ELFIN LAKES WINTER CAMPING FEB 2013
Last weekend, Kristina got psyched to rent AT skis and go into the backcountry. Wicked idea I thought so, I texted a few buddies and got my friend John Grant and his friend "Churchie" on board for a little overnight romp into the mountains.
The weather forescast was sunny for Saturday and cloudy with flurries Sunday. Krissy took care of the rentals at MEC. Our friend Frank set her up with a sweet rental package. The stage was set now we just needed somewhere to go.
Its not easy picking places on the coast anymore. I've been to most of the local places many times in the last two decades, and I'm over the whole driving for 3-4 hours to get somewhere - like we used to do in university, when we had more enthusiasm than money and wisdom. I always like experiencing new areas and I have not been up to Brew Hut yet so, I checked the hut registration on the VOC website but, it was a no-go. There was already 16 VOC'ers heading up for the night on Saturday.
Well, considering it was Krissy's second time backcountry skiing (the first time was an epic gong show of mass proportions involving soul searching and survivalist determination thanks to our chumsky friend Zac) I opted for an easy stroll up Paul Ridge to Elfin lakes hut. "Perhaps the hut will have room" No way. I caught wind from a friend that it was drastically over occupied with even a few squatters on the downstairs tables last weekend. So, we went prepared with full overnight kits.
1 liter wine "check"
Vij's Indian dinner "check"
Down booties "check"
Bibler envy of the mountain tent "check"
Packs were packed and the stoke meter was max.
The road was super groomed the whole way with barely a bump or pothole. We left the Vdub at the lower lot and piled into John's duct taped Toyota pick-up for the final push to the summit parking lot. Made it easily without chains and arrived to a VERY full upper lot.
Krissy was getting anxious to begin up the trail and I was happy waiting... actually quite amused with watching John do his last minute packing. Churchie offered to head up the trail with Krissy and I said I'll catch up so, off they went, and I waited for John.
John is awesome but, he has this interesting pride in carrying the biggest, heaviest pack everytime. I can respect a man thats training and a heavy pack... and all that but, a piece of me inside is propelled to provide assistance in the face of this toil - its never easy to watch.
I caught up to Krissy and Churchie on the trail and Krissy was pleasantly stoked with skiing and the trip. She was loving the ease of skining and the convenience of climbing heals on her bindings. Churchie was proving to be a trooper and kept pace ahead of the group the whole day.
John caught us just before the Red Heather hut which was perfect timing to stop in the sunshine and enjoy lunch. The weather was amazing and the sky was deep blue. We continued up Paul Ridge, opting for the summer trail across the easier but, steeper west side slopes of Paul Ridge. Stability was great with solid bonding throughout the snow pack.
The skin track along the west side was way better than the snowshoe beaten track on the east side. Two single ribbons of trail lead across Paul Ridge to where it joined the crest and the marked winter trail. The view was spectacular over to the Tantalus range. Only one steep little section proved tricky for Krissy and she got a bit freaked. We could have easily gone around this slope but, I find these experiences character building.
John toiled under his pack... I guess he skate skied at Cypress the night before, and drank too many beers after when he was suppose to be packing so, he began suffering muscle cramps in the last km to the hut.
Eventually we rolled up to Elfin Hut and set-up our camp nearby. It was such a nice day so we lazed the afternoon away catching rays in the snow. I would look up to the Gargoyles and think about going for a run... then change my mind and go back to catching rays.
The hut was fully booked with no beds left. It was a mishmash of university students and weekend warriors. In the late hours of the afternoon, as the sun began to set, an asian family with 4 young girls all rolled into the hut. I shake my head and say to myself, "what the hell were they thinking". I pity the family for their obvious lack of experience and I question their rational to bring such young children all the way up here without proper safety equipment. Unfortunatelty, its a story I have seen played out in the front country areas of local mountains several times before.
Our camp is cozy. I've packed a closed-cell foam mat under my inflatable mat so the snow is well insulated. I carve out a kitchen table and benches while the hut campers look on. Inside the Elfin Hut, the air is humid and the smell of damp socks lingers so its nice to be outside in the fresh air.
We witness two skiers returning from the Gargoyles while an overly enthusiastic girl races over with a 40 ounce bottle of cheap whisky to quench their thirst. It almost makes my stomach turn to watch the skiers chug under the pressuring eyes of their peers. "Haha", we chuckle amongst ourselves, "nobodys going to sleep in that hut tonight".
As the evening turns to dusk, we sit in our snow kitchen watching an amazing sunset over the horizon. Vij's curry and Ritter Sport milk chocolate round out my menu plans and it goes down easy in the chilly winter air. After dinner, darkness settles in but, we have port to drink and its cold so, we find some real estate inside the hut.
Its loud but, warm and the smell has improved. A large group of university students plays cards while drinking copious amounts of alcohol at the front tables. This one guy has a collarded shirt, blue jeans, and penny loafers and I think to myself, "what the hell... where are these guys from". His buddies fashionably sport jogging pants pulled up around the knees and tank tops. I chuckle to myself, "wtf... these guys are all dressed the same".
On the back tables of the hut, in the kitchen area, I find the asian family half passed out, sitting crammed in at the edge of a table, with no beds up stairs and no tents. The children sit perfectly side-by-side passed out with their heads in their arms on the table. You can only imagine my reaction inside, part of me is like "holy shit, thats hilarious" but, another part of me is like "damn... thats a sad sight".
Soon, a ucalaly kicks in and a guy starts jamming in the corner. Hehhh... this guy is pretty good. He's got part of my attention. For the second song he kicks into a cover of the Lumineers and the whole hut is on fire. People begin dancing and singing along and stomping on the floor - I have NO IDEA how anyone could sleep upstairs. Man, it was cool though. Dude on the ucalaly was good and we totally enjoyed the music, shouting lyrics when we knew them.
Eventually, we retired to our cozt tents while the party surged on inside the hut. I slept well through the night.
We awoke in the morning to cloudy skies and promptly went to task boiling water to feed our need for good coffee. Several cups of coffee and oatmeal goes down before we decide to break camp and fire the descent back to the Toyota.
We labor along the marked winter trail - visibilty shifting between little to none as snow gently falls. The winter trail is icy garbage, downsloped the whole way making skining a chore in spots. We all stop above Red Heather and eat lunch before rocketing down the up-track.
Its one of Krissy's first times going downhill since being little on the slopes of Big White so she is very apprehensive at first. She forces me to ark wide turns across the meadow so she can follow. Its fun though and she gradually gets her mojo back. By the time we get to the packed up-track, she is exchanging pizza turns for parrallel arcs down the middle. It is so refreshing to see her speed and spirit lifted as we begin passing snowshoers.
It was an amazing weekend that stoked my fire for winter camping and skiing again. It was so much fun to go with the full kit, cooking and camping in the snow. I've had tunnel vision on bouldering and sport climbing lately but, I'm feeling a spark to do more.
In the cold evening air, sitting in our snow kitchen, prying John about his trips to the Himalaya - a little flame lit inside me, and I could feel that pull toward a big mountain adventure again. I am very much drawn to K2 - we'll see what the future holds!
