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)
Bright sunny day! But no-one wants to ski Iconoclast – booohooo, hisssssssss! It’s never a good idea to drag unwilling bodies out on a shortrope to a 3200m peak in the Northern Selkirks and with those sensible words burning in my ears I revert to the original plan to tour up White Russian and check out the area south of White Russian – the Little Matterhorn.
Jake heading to the Nordic Glacier ~ photo Greg Paulhus
Greg, Jake and Dave on the well-trodden path up the Nordic
Visibility at the White Russian
By now the route to White Russian is familiar and the crevasse hazards clearly defined. We can dispense with the rope and take in the view. As we crest the col, we realize that the heli-skiers haven’t begun famring the glacier – kindly leaving us untracked powder fields – beckoning to us with light whisks of powder. When someone offers something like that to you, there’s really only one reasonable thing to do.
Little Matterhorn Glacier pre-pillage
… and that’s take it, and take it hard!
Sharon and I laid in the first tracks
Up to the heli-pad to see what our good heli-skier friends had left for us ~photo Jake P
Show no mercy! Leave no snow untracked!
Greg shows the slopes no mercy
There’s something beautiful about an untracked 35 degree powder slope. There’s something even more beautiful about disappearing beneath a 35 degree powder slope.
Dave can’t believe the untouched canvas
Sharon ripping
The snow was about as light as it can be
Unbelievable skiing conditions for Sharon
It was so good we went back for seconds. That was so good we went back for thirds …. buurrrrrpppp
Even the sketchy beginners with the Texas Tucks get to track out heli-ski powder fields
What is Sharon looking at? ~photo Greg Paulhus
…..
perhaps its the way that we tracked out Little Matterhorn! Whoops – looks like there’s a few spots we missed.
… or is the weather incoming from the South West ~photo Greg Paulhus
Then the weather turned as the afternoon clouds came in hard. We headed off to Perfect Pass then scooted off to the lower Alder Ridge slopes finishing off with a beautiful slalomy (is that a word?) run down the slide paths of Woozels and Heppalumps.
A jackdaw (well really a crow) visited Jack ~ photo Greg Paulhus
On returning to the cabin, the air crew entertained us on the Big Bag of Stupid.
A word about the food. DeeDee is an amazing cook who can feed hungry people very efficiently. It was no fault of hers that I ate over 5000 calories of food a day and still ended up losing 6 lbs. How I do that is a mystery between my genetics (thanks Mum and Dad!) and an overactive metabolism. Typical meal for today follows:
Breakfast.
– two full pbj sandwiches. Heavy on butter. Heavy on peanut butter.
– two full helpings of bacon and eggs. About the same as three sausage egg mcmuffins
i would guess
– 5 hashbrowns
– 2 breakfast pizzas.
Lunch
– bag of peanuts and cashews
– 2 large size oatmeal bars (each bar about the size of 2 clif bars
– one sandwich. Heavy on mayo, avocado, ham and cucumbers
– 2 fruit bars
Afternoon tea
– 1 full size french loaf. Heavy on butter.
– 3 hashbrowns (they were leftover)
– 1 bag kettle chips
Dinner
– 2 cans of ginger ale
– 3 servings of chicken and mashed potatoes. Each serving about the size of
what a regular person would eat. liberal with butter and gravy.
– All the chicken skin off 2 chickens (rest of group was going to waste it and
throw it away)
– 3 brownies, raspberry jello and whipped cream
Then i sat on my ass and tried to rest
I figure that was about 5,200 calories as i was heavy on the butter.
Mmmmmm…. chicken and fat
Mmmm… pork products. Yummmmm
Day 6’s profile
Day 6’s route