Wow-what a trip. Last year we had howling winds and frigid temperatures; but this year we enjoyed -8 to -4 while Calgarians had -29. We made good use of the warm, sunny weather and deep powder. Generally speaking, the trails around Rossland had fresh snow so trail breaking was tough. Also, many of the approaches are quite long 2.5 to 3 hours of skinning up before we were able to yoyo.
Previously, Casa Alpina was owned by Avatar and his family. His warmth and genuine interest in our well being was one of the reasons for returning to this motel. However, he had sold it and the result was a Monty Python Experience / A Fawlty Towers experience. Ask one of us what happened. (Chip has since phoned the motel and the management has been replaced-we got a couple of free nights).
Dec 28 We skied up the Murphy Cut Block below Plewman Summit and Dec 29th we skied in the same area and went up Mt. Kirkup.
Dec 31 we skied i[ 50's Movie which was the mellowest of the three backcountry runs that we did.
Cathy and Dave invited us back to their friend's house in Rossland for a pot luck. The house is a heritage house and was a lot of fun.
Dec 30 we skied at Blackjack cross country area and did about 18 km on the trails which had just been track set.
None of the trails in Rossland were crowded and we were wondering if some people had been put off by bad weather in Alberta.
We spent New Year's in Rossland before driving for one hour to Salmo. We spent Jan 1 and 2 skiing from Kootenay Pass to Ripple Ridge. The skiing at StagLeap Provincial Park was excellent because the approaches are shorter than Rossland so we were able to get in many turns.
The last day some of us skied at Apex Cross Country (18 km).
Good skiing and lots of fun.
All group members were helpful, supportive and encouraging especially when someone took a header.(which was quite frequent). Thanks to Chip for this great website of the pics. Be sure to check this out. https://www.flickr.com/photos/151630166@N05/albums/7215766229421213772157662294212137
Participants: Stan, Christine, Kim, Carmie, Damian, Leslie, David, Chip, David, Cathy, Barbara, Bernie