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Rocky Mountain Ramblers Association

Trip Report
Trip Date:
3-Jan-2020
Activity:
Off-Trail skiing
Trip name:
Death's Head 695249
Coordinator:
Brian
Report:

Thanks to the late addition of Sim, our ski adventure to Death's Head became an official Ramblers trip. The first 4.5 km was along snowmobile-packed gravel road (formerly Gorge Creek road) to the high point before it descends into Ware Creek at its terminus. From the top of the road all 3 of us had skins on to ascend the forested hill to the west. Though there was plenty of snow, it was inconsistent - snow-crusted where dappled sunlight penetrated the forest canopy and more powdery in the shade.

We encountered a tipi-shaped shelter near the top then enjoyed the nice view to the west.




Temporary shelter





Summit view NW

The SW wind that warmed us up considerably from when we left the cars at -12 C a couple hours earlier, was now blowing strong enough that we sought shelter on the north side of the summit.




Lunch spot with view North, including Calgary

After lunch, we cautiously skied down through the forest for 1.5 km until we reached the road, then enjoyed a quick descent along the road taking advantage of untracked powder to slow us down when prudent.




The return road from Death's Head

In total, the trip took roughly 4 hours, 13 km, 500 m elevation gain; nice to experience a rarely-visited location in winter. My thanks to participants: Sim and Inge for joining me, Brian (coordinator and scribe).