Touring, backcountry riding and a heli trip - the last week of our off piste camp.
Our six week 'Master the Mountain' course ends with a helicopter ride out to the four day long Boulder Hut touring trip. Here is Christian's account of his time at the hut...
Wow…
Sometimes you get one of those great “wake up & smell the coffee” moments, when you realise how good life really is - rarely does it come at 6am on a cold and dark winter’s morning, sitting on an old yellow school bus, but this week was different in a lot of ways.
The team with Al and Paul in their best swimsuit model poses
The week had started out with three days of legendary B.C. powder that energised tired bodies and gave all the MTM crew a chance to further hone their powder skills. Our new crazy French instructor did her best to break the group by hunting out Fernie’s gnarliest unmarked tree runs, chutes, drops and cliffs to prepare us for what lay in wait in the Boulder Hut backcountry.
Me having a lot of fun
First though, a day’s Cat Skiing to get through - on a bluebird with 40cms of light fluffy pow! Fresh tracks all day, great terrain and good banter in the Cat made for a pretty memorable day. All the group kept exclaiming that this was the best day’s skiing they'd ever had. For me it was definitely somewhere on the podium!
Al styling it in the pow
Louise looking like she belongs in a Warren Miller film…
Still high on the powder buzz, the “A Team” set off for the Boulder Hut on the old yellow school bus, soon to be traded in for a much cooler mode of transport in the shape of….
“That’s no tuque for a headset” - The wife in the front seat (apparently that’s the way she rolls now….)
The Heli – what a highlight! The 20 minute ride in gave us a great view of the massive backcountry area we’d be tackling over the next few days - including a few natural avalanches. After a pretty authentic avalanche safety test on day one (during which Bruce, the avalanche test dummy and his buddy were both successfully rescued in under eight minutes) the team, including snowboard hotshots James Stentiford (fresh from his 5th placing at St Moritz leg of the Freeride World Tour) and Ed the ed. (from Whitelines snowboard mag), was let loose. Blue skies and fresh lines awaiting, we skinned up and headed out Boulder Hut backcountry. Perfect conditions were starting to be the norm this week – am I now ruined for skiing in Europe for ever?! Over the next two days, the great weather and stable snow pack enabled us get right up into the alpine for some truly epic skiing and riding! James showed us his style (check out Whitelines next season for the photos and article!), despite Andy accidentally upstaging him on the ice waterfall drop in…
Great food and fantastic hospitality from Mark, Sarah and the team at Boulder Hut complimented three awesome days of touring. The ski touring and split-boarding virgins amongst us have all now been converted (I even heard heli convert Al say he enjoyed the walks up!) and many Jaegermeister-fuelled conversations after dinner result in scheming and planning for next year’s trip! Even the outside (-20 plus windchill), A-frame “long-drop” and snoring bear(s) in the casa couldn’t dampen our spirits!
The Boulder Hut adventure really capped off an epic week five of what is shaping up as a truly memorable MTM. B.C. has definitely delivered!
If you've been craving a "this is the best day of my life!" day recently then have a look at our Off Piste Master the Mountain course, it could be perfect for you...
The “A Team”, including Rosie, the lovable, line-poaching Boulder Hut hound
