Park at the Rogers
Pass Discovery Center. Skin up Connaught Drainage for a short distance
to the Grizzly Fan, 625832. The route ascends Teddy Bear Trees
(very steep treed slopes climber's left of the slide path) and gains
Grizzly Mountain's southern ridge. Near the top, bootpacking to the ridge crest may
be required depending on snow coverage and conditions. The summit ridge
is interrupted by a short class 3 scramble leading to the south summit.
Just beyond are the Grizzly Couloir and the north peak.
**Permit required for this tour** |
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Grizzly area map.
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| Ski touring: 8.25; 6.0 up. With
a reasonably stable snowpack and a great
forecast, we headed
to Rogers Pass for some ski touring; we met our good friend Val at the
Discovery Center. We started the trek rather casually but the going got
tougher once we started to ascend the Teddy Bear Trees. Luckily for us,
the trail was packed; still, countless switchbacks on very steep
terrain made the narrow uptrack challenging. We climbed slowly,
stripped down to our thermal layers; it was already close to zero
degrees. The relentless climb took us to easier terrain at treeline;
above the valley cloud, we enjoyed the phenomenal view while basking in
the sun. With a strong inversion in place and a forecasted high of 8
degrees, we decided to forgo a descent in the infamous south facing
Grizzly Couloir. With sleeves rolled up, we continued along the south
ridge; although the snow was firm and sun affected in areas, I had a
feeling we would get a decent ski down. We stayed on our
skis as long as we could; weaving through rocks, we aimed for the
existing bootpack up the rocky rib. Fab and I left our skis behind for
the final push to the ridge
crest, that was an easy
decision since we weren't skiing the couloir. Once on the summit ridge,
we scrambled up a small buttress dotted with a cairn; the close-by
summit appeared to be taller. I continued along the ridge towards the
Grizzly Couloir; I wanted to peer down it. I was afraid I would
regret not bringing my skis... Indeed, when I stood atop the inviting
pitch, I really wished we were all here with our skis... I
strolled onto the northern
summit, took numerous pictures and headed back to join Fab and Val,
nicely nestled in the sun. We hung out for as long as we could; already
late afternoon, we couldn't linger. Fab and I decided to glissade while
Val skied the slope beside the ascent rib.
The snow was quite isothermal, sluggish punchy glissades started wet
point releases. That's when Val tweaked his knee; after a pause, he
stood up
and started to hike down the ridge carefully. Fortunately, by the time
he
reached the bottom of the rocky rib, he was able to get on his skis
and gently negotiate the terrain avoiding further injury. The skiing
was
actually quite decent, I found Grizzly
Bowl to be a pleasant and direct ski out. |
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Grizzly Mountain's
south ridge from Glacier Lodge. |
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We're aiming for the
Teddy Bear Trees, climber's left of Grizzly's slide path. |
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Above zero
temperature, we're stripped to our thermal layers. |
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Nice terrain. |
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Grizzly Shoulder. |
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The terrain is very
steep before reaching treeline. |
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Looking down into
Grizzly Bowl. |
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A nice break at
treeline; almost no wind, loving it! |
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The grade eases at
treeline and the objective is clearly visible. |
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It looks like skiing
will be good. |
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Mount Sir Donald and
the Illecillewaet Glacier south-east of us. |
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Valley bottom cloud
accompanying a very strong temperature inversion. |
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Balu Peak (8812),
Ursus Major Mountain (center) and the top of Video Peak (Bear's Teeth)
on the right. |
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We kept our skis on
for as long as we could. |
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Looking back. |
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Just about to join
the existing bootpack. |
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View west towards
Balu, Ursus Major and Video again; Ursus Minor is barely visible on the
far right. |
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Looking down the
whole route. |
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Finally on the
summit ridge. |
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Scrambling up to
the summit. |
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The true summit may
be beyond the Grizzly Couloir, off I go! |
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The Grizzly Couloir;
I really wish we were all here with our skis... |
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Fabrice is waving
from the first summit. |
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The north-eastern
view includes Mount Sifton and the numerous peaks that form Mount
Rogers (engulfed in cloud). |
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To the upper left is
the Tupper and Swiss Glaciers, The Hermit is at the far right. |
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Very nice spot for a
break. |
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Glissading back to
our skis while Val attempts to ski the isothermal snow. |
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While Val comes down
the ridge carefully, Fab carries his skis the easiest way possible. |
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Back on skis and the
conditions are decent! |
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Val is able to
negotiate the steep terrain on his tweaked knee. |
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Pleasant and direct
ski out Grizzly Bowl. |
| Back to home page |
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