Yeah, I know, I know. I can hear many of you starting up already: "What's that SkiDoo got to with skiing?". Well, a (sort-of) confession: My town buddy Stu and I went together and got a used snow machine with the intention of using it to get up various logging roads to where all the good ski slopes and and where the snow is usually great. So what you see here is the backcountry equivalent of a ski lift or the winter equivalent of a 4x4 truck.
Today we decided, despite morning temperatures of -20C, to have a look at a hill we skied on last winter. The hill could use a bit more snow. It's been planted so there are new trees poking up all over the place. Mind you, that forced me to practice my turns while avoiding the little trees, and there were stumps that didn't have quite enough snow on them. All in all, though, it was fun for a couple of hours until my skins refused to stick to my skis.
The ride up and back down was not as cold as we were expecting. The person driving has heated handle grips and a windscreen and the person on the back, well, they need to dress warmly! The backcountry ski lift worked well, getting us to the hill in about 15 minutes rather than about 3 hours.
Another advantage of being up high like this is the sunshine. Once you're out of the valleys, you are often out from all the cloud and fog that seems to settle down there. Once again, a chance to see the peaks and views that this area is noted for.
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