Nathan

I started my oldest son last year - he had just turned 3. It sounds like Bug has a lot more experience with this than I do, and I fully agree with the all-about-fun philosophy. The highlights for Caleb (my son) were always the chairlift ride and snacks. Don't even bother with technique at first- they figure it out when they figure it out. We started with the harness system, which was a good experience for us. It lets you get around and see the mountain. When their legs get tired you can choke up on the harness and give them support. By the end of the season he was skiing without the harness and cranking off turns in soft snow, and he was stoked. We kept the days really short. Luckily we have a hill close to us (Grouse Mtn) and often we'd just make two runs, and by the end of the second I was basically carrying him. I tried not to push him too much, but he was always keen. A couple times I tried to talk him out of going skiing because it was raining, but he was still keen and insisted on going. I have such good memories of skiing as a kid, and its exciting to see Caleb starting to experience the same thing. Hopefully it goes as well with my other two boys when the time comes! (they're 2 years old and 3 months). Have a good season!

Another thing I've done with my kids is tie the free end of the rope onto the back of their harness (i.e. the end that is coming out of my belay device) so it's like they're pulling a haul line up behind them. I use this just to overcome friction if needed (I find the kids are so light that if there's a little friction in the system sometimes it's hard for them to start lowering) and also to coax them left/right if they need it on the lower. I guess you could also use it to provide some "encouragement" if necessary... just make sure there are no social workers around.

Another option if you want ice close to Banff is the North Face of Stanley - easy drive, easy hike in and out, and a fun ice face.

There's some fun easy bouldering on the N side of Cox bay, and in the rocky areas between Cox bay and Chesterman beach to the north. At the right tides some areas even have flat sandy landings. Go with low expectations, and you'll have a good time.

Actually, A search will be initiated after all emergency contacts, which are listed when the device is registered, are exhausted. This is a serious system. It is only to be activated when all other means of survival have been ruled out. I have the ACR unit with the internal GPS. It can be had for less than $600.00. Each unit is registered with a federal agency at no cost to the owner. I mainly use the unit for offshore fishing, but do occasionally take it with me on hikes in New England. I certainly don't think they should require these things, but maybe promote them somehow with some sort of incentives/discounts...... So you're saying that if I activate a PLB they'll phone my wife (or whoever's on my list) who can possibly give SAR the general situation (am I solo, what was I planning on doing, etc...) before they send out the search party? Seems like that could in many cases provide some basic helpful information on the general situation. Personnaly I think a PLB sounds like a good thing as an absolute last resort when the shit really hits the fan, especially for solo activities, even if there's a <1% chance I'll use it in my lifetime. Now if only they cost and weighed 1/3 the amount they do right now... Any international restrictions on PLB's? Anyone have experience using them in Canada?

Here's my take on it: if your on steepish hard snow you aren't going to be able to self-arrest anyways, so you're better off plunging the axe as solid as you can. I find this is more comfortable with the self-belay style. Comfort is important since if your hand starts to get sore, your less likely to plunge your axe in real good.

I tried the E ridge maybe 5 years ago. I have no idea if that's the way you would descend or not, but from the base of the E ridge back to Bush river is not at all a bad descent (1/2 day, mostly on logging roads) We came up the standard E ridge approach from Bush River/Rice Brook. We parked our 2wd car shortly after the Rice Brook road leaves Bush River. I remember there was a gate and a washout maybe 1km after this. Sorry, this info is badly out of date, maybe it will help.

Here's my 2 cents: The sugar daddies make an alright ski for firmer conditions (compared to other fat skis), and good for touring since they're pretty light for their size. If you're going to be skiing in-bounds a lot, I would recommend either Volkl explosives, or some K2 offerring (AK launchers), or Rossi XXX. These skis are a little stiffer, and more importantly way more torsionally stiff and will ski the pants off the sugar daddies in mixed ice/firm/powder conditions. The Volkls in particular are an awesome all-around ski, super durable, maybe a little heavy for touring.

Everyone seems to go around the north side of Overlord, but you can traverse Refuse pinnacle (I think that's the name) and then over or around the south side of Overlord to the Overlord-Benvolio col. I did this maybe 10 years ago with a group of hikers, some in running shoes, and it was casual. I think Fairley's guide says something about Refuse pinnacle that makes it sound scary, but it is Class 2 at worst. Much easier than dealing with all those crevasses. I'm guessing in winter it would be a lot tricker with cornices and such.

In case you're interested in Canadian conditions, I was in the backcountry near Whistler yesterday. Basically conditions are like you say. Steeper wind affected slopes were releasing easily with ski cutting, and would run pretty fast and far.

MEC's warranty policy is also very good. My experience is that if you have any problems with any of their stuff they'll credit you, basically without any questions.

From where you describe the tracks heading off I don't think there is any easier way back in bounds than the one you describe by traversing the bench to the base of the poop shoots. Do you think it is possible they were heading to Wedge Pass, and then up and over to the Wedge area (the usual route taken here is directly down the Spearhead glacier to Wedge Pass, but maybe they were trying something different). I don't have a map in front of me but it might be possible to cut back towards the golf courses etc. Any more info on this would be interesting.

Here are my two problems with using fritschi freerides for on-piste: 1. They are not very torsionally stiff. If you look at how the bar beneath the heel piece is fixed to the ski you will see what I mean. As your boot levers the ski over when edging there is not much restraining the bar from rotating in the heel lock down piece. This is especially noticeable when you are skiing fat skis where there is more leverage on the edge while skiing hardpack. 2. There is no forward lean built into the bindings. If you look at most downhill bindings the elevation of the heel piece is probably about 5-10mm higher than the elevation of the toe piece, which tilts your boot forward slighlty on the ski. The diamirs do not have this and leave your boot sitting almost flat (maybe even tilted very slightly backwards). I found that this gives the feel of "riding in the back seat" all the time. Lastly, I'm all for touring in downhill boots, provided they fit well and your priority is skiing. The only thing is that they do suck on flats, and they suck to put on in the morning. I've done tonnes of touring with a diamir/downhill boot setup including a 2 week traverse, and this system works for me.

Does anyone have any information or guesses on how far you can currently drive up the Hurley from the Bralorne side? I phoned the Squamish forest district, and the engineer estimated you could drive to kilometer 18 or 19 from the Lillooet River side. Thanks in advance.

quote: Originally posted by Charlie: [QB]I've been considering getting a split-board myself. I've been told that switching from free-heel to down hill takes no longer than it takes a skier to remove thier skins and lock your heels? I'm kinda having the same delima- I've been snowboarding for 11 years, and don't want to stick to the moderate terrain just to make backcountry more efficient (switching to skiing). QB] If you have some skiing background prior to your snowboarding days, give fat skis a try. Once you go fat you can't go back...

Something on West side of Nesakwatch

If you are really interested in the turning part, you might want to give your downhill boots a shot. I realize that this doesn't seem to work out for 95% of the touring population, but I've toured in my downhill race boots now for about 10 years, and I've never had a single blister. I think the key for me has been a super tight heel pocket so that you can tour with your buckles pretty much fully undone for flexibility without getting any heel/ankle friction. Last May four other friends and I did a 2 week traverse in the Coast Icefields, and I had zero problems with my boots. They all had downhill boots as well, and they only had minor problems. The two things that do suck are putting them on in the morning when they are frozen, and touring flats (frozen lakes, glaciers) because the forward flex locks you in a knee-bent position. I did at one point buy a pair of Nordica TR9's, which I sold because they had too much volume so I got blisters and the downhill performance sucked by comparison. Thought I'd express an opinion I hadn't heard here yet. Race boots forever!

quote: Originally posted by iain: Perhaps you folks can identify something for me in the Canadian Rockies. This is looking east from the Adamants across the Columbia. What peak is that in the distance? Probably something really well-known and popular but I have not been in that area. I think it might be the N face of Alberta. The north face of Bryce is snow/ice right to the summit whereas this picture shows alot of rock, and looking at the N face of Columbia the left skyline (E ridge) is much more mellow than the one in the picture.