Stanley Mitchell Skiing - March 11-14, 2010

by Bette Boechler

On the evening of March 10, Bill Wotherspoon, Bob Hawboldt, Dave McCormick and I met at the Alpine Centre in Lake Louise before skiing in to Stanley Mitchell Hut. Stanley Mitchell (SM) is located in Yoho National Park, and in the summer, is accessible by the 13 km drive up the Takakkaw Falls road and then a 2 – 3 hour (9 km) hike into the hut. However, in the winter the road to Takakkaw Falls is closed so access to the hut becomes somewhat more difficult and longer. All four of us had skied into the hut before so we knew it would be a long day.

One of the ACC Facilities staff from Canmore planned to go into SM that day so Dave asked him if he could tow us on the skidoo as far as Takakkaw Falls. We weren’t sure if we were actually going to get towed so we started up the road at 7:45 a.m. The big debate when starting up the road is “skins off or skins on?” As usual we each had our own preference so Bob used kick wax while the rest of us used skins. After about 40 minutes we heard the sound of a skidoo and we ended up getting a ride/tow as far as Takakkaw falls. Although the ride was snowy and a bit chilly (mental note: always wear ski goggles and very warm clothes when being towed behind a skidoo), it cut about 3 hours off our time.

The up-track going to the hut was icy and quite difficult. Unfortunately, we somehow managed to go off the summer trail so we were on icy and steep terrain. We all arrived at the hut by 1:30 in the afternoon, and because we were the only group there, the rest of the day was spent getting wood, water and heating the hut. It was wonderful to have the whole hut to ourselves.

The next day was very snowy and we saw a number of avalanches, some quite close to where we were skiing. We were aware that the snowpack was becoming more unstable mainly due to the 10 cm of fresh snow that fell that day. We stayed in the trees and had a good day. Bob and Bill dug a pit which showed a very unstable layer about 50cm below the surface.

On Saturday morning we woke up and saw slides on almost every slope surrounding the hut. The pit from the day before was a good indication of what was actually happening. We initially thought we would be safe skiing in the trees again but when we looked at what had happened overnight, even that seemed too risky. So…. what to do? Bob, Bill and I decided to try and ski to Kiwetinok Pass. On the way there Bill set off a small avalanche (see photo) and although he managed to get to the trees, we decided the snow was too unstable to spend time on any slopes. It was a beautiful sunny day so we toured behind the hut to the bowl below Isolation Col. We also did a 3 hour tour through the trees to the east of the hut and came back to the hut via our up-track from Thursday. Dave had gone out for a couple of hours in the morning and re-tracked that part of the trail.

On Sunday we left at about 7:30 a.m. and were back at our cars by 12:30. The trip out was slower than expected, mainly because of the new snow.

Overall how was the trip? Bob and I have been backcountry skiing for about 12 years and this was the first time the snowpack was so unstable we really couldn’t ski anywhere. As we drove back to Saskatoon we heard about the avalanche in Revelstoke that killed two and injured 30. However, if the sun is shining and the weather is good, there’s more to backcountry skiing than doing turns.

What did I learn from this trip?

- The importance of taking avalanche courses, digging pits and practicing with beacons. Most of us have taken at least one avalanche course and practice regularly with our beacons. We made good decisions. All of us have been to this area many times in both the summer and winter and on this trip, we saw avalanches on slopes that we never thought would slide. You just never know.

- If one person in the group is uncomfortable with going somewhere, the whole group needs to listen.

- You need to be strong and fit to get into the hut but you don’t have to be a particularly good technical skier. There is lots of terrain that will suite every skier.

For another story about this trip, look at Extreme Backcountry.