Sorcerer Lodge – Day 4- Nordic Glacier (Broadway) – Nordic West – Traverse of the Angels – Black Russian col – Critical Thursday

Useful links:

Sorcerer Lodge
Attempt at Mt Iconoclast just north of Sorcerer – see Day 12
Detailed map of terrain around Sorcerer from cabin wall (LARGE FILE)
Trim data map of Sorcerer from BC government data (LARGE FILE)
Link to John Seibert’s Sorcerer Lodge ski-mountaineering trip report
Stan Wagon’s Alchemist to Sorcerer Lodge traverse trip report (north from Argentine to Iconoclast area)

A day of limited visibility is followed by clear skies! We were ogling the upper Nordic Glacier the last time around and lose no time in getting up there quickly, this time pointing to the Nordic west glacier and a possible ascent of the west Nordic Peak. Also on the agenda today was the Traverse of the Angels

Morning view to Ventego Creek drainage. Golden is in the distance

Morning view of Nordic Glacier from Sorcerer Lodge

View of the Nordic Glacier and the three Nordic peaks from the back deck

Do NOT forget your skins when you’re starting a big glacier tour. We split into 3 separate roped groups again continuing up to the lower Nordic Glacier then skinning up the “Broadway” snowfield and heading to Escargot with clear blue skies.

Remember your skins when you ski down the moraine to the Nordic lakes!

Ascending the Broadway variation of Nordic Glacier

Mantrain on the Nordic Glacier

I was surprised to see 4 helicopters fly over us as we navigated past the crevassed portions of the lower Nordic Glacier. I was even more surprised when 4 groups of heli-skiers skied right down the runs right over top of us. Moreso because we had told Great Canadian Heli-skiing that we would be touring up the Nordic Glacier but also because there was so many other alternatives for the guides and their clients. I will give them credit for keeping their turns nice and tight.

While we were going up the Nordic Glacier, 4 groups of heli-skiers dropped in above us.

Pictures shows the heli tracks off west Nordic Peak and then the Broadway portion of the Nordic Glacier as they dropped in above our skin track.

We weren’t going to let 25 heli-skiers bother us so we made our way up to west Nordic Peak. Some of us decided to summit while the rest of us peeled off and did some runs then continued on to the Traverse of the Angels.

Panorama looks S to E from the NW flank of the west Nordic peak

Group shot on the NW flank of the west Nordic peak

Deedee can cook and carve a mean turn

Sharon in the pow

Morgan leads out the Traverse of the Angels ~photo Greg Paulhus

Even with well over 4m of snow base on the glacier, there are lots of open slots on the Traverse of the Angels ~photo Sharon Bader

The Traverse was a bit disappointing. There was so much snow that the slight descent required skins! It looks like there’s a way to pinch down through the slots back to the Lower Nordic Glacier through the fall-line but navigation would be exceedingly stressful through that crevasse minefield. We elected to traverse then ski down a ramp to the Black Russian Col bench, head up Black Russian again then see if we could find fresh tracks on Critical Thursday. Good call it turned out as Critical Thursday was gorgeous.