Fairy Meadows - March 17 to 31, 2007

General links and information:

Week 2 trip preparation page and maps
Fairy Meadows hut general information from the ACC
Fairy Meadows hut description and gear checklist from ACC
Video by Eric Hink group
Videos by Tim Place
General information by Jim Frankenfeld re glacier conditions glacier travel and crevasse rescue in Fairy Meadows area
General information on place names by Jim Frankenfeld (Inaccuracies in Government of Canada 1:50,000 maps)
1:20,000 BC trim data map - Fairy Meadows to Great Cairn version (big file) [PRINT AS 3X 24" by 36" maps)
1:50,000 Government of Canada topo map from Fairy Meadows to Great Cairn Hut (big file)
1:250,000 Government of Canada topo map of north Selkirks (big file)
Jones, David P., "Selkirks North" (2004: Elaho Publishing Corp., Squamish, BC.)
Scott, Chic, "Summits and Icefields: Alpine Ski Tours in the Columbia Mountains" (2003: Rocky Mountain Books, Surrey, BC)
Traverse from Argentine Glacier to Great Cairn Hut then Fairy Meadows route descriptio

Exchange day and conditions really sh&* the big one. Freezing levels rose, 35 cms of snow fell on the already wet dense 20+ cms of yesterday. I cowered in a corner in the back of the lodge and furiously ate trying to recover lost body weight, dreaming of my wife flying in with a 12 pack of cream horns from Revelstoke's Chalet Bakery.

It was not meant to be, I listened as both Don and Craig of Golden's Alpine Helicopters tried to get even one flight off the ground. It was raining hard in Golden and visibility was pretty much nil at the hut. Frantic phone calls, rescheduling flights and shifts were made by our group and we settled in for another night.

The next day the weather broke and the birds flew. Little did we know that the next few days would bring bluebirds of happiness to the North Selkirks glaciers and peaks.

View north down Kinbasket Lake from the bird ~photo Benet Summers

The group with which I was to ski was unguided and self-catered. The other half of the hut had a cook and a guide. This turned out to work very well, due in large part to the general niceness of the other people in the group - but also to the professionalism of their guide Todd Craig and cook, Steve Doucette. Also, our group (whom I had never met before) turned out to be experienced tourers who were used to sharing huts and diligent at general chores.