With Great Powder Comes Great Responsibilty: How my brother and I decided to back down on a dream trip.

Last week my brother Jake and I set out on a much anticipated trip to Roger's Pass in British Columbia's Glacier National Park. The plan was to spend four days skiing out of the famous Asulkan Cabin 8km into the backcountry. We started the ski up to the hut with a layer of fog and a light snow falling. By the time we got to the hut it was foggier and snowier and the wind had picked up dramatically. This became a serious worry.

Jake skinning in to the cabin.

When wind rips over a ridge it deposits more snow on the opposite side and forms a wave like feature called a cornice on the leeward side. It also weights the snow pack dramatically on the leeward side as well. This added weight weakens the snow pack and increases the likelihood of a slab avalanche. We watched this wind loading happen at an alarming pace. This was compounded by the position of the cabin. It sits on top of a huge terrain trap called the Mouse Trap, a tight choke in the valley where three large avalanche paths meet and where any slide in the area will funnel into  and bury anyone unlucky enough to be caught in it deeper than it would otherwise.

A view of the cabin and the deteriorating conditions.

A view of the Asulkan Valley. The cabin sits above the stand of trees in the center of the picture.

The increasing avalanche danger was our main objective hazard but this was further complicated by the decreasing visibility and our lack of knowledge of the local terrain. Eventually, everyone in the cabin was concerned with the mounting danger and started talking of going down before things got too dangerous. We all huddled around one small black and white photo of the slopes below us and talked about which slopes might have the least wind loaded snow.

It was clear that no one wanted to bail but everyone knew we needed to. All kinds of ideas flew around about why maybe the snow would stay safe. Everyone in the cabin had a great base of knowledge about snow and terrain so there were all kinds of ideas trying to convince ourselves we could stay when everyone knew we shouldn't.

The next morning one group had left and the rest of us started looking around at our options. Eventually we all decided to head down to the lower Wheeler Cabin and ski trees and powder there away from the dangerous wind loading.

This required us giving up a night in the backcountry and abandoning our goals for skiing high alpine lines. We accepted this and spent the next two days skiing incredible snow with new friends. The decision was a hard one even though the correct decision was so obvious.

Trips are usually planned with an objective of some kind and success or failure in achieving this objective is often the lens through which we look at our trips. The anticipation and excitement made it hard to really accept that we were going to have to abandon our objective we had looked forward to for so long. I think this focus on achievement and specific objectives is what gets people into trouble.

All was not lost.

I am not always free of this mindset. I thought at first that my trip was going to be over but actually, it only changed. While the plan was to ski the alpine lines above the Asulkan Valley it became clear to me that was merely a surface objective. The real goal was to go skiing in a badass place with my brother regardless of which specific slope or line we skied. I think in planning backcountry trips, and not just skiing ones, it is important to be more focused on experiencing of the wild places we go to and not on whether or not the summit or whatever other objective is reached. Its an old cliché but the important part really is the journey. Which do you remember better, the five minutes you sat on top of a summit or the obstacles you and your partners overcame in getting there?

This trip to Roger's Pass drove this message home hard for me because we got shut down so early. It felt like it was over before it started. We weren't even in the hut for twenty four hours. I like to think of myself as focused on the experience over the objective but it was hard for me to let go even when the right choice was so clear. Part of it may have been how far we had come and how long I had anticipated the trip. It is easy to back off when it is a day trip in your backyard but we drove for a day to get there and carried heavy packs (we had a fairly luxurious food stock) 3,000 vertical feet in crumby weather to get there. I had to let go of the previous ideas I had about the trip and just experience the radness that is tree skiing on Roger's Pass.

Jake blasting through the deep.

The real lesson here is to step back and look at what really motivates you to do what you do. Is the summit really the only thing that is driving you to venture out or is it the adventure and the camaraderie that comes with going outside? My guess is if you really think about it you would say the second. One of my good friends and frequent ski partner in back Wyoming, Maciej, used to say that you should never go backcountry skiing expecting to go skiing. I think this no expectations idea translates to all outdoor pursuits. If you remove the objective you see why you really want to go.

This is not to say I will never have a specific objective, I love making goals and chasing after them, I just don't want it to be the only defining factor of a trip. Once we got to the lower hut we had no objectives, we just skied out looking for good snow. We found a ton of it and had a great time. That being said I think it would be really hard to find bad skiing on Roger's Pass. The point is, when the focus is on experiences first and objectives second a trip will be safer, its participants happier, and overall more satisfying. After all for the vast majority of us these trips are recreation and whether or not you complete a specific objective may not change your life but the experiences offered by the wild surely can.

-Seth