Burnie Glacier Chalet March 19th-26th
The group for this trip consisted of a rather widespread mix of people in age ranging from 13 to 65. Tom Wolfe (ACMG guide), his daughter Ruth (13 years old), Christoph Dietzfelbinger (ACMG guide and owner/builder of the chalet), Adrian Meer (cook), Elisa Tomassini (cook in training), Helene (smithers local), Ian and Taoya (from Invermere) and my dad (Jeff). On day one we did a short tour and avalanche rescue refresh.
On day two we set out for the Solitaire Ski Peak. This is a peak accessed near the Outer Solitaire Glacier and offers about a 1000m descent back to the lodge. It was a windy day with low visibility but, great snow. After summiting and skiing to valley bottom a few of us went up the West shoulder of Tom George Mountain for two more laps. These laps consisted of decent skiing lower down in the trees but some wind effect at the top.
On day 3 we awoke to nearly 30cm of fresh snow overnight and heavy snowfall during the day. This produces an amazing opportunity that I have only experienced at the Burnie Glacier Chalet. The chalet is located at the base of Tom George and offers some great tree skiing. This means at the end of every lap we could stop at the lodge for espresso, snacks and layer change.
On day 4 we awoke to a beautiful bluebird day and headed to the Loft Glacier with a goal of summiting Loft Peak. The Loft Peak is a mellow summit but offers great skiing and a long descent to the valley bottom. We chose to spend some time in the alpine and skied the Lower Loft Peak as well before descending back to the valley bottom.
On day 5 we awoke to gale-force winds, low visibility, and icy conditions. Due to this, the day was cut short, and we hung out in the lodge.
On day 6 we planned to ski the Middle Solitaire. But, due to weather and a skier accidental avalanche on our approach we chose to ski the bowl just below the summit. As we traversed back across the Outer Solitaire Glacier we turned up and skied a col next to the Pinorkel. This was a tough descent in very flat light, heavy winds, and variable snow conditions.
On Day 7 we once again awoke to a beautiful bluebird day. We headed back to the Loft Glacier this time pushing past the Loft Peak and heading to the Mitre Col. This is a beautiful glacier ski offering up great views of the Howson Peak and Grand Corner. Approaching the Col there is a great-looking Couloir or shoot coming off the Mitre Peak. Luckily Christoph was having similar thoughts to me and led the boot pack up to Mitre Peak. This is a peak that is rarely summited, Christoph who has been skiing this zone for twenty years has only been up once before. This made the summit feel quite special.
On day 8 we awoke to more wind and colder temps. We hoped to gain access to the Burnie Glacier before flying back to Smithers but with high winds, we decided to head up towards Breakfast Rock. The skiing was tough with boilerplate crust, which meant the day was quite short.
