Tonight I just heard a CBC radio broadcast about an Antarctic Expedition by Amundsen. He experienced minus 70 degrees Celsius... we experienced nothing close to that, but still our trip was cold.
What seemed to be a doomed trip from the very beginning turned out to be a success (for skiing at least). Jasper and much of south western Canada were hit with a massive winter storm followed by a REALLY cold front (at this point we have more snow than we've had since '89). There was a lot of doubt whether we should even go, but I was determined.
We set out later than we had planned on Wednesday, Tracey, Myself and our friends Pam and Evan (and of course Yoho). We made it down to Nakusp around 7 pm as we had to take the Kamloops route as the Icefield Parkway was close due to avalanches.
Thursday we awoke early and got to our usual trail head at 10 am. We found more snow on the logging road than we have ever seen in the five winters we have taken this trip. I am deliberately not mentioning the name of this Hot Spring... if you want to go to it, drop me a line and I'll take you there (this is a super special place for Tracey and I... she;s been going here since she was five, and together we've been there well over ten times).
The ski in was great! I had my new touring setup and found it to be far superior over cross country skis, especially with an 80L backpack on. We made good time and covered the 12 km in just under four hours. Thank goodness there had been a snowmobile through first so that we didn't have to break trail. When I attempted to break trail the snow penetration was calf to knee deep.
The springs were different (as usual) fewer pools by the river and a hell of a lot more snow than we've ever seen. Usually the ground is clear of snow in many places due to geothermal heat, but it was so cold that this was not the case. We set up camp... I started getting grumpy as my feet and hands were frozen. After setting up camp I was the first in the hot pools. I went straight to the pool at 39'C... perfect temperature for me. The others joined me within 30 mins... they dreaded the idea getting into a bathing suit with temps. so cold. We left most of our gear at the spring... mistake number 2!
We soaked well past midnight.. no one wanting to brave the cold to get out and head to the tents. The sky was exceptionally clear and the stars bright... one of the best evenings I've had at this particular hot spring. Upon getting out of the springs I learned a valuable lesson... alpine touring boots freeze at anything below minus 20'C... I could not get them on. I had to walk approx 200 m in plastic bags over my feet and sleep that night with my boots in my sleeping bag. Surprisingly we all slept very warm and well!
The next morning... actually we never got up until until 1 pm. Tracey and I awoke to a tent of frost... every time you move you get covered in frost, that turns to water when it hits you. We decided the night before to head out on Friday and spend the night in Revelstoke so that Saturday would not be so long a day of driving for me (thank you!). A good thing. As you know I am very proud of being a professional backpacking/expedition guide... but I was humbled when I realized that I had forgotten the stove.... of all times... when the night time reached well below minus 20'C! Luckily we had lots that did not need cooking.
We skied out in 2.5 hours and had a hard time fixing the skis to the roof of the Jeep as it was too cold to use exposed fingers for too long. We reached Revelstoke around 7:30 pm and stayed at the Revelstoke Lodge... best place ever! $60 for a nice room, king size bed, down duvet, cable tv, microwave, and coffee maker... awesome. (Tracey and I stay there every time we have an evening in Revelstoke... we love it!) Anyhow, I cooked up Chili for Evan and Pam and we all drank the booze that we were too cold to drink while camping. Actually I drank very little as I really disliked the type of Scotch I purchased for the trip... a very poor 12 year old Islay as far as I am concerned! Saturady morning we left Revelstoke at 10 am and reached Jasper by 4:00 pm. Great trip, but would rather camp in warmer temperatures next time.... and there will be a next time. Check out links
1 2 and
3 for videos of the hotspring. 1 is a video of Evan's frozen bathing suit... yes that cold!
