Mt Matier, Northwest Face
September Steep Skiing!
8 September 2007
It's overwhelming to begin a masterpiece. It's easy to make wanton observations (with potatos and yellow curry please?).
We rolled through the border without so much as passing our passports to the customs agent. That's how it goes when you're with professionals. Thanks to the Hummels, we were riding in high style, five freaks deep in Josh's new Excursion - freshly purchased from captain Kurt.
Approaching Joffre-Matier Col
Dan on Anniversary Glacier
What's so hard about a good route around Vancouver? Whether north or south, a mistake seems guaranteed in one direction.
It was a very cold night east of Pemberton. There was a solid frost in the morning. I was glad to make the roadside bivy in my toasty down sleeping bag.
We didn't start early. The approach is quite easy. The Anniversary Glacier features lots of mellow ski terrain.
Dan climbs Matier's Northwest Face.
Dan just above the bergschrund on Matier's Northwest Face
What a great area! I'll return to ski it again with a fat snowpack. Joffre and Matier both deserve several descents via various worthy lines.
The surface was thin frozen corn over the glacier ice on the Northwest Face of Matier. It had the right texture, so I was almost certain that it would soften into good corn.
The views of Lake Lillooet, the peaks around the great icecaps to the northwest, and the peaks to the south are all spectacular.
Lake Lillooet in the background
Dan nears the top of the face.
Jason a-summit
Looking down at Jason from the summit ridge
I was a bit nervous to try a pair of fat skis (99 mm under foot - fat to me) for the first time on firm steeps. But the BROs felt really solid. I skied the face in a continuous two-dozen carves that left me satisfied but still hungry. Hopefully we can get that video from the Hummels one of these days.
Ryan took a spicy line and skied some glacier ice.
The scenery between Pemberton and Lillooet is breathtaking. It's impressive how they've carved a road into some of those canyons. But driving through Lillooet and down the Fraser River is not a shortcut to Seattle.
Thanks for the great weekend Josh and Jason, Ryan, and Dan... and thanks to great nation of Canada (Candy Land!).
Sky gets a feel for the BROs
Photo stolen from Jason.
(→Jason's TR)
Joffre's south-facing Aussie Couloir still holding snow!
