Westies

Yesterday was one of those perfect days in the mountains. Steve, Tim, and I headed up for a last tour before I move out of Nelson. The morning dawned completely clear, the sky that deep, rich blue that is so beautifully amplified by the contrasting snow draped mountains. We got an early start because the freezing levels were supposed to sky rocket to 2500 meters by the afternoon, but we skinned up in perfect 20 degree (-6 Celsius) weather. The glide of our skis made the refrozen snow crunch lightly underneath our feet.





Our plan for the day was to ski a line in Prospector's Bowl. Tim had never been there so we thought we'd let him taste what he'd been missing all season. However, when we arrived at the top of the chute to enter the bowl, it was obvious that today was not the day for it. The winds, which normally come from the southwest, had come from the northwest and had scoured and distorted the normally beautiful entrance. It looked like an avalanche waiting to happen, or at best, terrible skiing. Only 10 minutes away from the entrance to West Ymir, we decided it was best to look over there. When we got to the saddle we looked into the bowl and it looked perfect. The sun was just beginning to touch the North facing slope fueling our desire to sky it even more. There were 2 tracks in the bowl from some people who had skied a different line, but there didn't appear to be any movement within the snow. We quickly deskinned and dropped in. The snow was perfect. Hero snow. The winds that had scoured Prospector's had actually helped pull the moisture out of the snow, which was so heavy yesterday, making for effortless turns. I don't think I stopped smiling until hours after we were finished. Oh wait, I feel a grin coming on. This was definitely one of the most memorable times that I've skied West Ymir. Great visibility, great snow, and great friends. A perfect day.

Tim





Joshua





Steve