Heli-slinging training

We had a helicopter rescue slinging exercise the other day. It was to get everyone certified to be able to perform this rescue if someone needs extricating from a tricky spot. The temp's were -22 degrees Celsius, and it was very cold flying!



Part of the exercise was packaging a patient to be flown out. Luckily, we had a warden with a broken toe who was "happy" to volunteer for the role of patient.



In total, 11 people slung into the top of the landslide area. We packaged up a patient, flew him out with an attendant, then skied the slope and were picked up at the bottom. It was still bloody cold flying out...

Ice Climbing course

Four days of ice climbing! After 7 years of letting the tools rust in the corner, I dragged them out, sharpened them up, and froze my butt off ice climbing. Well, it never really got too cold, which made it that much more of a sweet return to the Rockies!



My first route ever in the Ghost River area. I never had a large enough vehicle to get in there. This climb is "Weathering Heights", a three star, 100m WI4 route that was great fun.



Mike Eder finishing the first pitch on Weathering Heights.



Grant Statham on Carlsberg Column (WI5), an excellent route in Field.



Carlsberg Column from below.



Percy Woods on Louise Falls, avoiding the death daggers and climbing quickly.

Little Sifton morning tour

On the summit of Little Sifton. A great tour first thing in the morning when you don't have time for a full day.



The view southeast towards Sir Donald.



The view south towards Asulkan Pass.



Looking towards Grizzly Peak from the summit of Little Sifton.



Starting the descent off of Little Sifton. There is an initial roll of roughly 30-33 degrees, but then it kicks back to mellow terrain, 20-25 degrees, down to the top of Grizzly Shoulder.



The Pass...road access is pretty good.

Returning south, coming home!

After spending the last 6 months in Nunavut, it was time to fly back south. On November 8, I was heading home.



'Lo and behold, it was a sign! I had returned to Rogers Pass! I love the colder air of the interior vs the coast, and the ice crystals that hang in the sky on a clear day!



Went skiing with Henke up in the basin behind Avalanche Crest. Managed to remote trigger a size 3 slide from 400m away! We were creeping back down the hill after that one. The following day, people were skiing similar aspects up the Connaught drainage and not seeing the spookiness that we had. Spatial variability...keep your eyes open!



Vern heading up McGill through the caked trees.



Verena and Marty nearing the top of McGill Shoulder



"Every trip must have a bag of chips!" Vern exclaims!



Marty, loving the interior fluff.



The interior fluff, stuck on Marty's face, after a run of sweetness.



Finished for another day, the gang will return at a later date.

Boat patrol

Our outfitter, taking us out to patrol the north coast of the park. This was the end of October, and the temp's were dropping to -15 degrees Celsius. It doesn't sound too bad, but when you're on the open ocean, it is bloody cold!



The high, noon-hour sun above Qikiqtarjuaq.



What a polar bear looks like when skinned and chopped up into a bunch of pieces.



Bergs, floating south from Baffin Bay.



The purpose of this patrol was to place boundary signs along the coast, as well as observe any activities of the sport-hunters in the nearby vicinity.



Seals taking advantage of the recently formed sea ice.



A successful hunter with his polar bear. He was outside of the park.



I will not pass judgement...

It's winter in Pang...

The snow is here to stay. This is the one road out of town. It goes 3.6km to the north, ending at a quarry. The locals like to drive out to the quarry "just to get away from town", while a fair number of transplanted kalanuks use the road as their dog-running path. I've observed a fair number of folks driving to the quarry and back, having the dog chase the vehicle. I guess they didn't want to get exercise themselves?



On my wanders the previous day, I spotted a nice couloir that looked as though it would be a fun boot-pack up. The storm we had at the beginning of the week deposited only 10cm of snow, but the winds were blowing 50-70km/h for 2 days. It was enough to sufficiently load the chute up so that it avalanched. The large debris piles at the base and the crown lines that I saw higher up (up to 1m) indicated it was a good size 2 slide.



Higher up in the couloir. Worries of a dangerous sliding layer were diminshed, knowing that the chute had been cleaned out during the storm.



Looking back down the couloir. I wish it had a nice 2m base, with 20cm of pow-pow ready to ski...



This is Pangnirtung at mid-day, when the sun is at its highest point in its daily arc. As you can see, the town will be heading into the shadow next week. Yeehah...

Randomness on a Saturday

There are many dogs in town, and very, very few of them are the genuine Inuit sled dog. At some point in Pangnirtung's history, someone brought in a very "randy" corgy-type dog, and the species has been altered forever.



The genetic blend does make for cute puppies, though.



Jonah, a young artist up the street from me, carving early in the morning.



Jonah is not considered a master carver. That is an honour bestowed upon artists who have been carving for a certain length of time and have produced some amazing sculptures. Jonah is well on his way to getting that status if he continues on his path.



I ran up Mt Duvall after puttering away in town. Nice to get out and stretch the legs.



The sun is getting lower, and in a couple of weeks, the mountain above Pangnirtung will block the sun from it, leaving it in the dark until February 14, Valentine's Day.



Kind of neat looking down on the ocean from 700m up. Note the coastal shelf that is completely exposed at low tides. Pang has tidal variations of up to 7m, making you plan your schedule accordingly when heading out on the ocean.