Mustang Powder Feb 17-19, 2024

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Not much time for words just now. Very mixed conditions. Wind affected, sun affected, under crust sometimes but not always.

Day one started good, but then got cruiser-y and fairly mixed in the alpine (sunny and just warm enough to add suncrust to some aspects and altitudes). Day two was OK with some good runs (some windsift in the alpine for example), some not so good and some that mixed all possible conditions into one run. And Day three was the best with often fairly dense but very skiable 8-16" of soft on most turns on nearly every run. Doesn't make sense given that day 3 was the longest since any recent snowfall, but that's they way they "farmed" the snow/sectors. Our group did cause 2 small avalanches as well (D1 size). One on day one, one on day 2. Neither with any consequences.

I'll post more words and pics later (like maybe a other day or so), but here are the tracking maps. Day one Orange tracks, Day 2 Blue Tracks, Day 3 is the Green tracks - starting with 3 very long and steep runs in June's and Me so Hawny. Overall only replicated 5 runs from last year.

Kinda unreadable overview of all the days:

Days one and two mostly in the far north side and alpine:

Day 3 mostly south and just N of the lodge:

 

[ChrisC]

Day one started good, but then got cruiser-y and fairly mixed in the alpine (sunny and just warm enough to add suncrust to some aspects and altitudes). Day two was OK with some good runs (some windsift in the alpine for example), some not so good and some that mixed all possible conditions into one run. And Day three was the best with often fairly dense but very skiable 8-16" of soft on most turns on nearly every run. Doesn't make sense given that day 3 was the longest since any recent snowfall, but that's they way they "farmed" the snow/sectors. Our group did cause 2 small avalanches as well (D1 size). One on day one, one on day 2. Neither with any consequences.

It looks like Day 3 (Green) Runs faced Northeast or East and got consistent westerly blow-in/wind-loaded snow.

When skiing at Eagle Pass Heli, we spent most of our time in its Bews sector (non-glaciated alpine/sub-alpine), which has a mostly east/northeast orientation and was quite wind-loaded from westerlies. Excellent skiing. This sector is the immediate mountain range to Mustang's east. We could see into Mustang Powder's tenure.

The mostly south/southeast facing Crazy Creek sector had some sun crust once you hit the sub-alpine trees (despite high altitude), and there was not as much wind-loading. This was a quick stop on the way to/from Bews since it was on the way.

Glacier terrain was not possible our day due to a windstorm the previous weekend hammering it. Wind - the bane of decent snow.

Eagle Pass Heli Ski, BC: January 25, 2022


Overall, the impressive Mustang got you into so many different areas and aspects - as well as a number of runs.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Usually the north side of Mustang’s tenure is best when dealing with warm weather, higher than usual rain/snow line, which have been chronic in western Canada this winter. So it’s interesting to hear the SE was better this time.

Saturday at Castle was spotless blue skies and we heard Friday was similar, high temps about 30. Wind sublimation probably prevented melt/freeze on south facing at Castle. Sunday and Monday were still warm but cloudy in Fernie area but there was incoming weather which might not have reached farther north.

 

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Saturday at Castle was spotless blue skies and we heard Friday was similar, high temps about 30

Tues and Wed and Thurs and Fri and.... Very unusual for BC to have much sun in winter but an entire week like Colorado?

 

[Tony Crocker]

Very unusual for BC to have much sun in winter

Yes it is. The exposures usually don't matter so much up there before March, particularly since many of the sunny days are due to Arctic high pressure that plunges the temperature. Only that last day at Island Lake, when it was sunny and around 30F, did I see an exposure effect. On the prior 4 days snow quality was much more a function of altitude.

 

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OK to set the stage for Mustang, pretty much all of BC got a very warm storm ~2 weeks prior to my arrival. Rain all the way to the top of the peaks in that area. Temperatures stayed warm enough as well that the re-freeze that took place occurred slowly making for a very supportable but of course hard base. Apparently if the freeze happens quick enough on a deep snowpack, the top layer of ice is breakable through to under layers.

Then with virtually no snow for a while but finally a storm that dropped something like 28cm over a couple days on the Sunday/Monday prior to our Friday afternoon fly in (plus at best a couple of cm prior to that). I never did get a final number but at least at the lodge that 28cm number was heard. It definitely skied like much more than 12" of new on top in many areas. I would guess more like ~18"-24" depending on aspect, wind loading, etc... for each run. So that sets the stage. Add in moderate wind affects up high in places, and just enough sun affects too on certain aspects. Makes for a very complex snow picture for the guides to handle not just our group but also the 3 other cat groups plying the terrain.

We had 12 people in our cat, many of us 'interlopers' using seats for just a year. My brother and I included. One person had broken a collarbone ~3 weeks prior and that got a group of 4 seats that were snapped up by others in their friend network for example as none of them decided to come from that group. I think the staff were a bit surprised at how many 1st timers were there in the middle of their usually prime season. Flying in and out via heli was never in question given the far too sunny (for BC) weather.

The weather last year had not been conducive to seeing much of any views or getting the scope/lay of the land as it were. Coming into the lodge:

Eagle Pass Heli's terrain the next ridge further East

Day one was to be cloudless as well. Getting ready for Avi training with our guide and his avi/bomb sniffing dog (yes, both).

For day 1, run #2 was clearly the best one (which we didn't know at the time). Centurion Bowl had enough new that only ~ the mini trees did you hit the hard bottom a couple times. The rest of the run from there was less great, in part because skiing with a group of 12 chews things up quite fast.

Given the sunshine, the clear order to the guides was to hit as much of the high alpine as possible; so we spent much time on cruiser stuff up high after that run. Some wind affected, some not, some decently deep, some only a few inches of sinking in. Not icy, but wind affected snow top of Kiwi Cruise:

All 4 cats were in the high alpine the first day. The Mustang bartender doing a spread eagle in some of the soft snow:

Small D1 Avalanche set off by our group near the bottom of Brad's Pond Left:

Then came the Ice cave run on Mustang Glacier area. Our guide had discovered it only a couple days prior and snow safety had marked it and also deemed it safe to go into (for now). Who knows if it'll melt this summer though. So probably amoung the first ~40 people to go in or something like that.

Butt slide entry

Yes, nicely soft snow in spots for sure. Mostly short pitches and farming of spots though.

Final run of the day was quite bad wind and sun crusts mostly (Eldorado) though the scenery was nice.

For those curious there is a changing room/drying room just as you enter the lodge.

Bar area views

 

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Day 2: added a bit more challenge for our guides as a few aspects even up high had gotten just enough warm sun to add a zipper crust in a few areas (mostly West-ish and due South). The only cloudy day of my trip though.

1st run on Porcupine hill was surprisingly good snow. Then we tried Silver Linings which had just about every type of snow possible. A bit wind affected up top, then soft skiers left, light crust skiers right, then horrible thick sun crust for the bottom 25%. So pure survival skiing on that last bit.

And with the light still OK we did 3 more runs in the high alpine mixed bag similar to the day prior. Better portions of runs:

From wind affected to great snow about 2 turns down:

I promise this is actually an action shot:

One run with our Avi dog out and running downhill

Then we did 5 laps on Tina Turner/Mad Max. wind affected up top but very nice for much of the vertical.

2nd of the trip, very small storm slab avalanche partially visible:

Patch of wind affected:

And not affected:

Puppy Powered Piston Bully

Me screaming "Oh Shit!" as I hit a hole in the snow on Mad Max. Fortunately hitting soft snow not the underlying creek itself:

back to Tina Turner:

Then finishing with a 2nd regrettable run back on Eldorado as we headed on the way 'home' to the lodge.

 

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Day 3: The best day for last for the 2nd year. Mostly deep soft snow all day. Though occasional hitting bottom in areas if you were the last of the 12 to go or etc... Once again a very sunny and warm day.

We started with 3 very long laps on June's and Me so Hawny at ~2,200 foot verts each. There were already some tracks in the area which lead one of our skiers far left and of course I saw his fresh tracks which put me far too left on the first run as well. So that goofed up the lower half on the first run. but it worked out anyway as we skied most of the available lower run open snow area on a 2nd lap anyway. Nicely steep too. Though nearly an hour per run with long cat rides after.

Top of June's

Planning

Skiing

2nd lap in June's. Not cloudy, just deep in shadow of the mtn.

Little branch snow snakes though too

Me so Hawny had a very steep technical entry through tight trees, but led to some awesome turns too:

Best shot I got of Flyover all trip:

Lower down

With our guide giving us a needed break for run 4 on mellow West Bank which shockingly was NOT sun crusted.

Then we alternated sides of the ridge S of the lodge getting mix of very dense settled snow and still fresh style snow.

in Hitman:

Bossa Nova

Very few runs can you see the lodge. here from our final very short run on Perseverance as we rush back to get the heli's out of there:

Always amazes me they can stick the landing within a few inches

 

[Tony Crocker]

The two alpine days look similar to our skiing in 2015. EMSC's comments suggest more inconsistent snow though I recall Eldorado being wind affected. However EMSC's day 3 was far superior to 2015. Anything 300 feet or so below tree line had nasty rain crust in 2015.

 

[flyover]

Days 1 and 2 were not as good as Days 1 and 2 in 2015. https://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/threads/mustang-powder-cats-bc-2-21-23-2015.11729/

In 2015, the snow was a lot less wind and sun affected, the avi conditions were bomber all the way up, and we were skiing with Bruno, who knew the tenure like the back of his hand and liked to push the group. All of that translated into more runs, longer runs, and steeper runs, including that epic 2000 vertical run down from the high shoulder of El Dorado which still has to be one of my all-time favorite runs at Mustang.

It's really too bad EMSC has not yet had the opportunity to ski Mustang's tenure in at least average conditions and with average vertical totals. That being said, we did have some good skiing, and after the endless grey of our non-winter at home this year, I was loving the blue skies and sun.

Our lead guide, Karsten, was clearly learning the northern part of the tenure as we went along and felt somewhat constrained in terms of steepness and aspect. However, he really redeemed himself on day 3 when, having brought his considerable intelligence to bear on the snow and weather history (which included very dry air that was faceting-out shaded untouched surfaces to our considerable advantage), he ignored orders to take us back to the alpine (confirmed with lodge manager Heidi as we waited for our flight) and ONLY took us down runs he was supposed to save for later groups.

Karsten turned out to be a particularly interesting guide. In addition to being a certified mountain guide, a CAA3 avalanche forecaster, holding an explosives ticket (I'm told that most lead guides don't), and having trained his dog to sniff out avalanche victims, explosives, currency, and drugs, the dude is also like some uncanny real-life mix of Columbo, James Bond, Richard Attenborough, and Anthony Bourdain. He speaks German, Somali, an Indonesian language I can't remember, and has considerable education, training, and experience in international law enforcement involving piracy, kidnapping, and infiltration of transnational criminal networks. In fact, he and one of his investigations were the subject of a 6-part National Geographic TV documentary in 2017: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8276771/bio/ This longform article is worth reading in its entirety:https://hakaimagazine.com/features/murder-at-sea/ However, if you just want to know a bit more about our guide, scroll down to Section III, "the Detective."

On a more personal note, I was really feeling knackered and not in the best form during the ski days this year. Routine (for me) blood work on the eve of the trip revealed a significantly depressed red count, so I chalked some shortness of breath and significant fatigue up to the anemia. However, I also had a head cold that was moving into my lungs at while at Mustang. I was able to rule out COVID (which I still have not had), but had to wait till after I got home to get looked at, at which point I learned I had been skiing with a bacterial pneumonia.

Here's what I recorded about our tour on my phone as we skied. I rarely got the phone out this year, so EMSC's pictures are much better than mine.

Day 1

Express Lane
Centurion Mid
Kiwi Cruise
Forgotten Claim
Brads Pond
Forgotten Claim (2nd run)
Kiwi Cruise(ice cave)
Mustang Glacier (north ridge) x2
El Dorado

Approximately 10k vertical on John’s ski tracks app.

Our guide, Karsten:

My only action shot of EMSC:

Day 2
Porcupine Hill
Silver Lining
Long Legs
Kiwi Cruise (higher drop off)
Forgotten Claim (far right drop off and entrance - steeper)
Mustang Glacier (north ridge)
Tina Turner/Mad Max x2
Mad Max (proper)
Tina Turner (proper)
El Dorado

Approximately 12k vertical according to John’s ski tracks app.

Day 3

June’s x2 (1 trees, 1 more open)
Me So Hawny
West Bank
Ernie’s
West Bank
Hit Man
Bossa Nova
Crème Brûlée
Perceval

Approximately 14k vertical, again according to the ski tracks app.

Dig the helmet art:

 

[Tony Crocker]

Yes our vertical was more in 2015, which implies that the skiing this year was more difficult. The runs you skied on the third day opposite Love Me Longtimes aren't skied that often. I recall skiing that area only in 2020, and just the last run. I think cat roads coming out of there are tedious.

Flyover has the two links but they are identical on IMDB. I don't think the longform article is linked. How did Karsten end up as a Mustang guide? Does he plan to stay there more than this season given his credentials in so many areas?

 

[flyover]

Yes our vertical was more in 2015, which implies that the skiing this year was more difficult. The runs you skied on the third day opposite Love Me Longtimes aren't skied that often. I recall skiing that area only in 2020, and just the last run. I think cat roads coming out of there are tedious.

Flyover has the two links but they are identical on IMDB. I don't think the longform article is linked. How did Karsten end up as a Mustang guide? Does he plan to stay there more than this season given his credentials in so many areas?

Yes, the ride up from the bottom of June's was tedious. Also, the lower pitches of June's took more time for our group to ski than in 2020, likely because with half as much base depth, the alders were much more exposed. The "Christmas tree" portion of the runout at the end of West Bank was similarly much more tedious to ski this year than it was in previous years as the trees were, in essence, twice as big and twice as dense with half the base depth.

I fixed the link to the longform article.

I did not ask him how he ended up at Mustang, but he did say he is currently based in Vernon and mentioned guiding for other cat and heli ops and working snow safety at Sun Peaks. He also mentioned working on an academic study and paper regarding trauma vs. hypoxia as cause of death in North American avalanche fatalities. EMSC and I both ate dinner with him on the third night. I did not ask him about his future plans re: guiding, but did ask why he appears to have (mostly) pivoted away from his prior career. He answered the question, but unfortunately was sitting across the table and I did not entirely hear his response, decided not to press the point, and wouldn't want to put words in his mouth now. The Hakai Magazine article certainly suggests reasons someone in his (previous?) line of work might burn out.

 

[tseeb]

@flyover Good to see your posts and hope to ski Mustang with you again in 2026. Did you and John ski before Mustang?

 

[flyover]

@flyover Good to see your posts and hope to ski Mustang with you again in 2026. Did you and John ski before Mustang?

You were missed, tseeb. Although I must admit you picked a good year to skip.

Yes, we skied what has become our usual six days in a row (https://www.firsttracksonline.com/b...14-15-2024-and-silver-star-feb-16-2024.14912/), followed by the death-drive back to Seattle after leaving Mustang on Monday evening. I drove from Kamloops to the border, which meant navigating John‘s van down Coquihalla in intermittent snow squalls. After that, I was useless all the way to Seattle.

Wait a minute . . . 2026? You’ll be taking another year off? If that is correct, who is likely to have your seat for 2025? Do you happen to know Skiace’s plans for 2025? To be honest, John and I almost pulled the plug this year at re-booking time. I don’t know how we will feel next year at the end of our tour.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Skiace and his Iron Blosam friend Eddie Cooke will be skiing Mustang in 2025. I just texted Adam and he confirmed they have made their deposits.

 

[Tony Crocker]

To be honest, John and I almost pulled the plug this year at re-booking time.

That would be a big mistake for two skiers at your level who have another 20 years ahead of them for that type of skiing. That's why I lobbied hard for Adam to take over my seat. I'm sort of surprised because you have skied Mustang in enough normal years to avoid being unduly influenced by one not up to usual standards.

Mustang's snow record and fast paced ethos are a unique combination in the snowcat industry where I have sampled many places. As mentioned in another thread I only placed one day in 2015 in the "subpar" category out of 31 days over 10 tours. I'll concede that you got 2 more of them this year, but you will not do any better anywhere else.

 

[flyover]

Tony, John and I almost pulled the plug, but not because of this year's conditions. We actually had a pretty good time. Instead, after 9 and 8 tours, respectively, we are starting to feel ready for other adventures. In my case, my daughter goes to college in the fall, which, in theory, means next winter I may have more flexibility and time over which to spread my ski vacation dollars.

 

[Tony Crocker]

other adventures

In my view that should be in addition to, rather than instead of Mustang. It's not clear how difficult it is to return to Mustang if you give up a seat. My impression from 2014 was very difficult, but EMSC seems to have landed a seat for next year though in a different time slot.

My perennial destination trips (Iron Blosam 1996 and Canadian cat skiing 1997) started around the same time.