This report was written by Stano and Brad Schalles whom you can follow on Twitter as @bschalles and via his WestCoast Skimo blog. Both are National Skimo Canada Team members.
After barely making it to the Asulkan parking lot, through a foot of fresh powder, Stano said: “I wonder how hard the trail breaking will be to the Asulkan Hut?”
Sitting in a car we came up with a plan: since the others were very late we decided they would break the trail for us! At the end the punishment didn’t quite work out 🙂
We were at Rogers Pass for the Ski Mountaineering Canada (SMC) on snow training camp. Rogers Pass and the Asulkan Hut have been the site of many SMC camps in the past because it consistently provides lots of early season snow.
Training leading up to this camp
Mileage and Team building
The purpose of this training camp was to get lots of vertical and hours on skis under our belts.
Another important aspect was to spend time with other SMC team members before World Championships at Pelvoux, France in February 2013. Team members in attendance included Melanie Bernier, Carla McKirdy, Steve Sellers, Peter Knight, Reiner Thoni, Stano Faban, and Brad Schalles.
Our adventurous plans had to be adjusted because of the recently buried surface hoar, high winds, and large amounts of storm snow. For 3 days, we were confined to the trees below the hut. However, this was not a problem as each morning we awoke to fresh Selkirk powder with no sign of the 40+ ski tracks our group put in the day before.
After long days of skiing we would return in the dark to the warmth and safety of the Asulkan Hut. It was always a welcome sight!
In the evenings we would eat a large group meal that no one ever expected to finish but each time it somehow managed to disappear. Dinners were followed by discussions on topics around planning for World Championships or practicing crevasse rescue.
By the end of the camp everyone had done at least one 3000+ meter day, and some had done two or three. With the short length of the runs below the hut, our transitions were also getting dialed in by the end of the week – each of us must have done about 70 during the camp!
It was an amazing couple of days that would not have been possible without the support of the Alpine Club Of Canada as they donated the use of the Asulkan Hut for our team.
Special thanks also goes to Dynafit and Rab for their continued support of skimo racing in Canada.
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