British Columbia Backcountry Report: Skiing A Classic Zone In Powder & Filtered Sunshine

Miles Clark | Post Tag for BackcountryBackcountry | Post Tag for Conditions ReportConditions Report

Report from January 18, 2025

On Saturday we decided we needed to ski in the sun.

7ºF at the car.

To be clear, it’s kinda once in a lifetime here right now with clear skis and low avalanche danger in January.

This is a rare combination here.

We ran into an old friend in the parking lot and changed our plans to piggyback onto his tour.

We ended up in a classic BC zone that I’d never been to before.

We ventured into the alpine to start but we ran into a windslab we didn’t like.

Sunrise. image: snowbrains

Clouds were swirling around the peak making visibility dangerous so it wasn’t a big loss.

We skied some happy powder in the sunshine then journeyed to the classic zone.

Of course clouds rolled in just before we dropped in.

Todd lives! image: snowbrains

It’s so hard to ski in the sunshine in BC in January…

But the vis wasn’t bad and you could even see a shadow or two occasionally. 

The run was delicious.

Comp venue. image: snowbrains

Fast powder on a firmer layer on terrific terrain that just keeps rolling until it ends in a pillow cliff.

We were able to navigate the cliff and find incredible skiing nearly top to bottom (the pillow cliff was crusty and bad from the sun).

I felt stupendous in the parking lot at the bottom of the ski.

4,500-vertical-feet, 7.7-miles, 6.5 hours.

Closest star. image: snowbrains

Q:  “Is it the journey or the destination?”

A:  “Neither, it’s the company.”

Thanks, Aaron, Toddy, and Ben for a spectacular day in the mountains.

Photos

Run #1. image: snowbrains
Burly. image: snowbrains
Looming. image: snowbrains
Todd grinding. image: snowbrains
Skinner. image: snowbrains
Peak-a-boo. image: snowbrains
Rock n Roll Todd. image: snowbrains
Corridor. image: snowbrains

Stout. image: snowbrains
Fire on the mountain. image: snowbrains
Mushroom. image: snowbrains
Da boyz. image: snowbrains
Skinner valley. image: snowbrains
Sunrise on the crest. image: snowbrains
Todd up. image: snowbrains
Misty. image: snowbrains
Layers. image: snowbrains
Pure. image: snowbrains
Crew. image: snowbrains

Vista. image: snowbrains

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