Whistler 2008 - Week 8.

Having finished our level 1 instructor exams, it was time to prepare for our overnight ski tour into whistler’s backcountry We were all assigned guides and given special touring skis, complete with comedy heal bindings that made front tip face planting surprisingly easy (at least for me). Given the large packs we were carrying, our skiing style wasn’t quite up to the usual standards but fortunately we arrived at our campsite pretty quickly.

The weather was sunny, our packs came off and it was time to build snow caves. This was hard work, requiring 3-4hrs of effort (and a lot of help from the guides) but the end results made it all worth it. We ended up sleeping in two palatial five-person caves, with room to stand and custom shelving units built in. Most notably, I shared with three girls, which was awesome.

The following morning we went for a tour of a huge open bowl, enjoying fresh tracks and a surprising amount of powder given the snow drought of the past week. It was great to escape the crowds and I’ll definitely aim to be touring again sometime soon.

Ed

Ready to go after a night in the snow caves