Matt Ruta 
With the heat doing its best to destroy any semblance of enjoyable spring skiing, Kieran, Joel and I decided to head up to the Columbia Icefields area for more relatively pleasant access to north facing glaciated terrain, easy minivan living and free wifi. On arrival we put into action a familiar schedule. In bed early in the parking lot on Friday, up at 0230 Saturday morning, a leisurely breakfast and brief astrophotography… Read More
A few years back, I remember wondering why I’d never heard of anyone skiing Mt. Kitchener’s East Ridge. It’s always described as a straightforward snow climb except for the notch some 150m below the summit, and its upper face looks fantastic from the Icefields Centre. Then, while driving home from a failed Robson attempt I noticed what seemed to be a skiable exit off the ridge via a hanging glacier on its… Read More
With spring beginning to settle in around here, and conditions looking up this past week Kieran and I decided we had better get out and take advantage. After some back and forth the night before, we settled on a proper mission in the NW Face Direct on Mt. Sir Douglas. Steep and imposing, the line goes at an alpine IV grade in summer conditions, but we were hoping for something a little… Read More
Welcome back stability; we’ve missed you. Earlier this week, we tried to ski the Mt. Bell couloir but were relegated to the north col by wind and increasing snowfall. With what looked like a perfect forecast lining up though, Joel and I decided to direct our Wednesday efforts at Narao Peak’s north couloirs. At the last second, Martin threw his hat in the ring as well, hungry for more after having just… Read More
With temperatures locked into a very spring-like cycle for a few days, Kieran, Joel and I got to discussing some bigger lines. It was looking like the time to send. So, some hours later it was 4am and we were rolling out of Canmore, sights set on Bow Peak’s Funnel of Death; a line that, while often talked about is not often skied. Perhaps understandably, given the name.
My days in Rogers Pass have been limited this season, which has given me a bit more motivation to put in the effort for some new (to me) summits and lines. After a few weeks of what felt like nonstop snowfall and great tree skiing lately, things went clear and cold. Luke and I got talking and decided to poke our heads above treeline to see how things were looking up there, as… Read More
Some things don’t go as planned. Such was the case in early December when a friend and I were approaching Mt. Chephren’s N face, eyes set on the Kum Ba Jah Couloir. Our eyes were so set, in fact, that we neglected to realize how thin our margin of safety had become as we approached the line. Spurred on by better than anticipated stability, we rationalized that, despite sloughing on other aspects… Read More
After Hewitt Peak in August, I took a mental break from skiing for a while. It was too hot, too smoky and much of the backcountry was closed anyway. That break lasted well into September, when temperatures suddenly plummeted. Snow started falling up high in noticeable quantities. That nudged Ian and I back in the general driection of ski mode, and we decided to head for a pocket glacier we both know well. Deep in the… Read More
Well into the second half of August and still no precipitation to speak of, so time for another corn ski. And a good, solid bushwhack to keep me honest.
After last year’s cold, wet summer, I’ve obviously become spoiled when it comes to “off season” skiing. On July 30th though, I was faced with a choice: either quit whining about the heat and get after it or let my ski streak end after 20 months. I chose the former and, happily, India was game to join me for what we fully expected to be terrible turns on Farnham Glacier.
Matt Ruta 