Eagle
Mountain II
– January 5, 2008
Mountain height:
2820 m
Elevation gain:
1130 m
Ascent time:
4:30
Descent time:
1:40
Ski mountaineering (sort of) with Mark.
I’m not sure that skinning up the Sunshine ski-out and then up a long, blue run truly qualifies as “ski mountaineering”, but it’s better than calling it “Skinning up the Sunshine ski-out and then up a long, blue run with Mark.”
We both needed practice on AT skis and easing into the season by going up and then down groomed ski runs had immeasurable appeal. Kevin and I reached the summit of Eagle Mountain on foot, this past summer. Given that there was no view to speak of, on that day, it wasn’t difficult to justify another visit. Of course, the weather forecast was not much better and so another viewless summit visit was a strong possibility.
Skiing up the ski-out and a long, blue run was very easy and reasonably fast. We tried to shortcut up another blue run, but were approached by two ski patrols guys, who informed us we couldn’t skin-up that specific run because it was being used for racing. I pointed out to them that there were no signs about the closure posted at the bottom of the run. Of course, I started to laugh immediately at the foolishness of the statement: why would anyone signpost it at the bottom; I’m sure we were the only people on the hill going up the runs instead of down them! Fortunately, we were able to cut through the trees and back onto the original run.
About halfway up the run, the wind really started to pick up. In fact, it made conditions downright brutal: blowing snow, reduced visibility, and a wind-chill that was one of the coldest we’ve experienced. Just before the top of the chairlift, we dumped our skis and continued to the summit on foot. Though straightforward and not particularly steep, the vicious cold slowed our ascent down a fair bit. Our summit stay was not more than two minutes. Mark managed to snap a couple of photos, but the cold was too much for me and I dare not take my hand out of my glove even for a few seconds. As expected, a whiteout as the top prevented us from seeing our surroundings beyond a 20 metre radius.
The descent back to our skies
was very rapid and skiing out was sheer heaven, though we had to stop a few
times to try to warm our hands, still miserably cold from the summit visit.
Despite the non-existent summit view and brutally cold temperatures, a more than
worthwhile return to
Enjoying one of the very few breaks in the weather (if you can call it a "break")
Conditions more typical of the ascent; we are on the upper section of the blue run at this point
On foot for the final push to the summit
Trying to stay warm at the summit