contributor]]></description>
            <pubDate>2011-10-18 18:36:27</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/heavens-gate-gondola-from-fernie-to-ski-resort-proposed</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/heavens-gate-gondola-from-fernie-to-ski-resort-proposed</guid>
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            <title><![CDATA[Lizard Range Conditions good to go]]></title>
            <description><![CDATA[A Mountain Conditions Report for the Lizard Range:

A couple of friends and I spent a chilly day skiing some runs in the western Lizard Range today.

The most significant thing about conditions right now is the push of arctic air blowing in with moderate easterly winds. A temperature of -17 was recorded at 2000m.&amp;nbsp;

There is good coverage in most places, with snow depth about 120cm -140cm in sheltered areas at treeline elevations (1800-2000m). Because of the winds, snow conditions were highly variable depending on aspect and terrain features. Most open areas, even well below treeline, were quite wind affected. But in lee areas in the trees the skiing quality was excellent, with calf-deep low density powder over a relatively supportive mid-pack.&amp;nbsp;

There is currently lots of wind transport occurring because of the significant amount of low density storm snow that has fallen over the past few days. Hard and soft wind slabs are forming in lee-loaded and cross-loaded areas. Today these wind slabs were not reactive to skiers and no natural avalanche activity was observed but this will likely change if the winds continue. There was evidence of a small avalanche cycle to size 2 that occurred during the last storm 2-3 days ago but no fracture lines were observed because the start zones have since re-loaded.&amp;nbsp;

Despite the cold and wind, there is still some great skiing to be had. Overall I was pleasantly surprised with the conditions for November.

Happy Turns,
Jeff Volp
Ski Guide
Kimberley, BC]]></description>
            <pubDate>2010-11-20 23:53:53</pubDate>
            <link>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/lizard-range-conditions-good-to-go</link>
            <guid>/forum/bcs/category/fernie/topic/lizard-range-conditions-good-to-go</guid>
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