Sullying Gullies
Mike, Giles, Mary, and I were lining up a mid-week powder harvesting mission in March to coincide with the tail end of a storm. Double up on the sleds into a backcountry cabin or camp out, based on what was available and… acceptable, during this socially awkward period of human history. I’m not the most enamoured person with winter camping, and so my eyes were set on getting into a backcountry hut somewhere, but COVID-era rules made the logistics of planning such an endeavour rather difficult…
I had purchased a wood stove for my canvas tent that would serve as a nice base camp option, so I loaded that up in the truck, along with a loose plan to investigate the parking area of a known spot with a few hut options, and, if things looked promising, we would try to get a proper roof over our head, knowing that if it was locked or busy we had an alternative option.
We received some last minute info on a suitable spot that was open to respectful visitors, so we set our sights there, and would see how it goes.
Loading up at the home base
Luck would have it that the parking lot was emptying out as we arrived, and so based on the info we received from the returning group, we left the tent gear at the truck, and ventured out to find a home for the week.
No mission of this kind is complete without unexpected delays and nighttime snowmobile stucks
We managed to take a wrong turn which lead to some impassable snowmobile terrain, which we struggled through until nightfall. Giles and I continued to try to explore on the sleds, while Mike and Mary started skinning. We quickly realized our obvious mistake at a slide path about a KM back down the FSR, righted our course, and arrived at the hut shortly after for beverages, an incredible new moon starry sky, and the rising excitement of exploring a new zone.
The next morning, we awoke to sunny skies and endless skiable terrain in ideal conditions, and so the stoke was high as we ventured out for our first morning explore.
Numerous gullys awaiting sullying
Steep skinning in sun baked south slopes made for an exciting ascent up to our first lap
Looking back at our 1st lap
Hut life with good buds always delivers the highest of quality - food, tunes, and LOLs
Sleepy morning Mike
Day 2 - Heading up into the alpine after a confidence inspiring warm-up day for avy conditions. Our destination ridge up top
Mountain chic look from the local Whistler gal
Deep in a sully-slash
Doctor Pines feeling the stoke
Mike looking like a proper skier these days!
Traversed up and over for the “cabin lap gully” to end the day
Puffy pants and some light reading equates to a happy dork
Squad looking good dropping into the final day of sullying. Thanks Dr. Pines for the snap!
We cruised out without any hassle, stopping to let Mike get a taste at the surprisingly difficult task of operating a 600 pound snowmobile in deep powder, which was a wonderful source of entertainment for the spectators. Surprisingly, it did nothing to quell his desire to have one sitting in his garage for the 2022 season (or more likely, parked on the side of my house).
All in all another solid trip, with the only blemish being the fact that on returning to the truck, someone had broken into the back and stolen my barely used wood stove and nice canvas hunting tent! After a trip like this, it’s hard to get upset about such things. “C’est La Vie” as the French would say.
With what we felt were an acceptable number of gullies thoroughly sullied, we returned back to reality, to start dreaming about the next trip.