A bit o' the backcountry

A gang from our department went out for some backcountry yesterday, just behind the Cypress Mountain resort on the North shore. It was my first day on my new tele skis and only my second day ever on teles. I was soaked by the time we got up (from the arduous work of climbing steep slopes on skins) and soaked when we got down (from multiple face plants and other spectacular falls). Luckily the day was stunningly gorgeous and we were skiing in deep powder, including 60 fresh cms in the last 48 hours. What an amazing day!

A set of a dozen photos from the day are hosted on my friend's flickr site.

While returning my rental boots and beacon at MEC today, Rocco was casually perusing the snowshoes. A couple pairs were discounted due to being returned slightly used, and he spontaneously bought a pair of Denali Classics for about 30% off the regular price. We seem to be buying opposite gear to each other - I'm equipped with multiple pairs of skis and now he has snowshoes while I don't - but at least we're getting geared up. It makes having fun times in the snow a lot easier when most of what you need is hanging around begging to be used. Bring on the snowsports!