A relatively unknown hidden gem called Mt. Becher lies about 12km SE of Mt. Washington.  It falls within the extreme western edge of a small offshoot of Strathcona Provincial Park and features plenty of snow, skiable terrain and grand 360 degree vistas of Strathcona peaks, the Comox Glacier and the mainland coastal mountains.The route to the top of Mt. Becher is about 6km (one way) with an elevation gain of 600m.  Except for some steeper sections (which get your heart pumping) the terrain is pretty easy to travel.  There are no sharp drop offs or rock scrambling required on the main route up (but if you want you can find these off to the sides of the trail if you walk a short ways).  Depending on your fitness level, trail conditions, weight of your pack and how distracted you get taking photos of the marvellous scenery, travel time to the top ranges from 2 to 4 hours and about 1.5-2 hours back down.  The route is fairly popular but if you are one of the first up after a snowfall and have to break trail be prepared to spend more time on the ascent.

The trailhead is located at the parking lot of the old Forbidden Ski hill.   From there head straight up the hill following the old ski lift.  This part of the route has some of the steeper sections you will encounter on the trail.

Once you get to the top of the old ski hill the walking is easier as you traverse a gently up sloping plateau through majestic trees.As you gain altitude you start to encounter views of Mt. Becher.

Continuing up the trail brings you to a very spectacular bowl housing Boston Falls and Boston Lake.  Local ice climbers use Boston Falls so there is a trail down to the lake. There is a very good viewpoint here so spend some time and enjoy the view.

Past Boston Lake the trail becomes steeper again as you approach the summit.

The final approach to the summit is largely open with scattered clumps of trees.If the conditions are right the trees may be covered in wind-swept snow making the whole area a winter wonderland.

The summit itself is dome shaped without a clearly defined top.  Walk around the summit and take advantage of the views.

To the North-East you will see Georgia Strait (Salish Sea) and the Coastal Mountains.To the South-East is Comox Lake.

To the South-West is the Comox Glacier and other spectacular peaks in Strathcona Park.

To the North-West you should be able to see the ski runs on Mt. Washington.

The route is popular with both snowshoers and skiers (and hikers in the warmer months). Some of the steeper sections can be a little tricky on skis so consider your level of expertise before heading up.  The summit sections and the old ski hill sections are favored by the skiers to get some turns in.  In the early part of the season when the snow pack is low the old ski hill sections can be challenging due to the growth of Alder trees on the old runs but with enough snow these become covered.

Getting There

Travel North on Highway 19 (Island Highway) from Nanaimo until you pass the first exit to Courtenay/Comox (don’t turn into Courtenay, stay on the highway).  Turn right at the lights at Piercy Road and after a few hundred meters take another right on Forbidden Plateau Road.  Follow this road all the way to where it ends in the parking lot of the old Forbidden Ski Area.  Although the road turns into gravel it is very well maintained and passable by any 2wd car.  The lower slopes of the old Forbidden Ski hill are very popular with families and they seem to keep the road well cleared in winter.

You can download a GPS track of the route here:

GPS Track

More details on the route up can be found here:

Detailed Route

Warnings

Although this location is relatively easy to get to and many families play on the lower slopes of the old ski runs, keep in mind that Mt. Becher is a backcountry location and subject to all the usual perils.  Take appropriate precautions by bring the right gear, letting someone know of your planned route and assessing the avalanche danger.  Although I have no personal experience, I have heard from others that you can get cell phone coverage from the tower on Mt. Washington.  Most of the photos I’ve posted here are of lovely sunny days but it can also be cold, blowing, foggy and offer white-out conditions (see photo below).  Check the weather forecast before you go and always be prepared for inclement weather.

Equipment

Suggested equipment will depend on time of year, local conditions and your mode of travel but some common equipment will be useful no mater how you travel.  A GPS is a very good thing to carry (with the track available above loaded).  In good weather the route up is fairly obvious but if the weather closes in landmarks can disappear making navigation difficult.  Hiking poles are useful as there is a lot of up hill travel.  I consider a camera as essential but that may just be my bias as a photographer.  It’s an excellent idea to carry some sort of communication device as well should you get into trouble (Cell phone, radio, Spot Messenger). Take clothing appropriate to the conditions.

The post Mt. Becher – Hidden Gem first appeared on Pack & Trail.

“YES!!!” was my response when she asked about adding me to the list of powder hounds. Unfortunately a few days later I received a text regarding our accommodation and the lack of space if all involved actually made it. “We don’t have room.” Maybe next time I’d be able to head up to Cain for a powder day.

I was stoked to actually be able to ski on the mountain. Just 2 weeks prior I was on that same ski hill taking the Avalanche Skills Training Level 1 course from Island Alpine Guides. The great weekend was put on by Outdoor Vanisle in hopes of attracting enough silly people to pay for a raffle of sweet, sweet gear. Silly, not for the gear, but for the terribly icey face Mount Cain greeted us with. The raffle draw was bomber and I walked away with a synthetic -7 sleeping bag from Mountain Hardwear. Well worth the $20 I spent on the tickets!

I grieved a bit for the loss of an opportunity to head up Cain during stellar conditions when the call came in. “Umm, everyone bailed.” Well that sucks, sounds like the trip isn’t going ahead then. “Nope, we’re going and we have space for you.” Wicked! Fate decided I should ski.

Fish in a Ditch

We finally got all our crap together and leave Nanaimo, stoked out of our minds that we’re heading to Cain for the weekend with over 100cm of fresh from the week just waiting to be torn to pieces the next morning. I was very much unstoked about the drive to get up there though. I naively offered my truck up for the trip. 3 others excitedly took up the offer and hopped in for the ride. Sketchy drives aren’t so sketchy when you aren’t driving!

“I heard there’s a bunch of black ice on the highway before Campbell River.”

Great. With my hands at 10 and 2 all the way to Campbell River, I let out a huge sigh of relief as we got into Campbell River. Done with the black ice! Stoked!

“Apparently there’s a semi truck in the ditch just North of here”.

I love hearing that. The truck had slid off the road just north of Campbell River. We squeaked by as they were unloading the fish and random assortment of goodies from the trailer. Any later and we would have been stuck in a line of cars for 30 minutes while they actually pulled the truck out of the ditch. Our friends were a late because of it.

Home free! Almost.

The roads north of Campbell River were much better, although much more curvaceous than the straight arrows down south.

Winding our moonlit path through the mountains, we glided past the glowing snow on the trees. We breezed along the relatively dry road under the clear sky and bright stars.Passing the turnoff to Cain, we all had a momentary fantasy of what the snow in the morning would be like. Instead of sugar plums dancing around in our heads, we had huge snowflakes and first tracks down big powdery hills.

Woss Vegas

I knew there wasn’t much to Woss but I was greeted with even less than I thought.

We rocked up to the general store and gas station to wait for our last 2. We talked to trips all around the world from climbing in Thailand to safari’s in Africa. When our other 2 showed up we meandered down the main road of Woss (read tiny lane with dirt roads off it) to our home of the next 3 days. A movie and a couple of drinks and then we were off dreaming of sugar plums… err, powdery slopes.

We drove about 25 minutes up the hill the next morning to finally get a glimpse of the Mount Cain. Only a few other cars on the road up prompted a premature giddiness that there may not be as many people on the mountain as we had though.

Only, they were already on the mountain.Driving past every car on the north island in the parking lot we finally find ourselves a snowy spot at the very end of the parking lot. One more slid in beside us and that was it, followers had to find space elsewhere. We threw our gear on and headed towards the ticket line up that went all the way down the parking lot. Well, it wasn’t quite that long but huge by Cain standards.

Time to ski!

Or wait in line. For those thinking that it’s incredibly busy on Cain all the time, I must let you know that most of the time there are a few people up there. A friend commented on how awesome of a day they had a little while ago with the 7 other people on the mountain. This weekend was particularly busy but that’s not usually the case.

We did have to wait for a while in the lift lines and by 11 we were at the top gearing up for the first run of the day. The entire morning everyone had been twitching they wanted to get on the snow so bad. It was finally time.

The sun was out, the air was warm, the snow was light and fluffy. Time to drop in for the first run of the weekend.

Epic.

Big open runs or tight treed sections, take your pick. It’s all available for awesome riding on Cain. We did lots of both. Finding what powder we could in the open sections and then heading into the trees for some cruising in and out of the covered areas.By the end of the day we were thoroughly tuckered. I highly recommend staying on the mountain so you’ve not go far to go to chill and have a beer but Woss is still close. A 25 minute drive down the mountain into Woss and we had cold brews in hand recounting the best bails of the day.

Day 2 on Cain

The forecast had called for snow Saturday night so we were a little disappointed to see there was no fresh when we woke up Sunday morning. The roads were clear as we headed up the mountain for a second day riding. Everyone was feeling good. We didn’t have an injuries or serious mishaps from the day before. We were as stoked as Saturday morning to get back on the slopes. There was also going to be half as many people as the day before.

I met up with some awesome friends also spending the weekend shredding the powder. Powder was a little harder to find Sunday. Things were a little hard and bumpy. We just had to look a little harder for the good stuff. It was in the trees and hidden in out of the way, unridden areas. We could just ride straight down the hill and hit some chunky parts but the pow was still there, waiting to be shredded.

The group started dropping just before lunch. The day and night before had taken their toll and our numbers were dwindling. I was determined to get as many runs as I could in by even my legs and knees were starting to give in to the constant weight on the t-bar and the rough snow. My sister and I were the last ones left.

We had found a great run with a few solid little kickers on it. We’d hit a few, cruise through the trees and then pop out onto a run for a few more. The last few jumps definitely did a number on me. I couldn’t get enough of them though. Soaring through the area without worrying about the landing is an amazing feeling. I hit every one almost perfect except for the last.

I had already hit the last jump a few times and was dialing in my speed and takeoff but the last time was different. I was tired, I was thinking about whether or not to do one more run and my legs just didn’t have it in them. I leaned back too far and couldn’t bring myself back up on landing. It wouldn’t have made much difference normally but one of my skis caught and then the other and I ended up in a pile at the bottom. I’ve no idea how I did it but at some point I landed on my pole, snapping it in half. I stood up, looked around and noticed 3 poles instead of 2. At least it was the end of the day.

Heading Home

Normally we’d be heading up Sunday night. Thankfully everyone had Monday off and just headed back into Woss for the night. The Wii got a lot of action that night after a delicious pasta dinner. I think everyone had plans to party hard that night but we all hit the sack early after a great weekend on the snow. Monday morning was a slack time getting ready and then an easy drive home in the lightly falling snow.A great end to a great weekend on the powdery slopes of Mount Cain.

The post A Powdery Weekend on Mount Cain first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Three quarters of the trip was boot packing on dirt, no snow in sight. We did get into some snow and managed to get a few turns down a logging road but that was about it. I did learn a few things about how not to pack your skis on your bag.

On the way down I strapped mine to my bag a little differently than on the way up and I obviously did it the wrong way. Straight up and down is not a good way to do it. Every time I lifted my feet up behind me they hit my skis. Every time I leaned forward and lifted my head, my lovely skis were there with their sharp edges. I had always wondered why no one packed their skis straight up and down. Now the bump on my head and I are a little bit more intelligent.

So how do you pack them properly? Well, there are a few good methods. Each differ in how fast you can attach them to your bag, where the center of gravity sits and how easy it is to travel on open terrain or in heavy brush. You will probably need to change your carrying style depending on where you’re going, what pack you’re using and how much you’re carrying.

A-frame

If your pack has straps down the side you can split your skis up and put one on each side with the tips together above you. It’s best to have a strap to secure the tips together so they don’t clang around while you’re walking. There will be space in between your skis for your head if you need to look up and the tails will be out to the sides so they won’t bother your feet as they swing up. Being on the sides of your pack, the weight of the skis is closer to your body.

Diagonal

This is another good way to pack your skis so you don’t have to wear a helmet when boot-packing. Put your skis together like you would store them, bottom to bottom. Then using the straps on your bag, attach them to the back going from the bottom left to the top right (or bottom right to top left). Depending on the straps on your bag, this way is fast and easy to put on and take off. It succeeds in the head bashing test as well. Being on the angle it keeps the tips away from your head and the tails away from your feet. You might feel a tad lopsided if you’ve got them really high or really low. With this style the weight of the skis is out on the back of your pack. If you’ve got a lot of stuff in your pack, the weight can be a considerable distance away from your body.

Straight Horizontal

You can also attach your skis to your pack straight horizontally. You can lash them to the top of your pack or the back. It will depend on the straps you have on your pack. Careful not to take out your ski partners as you turn when you use this method! If you strap the skis to the top of your bag, the weight can be quite close to your body, albeit fairly high. If you attach them to the back of your pack then the weight is out much further.

Straight Vertical on the back

If you’re pack is full or strapped down very tightly you can attach both skis to the back vertically with the bases facing forward. Like carrying the skis diagonally the weight is further out from your body.

Straight Vertical on the sides

This method is basically the A-frame style without connecting the tips. For this to work well, your pack has to be big enough or just be full enough to support the skis on their own aiming almost straight up.  Like carrying the skis A-frame style the weight is closer to your body than diagonally or vertically on the back.

The Snowplow

The snowplow is really only an option if you’re travelling through thick brush. All the other methods leave ski tips in the air and tails out to the sides. With this method, the tips are strapped together at the tips, then you carry them horizontally in front of you, like a snowplow. Again, it’s not the best for open terrain but can work well if there is a lot of crap to get caught on. The weight carrying skis using this method is actually out in front of you.

Conclusion

There really is no best way to carry your skis. You’ll probably be rotating between a couple of the methods depending on the conditions. A couple of points to keep in mind are speed of attachment. Diagonally is probably the fastest method. It’s not the most comfortable for long carries though as the weight is far back on your pack. Something with the weight closer to your body is better for hours of packing, like A-frame or vertical on the sides.

How do you carry your skis? Good, bad or ugly experience with one of the styles above?

The post Don’t want a ski in the head? The Proper Way to Pack Your Skis first appeared on Pack & Trail.

Ski Gear

Skis (with bindings)

Boots

Poles

Helmet

Clothing

Waterproof pants

Waterproof jacket

Gloves

Toque

Goggles/sunglasses

Ski socks

Layers for top

Layers for Bottom

Dry clothes for the ride home

Misc

Money and lift passes

Backpack

Camera

Walkie Talkies

Food

Food for lunch

Snacks

Water

Food for the ride home

Transportation

Chains for car in nasty conditions

**

If you take something every time you ski at the resorts, add it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.

The post Resort Skiing Gear Checklist first appeared on Pack & Trail.