[Lucy]

Yes, this took a while, but the best things are undoubtedly worth waiting for. So while we wait for the new season to kick into gear, Sierra Fred and I bring you a SEVEN part TR from last winter. Heck, maybe by the time you finish reading all this it will have started snowing.

Somewhere along the way of sifting through the 2000+ photos from the trip, we lost track of who took what...so apologies and thanks to doctapow, mchin, Walter Sobchak, Larry Carver, Tracey, Pete, for their awesome photos below that were not individually acknowledged.

Now grab a hot drink, settle in to a comfy chair, and let us begin at the very beginning....

[Lucy]

Burni(e)ng down the Howson: The Burnie Glacier Chalet


Prologue

The success or failure of any ski adventure ultimately rests with the people on it. Yes, terrain and conditions play all-important roles. But at the end of the day, you'll have had more fun with great partners in terrible conditions than with terrible partners in great conditions. Our crew for a week at the Burnie Glacier Chalet in BC's Howson Range was 12 skiers. Some had known each other for years, and many had never met. What the dynamics of this large group would be once we all got on the snow was anyone's guess. So leave it to docta_pow, being warm and touchy-feeley, to thoughtfully send out this icebreaker two weeks before Flight Day:

[Sierra Fred]

The Solitare Peaks



We took a couple of tours up to the Solitaire group of peaks. They're visible from the chalet and form some of the signature views of the area. Our first tour took us to Skier's Solitaire. Here we are getting ready to go.


The Solitaire group forms the skyline above the chalet in the left of the photo. Now it might seem oxymoronic that this cluster of multiple peaks is referred to as the Solitare Peaks. Well, we thought so too when we first heard the name. Turns out that Christoph named the group not after a sense of solitude or a diamond ring, but rather after a species of yellow-and-black warbler known as the Townsend's Solitaire, one of which he spotted on his first explorations in the area.

Here we are climbing past a formation called, for obvious reasons, the Stinkhorn. That's Christoph heading up to the rest of the group.


Some clouds and wind blew in while we were on top, but unfortunately for the acrophobes among us the sheer 2000' drop from the summit to the valley on the other side was still quite apparent.

Here doctapow descends from the summit block to the staging area for the descent.


Once down to the bowls below, we did some skiing.


mchin works hard to find some untracked.


Looks like I'm having a good time.


It was so good we climbed back up for another lap.


And why not? The skiing was great. Not to mention the views. Here's Russ in front of the Polemic Icefall.


Walter Sobchak's turn:


The glacier makes a nice backdrop for tele as well as p-turns. mchin:


Are you tired of glaciers yet? Good, cuz we're not either. Here's Jane...


...and doctapow:


Our second tour in the area brought us to Middle Solitaire, visible directly from the chalet. Sunny skies and that same breathtaking view of the Polemic Icefall made the climbing easy.

Here's Ken, leading the way.


No, as a matter of fact, I didn't get tired of taking pictures of this icefall.


On the climb up, Fuzzy reaches an entirely new evolutionary state with the sprouting of sweatsicle horns.


Onward, upward...


At our lunch stop, the normally reclusive Russian babuska appeared, complete with facial hair.


The final approach toward the Solitaire group. We were heading up to that notch to climb the flat topped mountain on the left, Middle Solitaire Peak.




Upon reaching the upper icefield, the views improved. No really, they did. Spontaneous shouts of joy permeated the mountain air as each of us came up over the rollover and the views presented themselves.


Getting closer. We climbed the couloir left of center.


And on up the couloir we went....That's Ben above me. We're actually downclimbing here, but you get the idea. The couloir wasn't steep enough to really scare me, but it was enough to capture all of my attention.


mchin toward the top.


Toward the top was a notch that offered a glimpse of the other side. Don't want to fall here.


The summit reward: this view of Polemic Peak, the upper Burnie Glacier, Howson Peak in the distance, and one of the Solitaire Peaks in the foreground.


Howson provides a riveting focal point for a private moment with nature.


doctapow and Russ enjoy the day's second lunch.


With the clouds approaching, it was time to descend. doctapow begins the downclimb.


And back down we went. Here I am below Pete. A few mintues later I noticed blacks of snow showering down on me as I concentrated on backing my way down into the abyss. Pete had decided to turn around and plunge-step down the couloir, which kicked down blocks of snow on my head. It was quite distracting.


We had quite a discussion on the steepness of this couloir. The acrophobes among us were convinced it was somewhere north of 45 degrees in the steepest spots. The more experienced mountaineers in the group doubted it ever got much steeper than 40 and certainly wasn't over 35 overall.

So focused was I at downclimbing that I was unaware of our guide's predicament below. That's guide singular, because with Christoph razed by the Whitehorse flu Ken was working solo that day. Being new to the Howsons, Ken had received beta from Christoph that morning, including information about a bergschrund at the base of the chute. It was possible to avoid the schrund and ski the primo fluff in the chute's apron, but this would require first pinpointing exactly where the opening was. Ken was dutifully probing when the schrund revealed itself with a sharp CRACK!--precisely beneath his skis. Instinctively he jumped out of harm's way as the snowbridge collapsed to leave a gaping hole. Needless to say, that was one line we ended up not skiing.

The crevasse is to the left of the skier below, and we ultimately descended via our up route.


Once that exceitement was past, it was time to open up the throttle. Here's DoctaPow ripping it up...


And Russ floating through the pow, making some nice...


... tracks.


And so we skied all the way down. Here's mchin a little lower down in front of the Polemic Icefall.


Mmmmmm....glaciers.


We even skied along the lower Burnie Glacier on the way back to the Chalet. Here's John.


And Lucy. You can never have enough glaciers.


And so ended another day in the Howsons.
_________________
Heh, I know this place. You know you are on a telemark site when peep's concerns about new gear center on the "downside" that the new gear might make skiing somehow easier or different.
-Cowdog, Sept 8, 2009

[cesare]

Well worth the wait! My favorite part is the poutine... no, the glaciers... no, the bergschrund story... oh hell, I love it all!
_________________
Many things on my mind,
Words in the way.

-- Sly Stone --

[Sierra Fred]

Keep reading Cesare, we're not done yet!
_________________
Heh, I know this place. You know you are on a telemark site when peep's concerns about new gear center on the "downside" that the new gear might make skiing somehow easier or different.
-Cowdog, Sept 8, 2009

[Max Sidecut]

Outstanding.

Enjoyed the great pictures.

[Tracks]

EXCELLENT TR!
You succeeded in making a lot of people very jealous!
Where is my ski bag? I'm ready to go...

[TG]

:drooly freaking emoticon...:

NICE!! So very nice!


_________________
Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog and you will do just fine.
MOM

[Lucy]

Sunset, Burnie Glacier Chalet


Fully-guided-and-catered

The Burnie Glacier Chalet has a distinctly European flavor to it, setting it apart from the other BC huts our group had collectively visited. For instance, fresh flowers flown in on the heli graced the kitchen table and brought a breath of spring into the snowy landscape. This old-country atmosphere of gracious civility in the midst of untamed wilderness originates with Burnie's owner/guide Christoph Dietzfelbinger, who grew up in Germany and received his guide training in the Alps before being lured to the vast wildlands of northern Canada. The hut began as nothing more than a vision in Christoph's head after touring the area. This vision became reality in 2001 after hard work, careful planning, and the volunteer labor of friends from Smithers and beyond. In this sense, Burnie is inseparable from Christoph, and having his unique perspective throughout our visit made the trip extra special. Besides, he's is the only guide I've known who quotes Goethe and shares thoughts about the Peloponnesian War while breaking trail.

Even during the pretrip planning there was a moment that harkened of Europe--Christoph's initial skepticism when he heard half our group was freeheel. (See Lesson 6 here.) While telemarkers were certainly welcome at the Chalet, we were cautioned that "most people have a better time on AT gear, and I would recommend to use that." For better or worse, we tele'ers disregarded this advice. I secretly suspect it was for the better. By the trips' end, Christoph had seen the light, proclaiming "When I watch you guys ski, it almost makes me want to tele."

Inspired, Christoph strikes his best tele position with the Burnie trip freeheelers. No poodles here!


Finally, Christoph's got a helluva pointer finger. Is pointing a part of the UIAGM exam? Here, he demonstrates the proper way to point in the Howsons.


The ability to point with either arm is important in case of shoulder dislocation or holding a beer.


By day 5 of the trip, we are all working on our guide pointing skills.


Here, Christoph elaborates on some finer nuances of pointing with our other guide, Ken.


Ken (with visor) in apres ski mode, along with Russ, docta, amd mchin. He arrived in Smithers for the first time ever to guide our trip and put a bid in for a house the day our heli departed. Now, Ken Bibby and Chrysalis Alpine are the newest addition to Smithers' local guide industry.


Always aiming to please, Ken went to great lengths to find those unpredictable patches of grabby snow so that we could avoid them.


Ken's take-no-prisoners Canadian humor perfectly complimented Christoph's gentlemanly wit, and the two of them made a great team. But we all know who the REAL boss is on any hut trip: the cook. Here I'll let Fred take over.

[Sierra Fred]

My German Roots

For me, the Chalet had a strangely familiar feel to it. It wasn’t really the European flourishes in the architecture, the alp-like mountains just outside the door, or the perfectly working sauna downstairs from the kitchen. It was the food. It was the aroma wafting out the door as we returned each afternoon from our tour.

For this California-born son of German immigrants, it was like going back to a place I’d somehow always known, or at least been subconsciously aware of, for the last 45 years. It wasn’t that my parents or relatives had made these particular foods as I was growing up, it’s just that the choices seemed so obvious, like I was young boy visiting relatives and they had cooked up something special just for me.

The tastes, the smells, the distinctive combinations spoke to a place deep in my gut where only aromatic food memories can stir up memories of an ancestral heritage let go of long ago. Hearty soups with dense brown bread covered with butter, followed by cookies and tea. And that was only the afternoon snack, or meal number four. Dinners were hearty fish or meat-laden affairs followed by homemade cakes or other delectables for desert. Our first night in the chalet, before we had even worked up an appetite, we had home-made cinnamon rolls for desert. Weiner schnitzel, beef stews, and baked salmon all made appearances as our appetites grew.

One night, we had rouladen, which I had never tasted or seen before. But it all seemed perfectly right and familiar to me, like I had known it all my life. Thin slices of beef are rolled up with onion, carrots, and pickles in the middle and then baked. Who else would think of cooking meat with pickles rolled up in the middle?

Here’s Monika, our cook, working up some breakfast on the Amish wood burning stove.


Our favorite breakfast was Griess Schmarren, which Monika described as “Cream of Wheat the way my mother used to make.” Basically it was fried cream of wheat with blueberries. We had a lot of fun with the literal translations of some of these dishes. “Griess” apparently means “grit” and “Schmarren” means scabs. So our favorite breakfast was called “grit scabs”. It was delicious.
_________________
Heh, I know this place. You know you are on a telemark site when peep's concerns about new gear center on the "downside" that the new gear might make skiing somehow easier or different.
-Cowdog, Sept 8, 2009

[Sierra Fred]

The Upper Burnie Glacier and Polemic Pass

Several days of clear weather enable us to travel to the high ice fields. One such day leads us to the upper Burnie Glacier for a shining gem of a tour. The Polemic Pass loop is a highlight of the Burnie hut region. We know it's going to be special when our cook Monika stays up late the night before prepping dinner so that she can ski the whole day with us--cooks always know the best days to ski. Christoph starts by setting a track alongside the Burnie Glacier.

One at a time we follow up the steep Burnie Step, adjacent to a large ice fall. The skinning seems easy. With every pause we're rewarded with new views of chaotic blocks and seracs.


Christoph channels the glacial spirits.


Rock & ice.


Toward the top of the Burnie Step, the glacier flattens out and the crevasses become harder to see beneath the blanket of snow. We regroup to rope up. John, Pete, Sierra Fred, and mchin.


The first rope team heads out.


Our route gets up close and personal with more seracs and blue ice. That's Kitnayakwa Peak in the background, one of our ski destinations for the day.


And away we go up the glacier to untold pleasures above.


Well up onto the upper Burnie Icefield, we unrope and take a break. Here, newlyweds Russ and Jane share a kiss on the spot Jane proclaims "one of the most romantic places on earth." So nice of them to let the rest of us crash their honeymoon!


Fuzzy, doctapow, and Sierra Fred cross the Burnie icefield.


For some perspective, here's a view of the icefield taken a few days later from the top of Middle Solitaire Peak. The accumulation zone of the Burnie Glacier resides on the flanks of Kitnayakwa Peak just beneath the big cloud. Howson Peak, the patriarch of the Howson Range, looms in the background. On the far left an asterisk marks Polemic Pass and the route back to the hut.


It turns out that this icefield isn't big enough for all of us. So after all we had been through together, we split up.

Lucy:

Some of us head over Polemic Pass...



Fred:

...while the rest of us continue up the glacier beneath Kitnayakwa. The endless white and the unfamiliarity of the mountains make distances impossible to estimate as we move along. The view looked exactly like this for what seemed like forever....or was it minutes?


We would eventually climb the glacier along the shadow line just to the right of John's red hat.

Here we are getting closer...


From our vantage point along the climb, we can see Lucy's group heading up to the Polemic Pass. Those little black dots lined up along the snowfield beneath the peak are the members of Lucy's group climbing to the pass.


As Ken leads us up, we each feel the excitement grow. The snow is getting lighter and lighter with the elevation and the powder is getting deeper. It is gonna be good and each of us knows it. And each one of us knows that each of the others know it as well.


Here I am where we topped out, pretty excited to be pulling out the avalung (thanks Justine!). That's the upper Burnie Icefield and the Solitare peaks stretching out behind me.


Cold smoke on Kitnayakwa: The snow is the lightest I've ever skied, the slope was comfortably steep, and the scenery spectacular. It's the run I've been waiting for all my life.


Me toward the bottom.


After our run, we reapply the skins and head back towards the Polemic massif to follow the other group's path over the pass. The pass is visible in the upper right in this picture.


While we were partaking of the run of our lives, the other group got first tracks on the far side of Polemic Pass.

Lucy:

Here Monika tops out on the pass.


As if there hasn't been enough eye popping scenery already, the backside of Polemic Peak serves up yet another visual feast.


After crossing the plateau, we drop a couple schweet pitches of shin-deep fluff, go around Hut Peak, and then through the woods and over the river to Monika's pork schnitzel and carrot cake. Monika pronounces that of all the times she'd gone over Polemic Pass, today's conditions have been the best. Maybe she says that every time, but I can't imagine it possibly getting better than this.
_________________
Heh, I know this place. You know you are on a telemark site when peep's concerns about new gear center on the "downside" that the new gear might make skiing somehow easier or different.
-Cowdog, Sept 8, 2009

[Lucy]

The Whitehorse Flu: A study of influenza transmission in an isolated cohort of backcountry skiers

Study objective:
Investigate transmission of a highly virulent type of influenza known as the 'Whitehorse strain' in an isolated group of backcountry skiers.

Rationale:
The lifestyle of backcountry skiers puts this demographic group at high risk for contracting vector-borne illness during the winter months. Susceptibility factors include prolonged exposure to cold temperatures, extreme physical exertion, and sharing of Nalgene bottles, snowcaves, huts, and Subarus. At a global level, the cost of skier illness in terms of lost powder days annually is substantial, numbering in the hundreds and perhaps thousands. Understanding the epidemiology of backcountry skier-associated illness will aid efforts to reduce infection rates, resulting in more verts, more turns, and greater happiness worldwide.

Experimental methods:
This study examined virus transmission in a cohort of 15 randomly selected skiers during week-long isolation at a remote wilderness cabin. The double blind experimental design ensured that no one knew what was going on until it was too late. At the hostel prior to heli departure, a single skier was unknowingly exposed to a virulent and highly infectious strain of influenza using the 'proximity to a sick wheezy kid from Whitehorse' technique. The initial agent began to exhibit symptoms of coughing, fever, high mucous production, malaise, and overall physical weakness during the heli flight to the hut. Subsequent transmission of the virus to other skiers in the cohort was then monitored, with special attention given to the spatiotemporal progression of infection from room to room and floor to floor. Illness severity was assessed by overall number of ski days missed, position in the skin track line up, and ability to tolerate doctapow's bad jokes.

Results and interpretation:
Two-thirds, or 10 out of 15, skiers developed symptoms of influenza over the course of the weeklong study. Figure 1 illustrates the spatial and temporal patterns of viral spread within the hut. Evidence of viral transmission through spatial proximity of sleeping quarters is apparent, although other factors seem to also play a role. Among the infected, a wide range of illness severity was observed; ski days missed ranged from 0.5 to 3.5. (In one case, other physical issues precluded an accurate assessment of this factor.) The severity of illness did not appear to correlate with time of infection or physical location.

Figure 1. Spatiotemporal diagram of viral transmission. The numeric order of infection by hut sleeping location is indicated. Color corresponds to severity of illness (red>yellow>green. Compounding ailments of skier 9 precluded an assessment of illness severity; see Larry's Misvacation). X's denote skiers who did not contract influenza.


Figure 2 illustrates the typical supine position of infected skiers, who exhibited body temperatures as high as 103F (39.4C). Pharmaceuticals including percocet, vicodin, darvocet, atarax, ambien, and ibuprofen, alone or in combination, did little to ameliorate symptoms.

Figure 2. Typical supine position of infected skiers.


Of particular interest are the four individuals on the second floor who escaped infection. Signnificantly, these four were the only individuals in the hut who were sleeping in bunk beds (Figure 3). It is conceivable that the more limited air circulation in the vicinity of a bunk bed may have served to lessen exposure to airborne viral particles.

Figure 3. Bunk beds may impart some viral resistance.


Another potential factor may have been the presence of a bar of bacon chocolate (Figure 4) near one set of bunk beds. The therapeutic effects of bacon and of chocolate have been extensively documented on the Telemark Talk Forum. It is possible that the combination of these two factors may have synergized to protect not only the inhabitants of the bunk beds in the room containing the bacon chocolate, but also the inhabitants of the bunk beds on the other side of the wall. Further research will be needed to understand the mechanisms that underlie these protective effects.

Figure 4. Why didn't this man get sick? Bunk bed or bacon chocolate?


Conclusions:
A hut trip is an excellent closed model system to investigate the epidemiology of influenza transmission among backcountry skiers. Proximity of sleeping quarters to infected skiers holds high predictive value for the probability of virus transmission to uninfected skiers. However, bunk beds and/or bacon chocolate can potentially exert a protective effect. Determining these resistance mechanisms will require further investigation. In the meantime, backcountry skiers are counseled to sleep in bunk beds and consume as much bacon chocolate as possible, particularly on hut trips, in order to minimize illness and maximize powder days.

[Sierra Fred]

Tom George Mountain



One of the first views you get of Tom George Mountain is on the helicopter ride into the chalet. Here it is in front of the larger Solitaire Peaks and Polemic Massif. Tom George is the symmetrical, rounded peak in the foreground, named for a chieftain of the indigenous peoples whose blessing Christoph sought before building his hut. The Chalet is out of view behind Tom George Mountain and in front of the Polemic Massif. We skied several lines on the flanks seen here.

Although not as scenically spectacular as some of its neighbors, we found that Tom George held some of the best snow of the trip in its hidden gullies and wide open bowls.

Have a look for yourself...

Tracey skiing some soft easy snow with the Polemic Massif in the background.


I just happened to be in the right place to catch Russ, who usually skied way too fast to be caught on camera.


Pete finding the freshies over on the other side of the mountain.


Ben down in the trees.


Durring a leisurely lunch down at the bottom of one of these runs Tracey transformationalized my new buff into a new style. I felt like I was wearing a yarmulke.


And back up the mountain we would go for another lap.




Nearing the top...


The geologist in me thought this image of brittle and ductile snow deformation was so cool. Those bumps below the glide cracks are ductile compression of the snow downslope from the snow undergoing brittle extension on a roll-over. Very cool.


And down we go again....


Soft snow...


Wide open bowls...


....and big smiles..


Yep, we all had a good time on Tom George Mountain.
_________________
Heh, I know this place. You know you are on a telemark site when peep's concerns about new gear center on the "downside" that the new gear might make skiing somehow easier or different.
-Cowdog, Sept 8, 2009

[Lucy]

Not his week: Larry's misvacation

However miserable the flu was, there was some perverse solace in looking over at the next guy and thinking, 'My lot might be bad, but it's not NEARLY as bad as his.' That 'next guy' could have been any of us, and someday it probably will. After all, who knows what lies in store when we write that big check 6 months before? Well, as our trip went on it became real clear that the 'next guy', our unlucky winner of the "Sh!t happens" prize, was to be Larry. The first mishap seemed routine enough—baggage lost somewhere between Denver and Smithers, happens all the time. And when Larry was finally reunited with his gear a couple hours before the heli flight, we all breathed a sigh of relief and figured it was roses from here on out.

Larry and skis en route to the heli pad in a brief delusional moment of happiness.


Well, fate must have been chuckling at our presumption because on our first real ski day, pop! goes Larry's back and numb goes his right leg. Herniated disk compressing his sciatic nerve. And then for good measure, a bad case of the Whitehorse flu two days later. Now Larry happens to be a durned good blues musician, and so what's left to do under the circumstances but get out your guitar and wail the Canadian hut trip blues.



The Canadian Hut Trip Blues

I sent my money to da man
deep pow lotsa vert, yeah, that was the plan
hello great white north, then it all hit the fan
I got the Canadian hut trip blues

chorus:
lost luggage, threw back out, and now the flu
can't ski no powda, can't ski no schmoo*
can't do too much except cry in my soup
I got the Canadian hut trip blues

the skiing up on the glacier is great
but I feel a disk start to herniate
what I have I done to deserve such a fate
I got the Canadian hut trip blues

(chorus)

all the folks here, they say they're my friends
then they tell me 'bout hero snow with sh!t-eatin grins
shaddup and give me some mo' vicodin
I got the Canadian hut trip blues

(chorus)

down on my back, all night and all day
the pain in my leg ain't goin away
is this what I get for goin randonee?
I got the Canadian hut trip blues

(chorus)


…into the night, Larry sings on.


(*shmoo is Canadian for mank.)

Larry dealt with the circumstances with a lot more grace than I would have, joking about the twists of fate and keeping his cool. But even as it seemed the whole thing was over, fate threw down one last card: Larry limped into the Vancouver airport to discover that his flight to Denver was canceled. A fitting end to a stillborn vacation. After several hours of standing in line at multiple airline ticket counters, Larry finally was able to stitch together a series of flights that would take him home, where he could begin to try to forget this whole week even happened.

[Sierra Fred]

The End!
_________________
Heh, I know this place. You know you are on a telemark site when peep's concerns about new gear center on the "downside" that the new gear might make skiing somehow easier or different.
-Cowdog, Sept 8, 2009