Wow, what a day. They say time makes the heart grow fonder, ha! Of the group, Norman & I had skied here most recently (10 years ago!), others perhaps 20 years ago... And most everyone has been here to hike.
Ed shared a video of the the last time (1920?) he had been skiing in Tent Ridge.. Funny, there were no trees back then... https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-55533811 His technique has improved though!

Joking aside, with -20 at the parking lot, we were eager to get on to the trail, and above the inversion.

We opted to explore a bit by following an obvious trail right across from the parking lot that goes straight into the woods. It follows a creek (Monica Brook (?) on Gaia) and leads skiers to the southern end / bowls of Tent Ridge. This trail would be hard to ski out on. There looks to be skiing back there, however not for us. Once out of the creek, we regrouped. Since we were too far south, we were forced us to make a 1km bushwhack to the north. Here we connected with the "right" trail and were rewarded with sunshine, calm air, and warmth for a well deserved break.

I think those are Nestor & Old Goat in background. We all stopped for pictures of this view

Ramblers emerge from the "short cut" ascent creek to Tent Ridge

Count the rabble in this picture..



Ramblers enjoy lunch in meadows below Tent Ridge

After the 11am break, we followed a track up & over the bench, then angled right up through larches towards the north end of Tent Ridge. The pitch is steep, so we were forced to make a lot of switch packs. While the general goal was to gain and walk on Tent Ridge, we stopped a bit short. A few did make it to the ridge and enjoyed views to west of Shark, Turner, Cone, Nestor/Old Goat, views to West & NW, and Assiniboine too. So by 1pm all were back at bottom having a still sunny lunch. Here we caught up with another skier who had used our bushwhack track. So alas, it was for the best in the end.

Climbing to north end of Tent Ridge - AW photo

View from Tent Ridge - west to Mt Turner (& Assiniboine)

After lunch we went up for another lap. Having comfort with the slope & conditions, once above the bench, we choose to ski the lookers middle. It is a gentler slope through smaller, open larches. The section down the bench is tight with small spruce & larch.

This photo is an oldie (2009!) but a goodie - it shows the bench, and skiable areas above it.

Northeast end of Tent Ridge

We enjoyed that run, regrouped, then headed straight out the bottom of the bowl. The ski out was enjoyable enough for the top half, then the bottom is tight spruce. I'd rate the lower part harder than the worst part of Healy Creek.

We were 6 hours on trail, 685 elevation gain. Highest elevation was 2320m. Interestingly, looking my Gaia track, our lunch spot was 300m & 25 m elevation away from our track up Monica Brook.


Gaia track for Tent Ridge (in left, out right)

Thanks to these folks for camaraderie & photos - Norman,David,Arnold,Gerald,John,Brian,Clifton,Ed,Gordon,Jenny.

I do want to forewarn future trips here..

1 - the right trail (via Gawby Gulch) uses the logging track 100m past the parking lot. Follow about 1km, then the first obvious path to left. This will go up through tight trees, and eventually into a gulch (Gawby), then up into a beautiful opening.

2 - the skiing can be pretty steep, with tight trees, and a tricky out-track. We found the better, lower angle skiing to be on the lookers left above the bench. This is an infamous avalanche zone, so be careful.