It's hard to remember a new years trip where all the stars aligned to deliver "All time conditions". Bluebird.... check, Stability.... check, Sick zone.... check, Good friends.... check, Beer.... check! Danielle and I were scrambling a little to figure out what our plans would be just after Christmas. When we heard Ross was headed into the fabled village of Gambrinus Basin we were quick to join the party. We left Squamish at 7:30am and at 11:00am we landed at Pivovar Pond with massive amounts of gear, Keg included!
Our alpine trams brought us right to the door
After a quick gear drop we were already eyeing up a juicy "day one" Couloir! Abe , Sara, Suga as well as Ross and Matt headed for the gold.
In no time we were standing atop the goods....
The stage was set for the week! A summit and a big line right out of the gate. With daylight fading we quickly headed up the other side of the valley for another north facing gem.
Back at the resort we were quick to get into the nectar.
Roxy tried to stay warm....
Danielle and Ross brewed up a wicked batch of Gluvine with maple syrup as the active ingredient.
We awoke to a stellar alpine morning....
Matt, Ross, Danielle and I set off the next morning to hit up a line we spotted the previous day. I'd had my eye on it over the years but it's one of those" almost never possible south facing high consequence" lines.
The tour was scenic....
We got a good view of our previous days antics. (Left of the summit under the cornice)
We topped out after a couple of hours. While on the ridge we spotted what would be in store the next day. Matt looked mesmerized....
Here's a closer look. Possible minimal cornice entrance on the right?
This run was ridiculous....
After a few high 5's we headed up another ridge above Pivo am See.
And shredded these lines.....
Danielle enjoyed the steeps...
We summited the Great Wall of Guinness right at sunset on route to the lodge.
We were pleased to see that Mike had made the solo journey in when we arrived.
We enjoyed some great company that night. Lot's of laughs and lot's of beer.
The evening sky was outstanding!
We awoke to an unexpected milk-bird day....
That didn't stop us from our stupid plan.
It got really steep.
When we hit the "End" it was clear there wouldn't be an easy way to the ridge. I decided to tunnel through the cornice. It was scary and took over an hour.
I was worked over but happy to be on the peak.
The top was pretty special.
The run we named "The Czechican" was sweet and sour! This was one of the finest ways to celebrate the last day of the year! Dec 31 2012....
On the way back the sky put on a light show....
Matt told Roxy about our big day.
With some of the crew fading fast for new years we decided to go ski the "Shitter Chute" under a very bright moonlit sky. Very drunk people headed out to the 45deg line. At 12:00 we were getting face shots in the "Shitter". A very memorable Happy New Year!
The next morning we had our sights on a big line from the summit right above the lodge. Removing cornices was now part of our daily routine.
We got some good views of the "Czechican".
Mike gettin steep...
Justin joined us as well....
New Years Day summit!
The final run of the trip was top notch. It was tough to leave this small paradise but the future months schedule with a trip to Chile is approaching fast. Happy New Year....
No comments:
Post a Comment