Matt Ruta 
Whoops, this draft has been sitting around collecting dust for nearly an entire year. (I’ll backdate it so anyone referring to it for beta doesn’t get confused by the time of year we skied the line.) It was a wonderful day skiing a route you won’t find much information about, so I think it’s still worth publishing. For various reasons, spring 2023 didn’t line up all that well for me. I spent… Read More
I like to think I have some level of skill for timing conditions well in my home ranges. Failing that, I also like to think I’m pretty good at making the best of bad conditions. This makes it all the more hilarious when I blow it completely and end up scraping, scratching and groveling my way down something I was looking forward to skiing properly. With that in mind, here’s a very… Read More
Six or seven years ago, Trevor mentioned that someone should really go see if it was possible to ski the west face of Glacier Peak, high above lake Oesa, right from its 3283m summit. I’ve had it in the back of my mind ever since. So, when May long weekend delivered a cold, sunny weather window I decided it might be a good way to get off the beaten path a little…. Read More
After getting a decent warmup on the north face of Peyto Peak the week prior, it felt like spring might be on. Christian and I decided we’d better go find out. Since the highway between Golden and Lake Louise is closed during prime ski mountaineering season this year (and last year, and next year; ugh) we agreed on Hwy 93 south as a meeting spot. Christian is Canmore based for now so… Read More
I have to admit, this line started out much bigger in my imagination. Probably because in his interview on Biglines after skiing the north face of Mt. Bryce, Chris Brazeau mentioned it in a list of big lines he’d recently skied, along with Mt. Stephen, The Silverhorn, and the north face of North Vic. (That article is sadly now gone, but you can still find it using the Wayback Machine or by… Read More
After easing into what proved to be an incredible January weather and stability window on Cheops Mountain, the crew was ready to go big. Mark and Tom joined up and we left a car at Bostock in anticipation of finishing a long way from where we started. The plan was to start at the Rogers Pass Discovery Center, then head up and over Balu Pass; dropping into the Cougar Valley to climb… Read More
Every winter there are at least few little windows of stability that materialize in between storms and midwinter avalanche issues. Last year, there were many and we all got very spoiled. This year they’ve been very few. In late January though, the stars aligned and I joined forces with Eric and Paul from the coast for a few days of green-light conditions. It’s always better to ease into a weather window when… Read More
A few people have asked me about my method for chasing weather windows in the mountains. I guess they figured that they’d receive a quick answer, but each time I ended up replying with either a novel or a TED talk. Depending on whether they’d been foolish enough to ask in person. Since it’s on my mind, I thought maybe I’d better just write something down. Forecasting complex weather systems in the… Read More
A season of uncertainty in 2020/21 turned into a truly excellent winter and spring for adventure skiing close to home. I’ve already gone over the majority of these days in other detailed posts. But, before I move it external hard drive purgatory and forget about it forever, I’ve tossed together a bunch of video I shot season edit style. Featuring Kieran Crimeen, Joel Desgreniers, Chris Moneypenny, Kylee Toth, Ryan Ford and Christian… Read More
Dedicated to Trevor Sexsmith. Friend, mentor and Rockies steep skiing pioneer who passed away while skiing on the Sickle in September 2016. I’m a big fan of skyline traverses. You know: routes that connect the terrain you see silhouetted against the sky when you’re standing in the valley. I also like classic steep skiing lines, so it only makes sense to combine the two when it’s possible. Standing on the shore of… Read More
Matt Ruta 