3/21 to 3/25/2022 – As spring starts to peek its head from the slumber of each winter, the mountains begin to open their arms for all sorts of lovely skiing opportunities. Bigger objectives and more interesting locations quickly become the focus for many a backcountry connoisseur, and Uncle Hromadka and I are no different. With our original plans to go early season volcano skiing shot due to lower snow in the Cascades, we looked to the north. There seems to always be good snow and massive new mountains to poke around in up across the border… plus they’ve got poutine, Tim Hortons, and the friendliest folks around!

Mike and I rallied up for a few days of steep skiing and a big overnight along the Icefields Parkway with a whole bunch of beta, a decent weather forecast and our fingers crossed we would find the goods. I’d say we did.

We ended up skiing on Crowfoot Mountain, skiing off the top of Mt. Hector, attempting the Grand Daddy Couloir, skiing the Flower Couloir and the Corner Chute, and climbing the Athabasca Glacier to camp on the Columbia Icefield and ski most of Snow Dome Peak… over the course of 5 days? Hot dang I can’t wait to go back for more scenic ski touring, classic ski mountaineering, and hilarious trailhead beers with friendly Canadians.