I caught a ride to Lake Louise with my buddy Chris, who was on his way to an ACC trip for the weekend. We met up with Lukas and his friend Petr at the hostel and made plans for the next day's adventure.

We decided to try to summit Vermilion Peak. The forecast looked good for the earlier part of the day so we tried to get an early start. We arrived at the parking lot for the Paint Pots at around 8:00.

The snow was quite rain-affected at lower elevations but once we hit the freeze line we began encountering very nice fresh powder through the burn. As we gained the alpine, it took on a more slabby feel but no cracking was observed. We dug a pit on a 32 degree southwest slope just above treeline. The February 14 surface hoar was 100 cm down and we were unable to get it to react. The snowpack was indeed very well consolidated.

Consistent with my experience in the mountains this winter, the weather closed in and we lost visibility. We abandoned the idea of a summit and began skiing down. We took our time and tried to get some fun action shots. It was a blast!

We stopped in Calgary for some Japanese food before getting home around 9:30. Thanks guys!

Surfing

Rooster Tail Riding the Rail The Ramones - What a Wonderful World