After 6 great days of Skiing pillows, slashing pow, and touring our butts off we had reached our last day in our little piece of paradise.
As seemed to be our luck, the skies were crystal clear and the Alpine above the hut, “The Nordic” was begging us to sign it’s blank canvas.
Weston, Chucky, and myself gobbled down breakfast, threw together our packs and headed out the door to break trail and see what the Nordic had in store for us.
The pace was fast (Chucky being the machine that he is) and I was regretting the extra beverages I had indulged in the night before. But we made it onto the glacier around 9:30 and threw on our harnesses. The initial ascent up the White Russian Col was smooth and we topped out around 11:30.
The rest of the group was behind and from the top the col they resembled an army of aunts marching up the large terrain.
After grabbing a snack the three of us decided to move on. After a bit of discussion about the snow stability and issues of cornices breaking off in the afternoon sun, we decided to ski the lower part of “Critical Thursday”, a super fun open shoulder off the larger Merlin Peak.
Weston dropped in first to set up the shot, then Chucky followed. Three turns in he lost a ski , but it was no big deal for Chucky as his one leg skiing was flawless and he was able to recover his wayward ski and keep cruising.
The snow was perfect, deep and light. After hooting in hollering and outragous stoke we put on our skins and geared down for the long traverse across the Nordic over to Escargot. After about 2 hours we found our selves reaching the peak with 360 degree views.
The day had been tremendously successful, and most of the group made it to the top to celebrate.
From there we skied down the Khumba Ice Fall and into the Escargot alley.
It was a spectacular day. Tons of beautiful sights, great snow, and tons of laughter.
The next day we did our chores to get the lodge ready for the next group of unsuspecting vacationers. Collected water, mopped floors, and packed up our gear.
It was another blue bird day and the flight out was spectacular. We flew out over the Nordic and Cheap Scotch, to lay witness to the signatures that we were leaving behind.
Flying past enormous peaks, the lines here seemed endless and definitely left us hungry to return when the snow pack was a bit more stable.
We can’t thank Trew Gear enough for giving us this opportunity. The friends, laughs, skiing, and scenery was the pinnacle of our season.
Stay tuned for Episode 4: The Sorcerer
