Andrew Strain Photography » Joffre

Off and On

Strain — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:49:46 +0000

Winter arrived early and strong in southwest BC: I got my first pow turns on October 3rd, got chased out of camp by two feet in the valley bottom on November 17th, and could barely breathe nor see on Blackcomb’s opening day, the snow was so deep. And then, as fast as winter arrived, the jet turned off and the sky stayed blue for almost a month.

While my friends in Utah are still suffering from the early season doldrums, winter is back in full force in the Whistler area, providing badly needed powder for the Christmas vacation crowd and snow-starved locals. A combination of factors has led to the establishment of an uncharacteristically unstable coastal snowpack, making the new snowfall a maddening exercise in patience and restraint, as everyone is chomping at the bit to get out and into the gnar. Two BC skiers succumbed to injuries sustained after being caught in avalanches this week, a sobering reminder of the dangers that exist within our mountains.

Wanting to escape the holiday crowds at Whistler, but leery of the heightened avalanche risk, I headed out to a pillow zone off the Duffey Lake Road with the Surface Skis crew on a greybird photo / video mission. The lack of snowfall has left me with very little to shoot over the last month, and I was eager to get out for the first ‘work’ day of the season. The light was flat, but the snow was excellent and pillows well-developed, with plenty of protected stashes hiding in the forested shoulder of Joffre Mountain. Just another day in paradise…

Condolences to the friends and families of the two skiers that died doing what they love. May the powder be plentiful in the afterlife.

Joffre touring

Strain — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:16:27 +0000

I went on an exploratory day tour on tuesday up to Joffre Lakes with Unofficial Whistler‘s Jake Cohn. Neither of us had been before but wanted to scope the area because of its excellent and easy access from the Duffey Lake road. A short climb and a couple lake crossings and we at treeline in a riding paradise – steep couloirs and chutes, 1000m glacier descents, massive pillow fields and mature forest presented up and downhill options for any conditions.

We tried to gain access to a great looking couloir but short of booting up the gut, couldn’t find an ascent option we were comfortable with and decided to back off to a different line. We were again shut down trying to get on top of the Heartstrings zone when the weather socked in, eliminating our ability to navigate above treeline, in an area with more than enough death-gnar to do around… not the kind of place you want to be moving blind. Entering the line further down the ridge, we were rewarded with a playful and pillowy 600m descent to the valley bottom.

Of note: I was able to ride my split all the way back to the lower lake with ease, making Joffre the most splitboard friendly tour I’ve done off the Duffey to date. A quick transition to put skins back on, and I was first back to the car – doesn’t happen often when touring with skiers! Despite being turned back of our two objectives, our exploratory mission was a great success, and you can bet we’ll be back soon…

Cerise Creek / Keith’s Hut

Strain — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:42:00 +0000

I spent a few days earlier this week riding out of Keith’s Hut, a cozy little backcountry cabin in the Cerise Creek valley, about half an hour east of Pemberton. It’s close proximity to the highway make it a popular touring destination, but going up midweek gave our group a solid monopoly on the hut.

The skies were blue, the snow was stable, and there were still plenty of good lines to be had, a week after the last snowfall. Top it all off with fish and chips at the Wigan Pier in Squamish on the way home, and you get a perfect backcountry trip. Chyea!

Looking back at Mt Joffre after shredding a 700m chute / glacier line:

Read the full post for more photos:

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Joffre soaks up the morning sun:

Skinning up, with a view of Mt Matier and the Anniversary glacier:

Hereward serves notice that he will be skiing that line next time:

Looking east towards Vantage Peak:

Made it off the glacier with no crevasse incidents:

Speaking of monopoly, we didn’t get to bed until 1am on Tuesday due to a 5 hr long game…

The rest of my photos
Hereward’s photos

The only downside to the trip, was me realizing that I badly need a better touring setup. My backpack is way too big, I carry too much camera gear, snowshoes kinda suck and I always have to borrow a beacon when I go out. Definitely adding a better pack, a splitboard, and my own beeper to the “must buy” list, although I’ll have to make due with my current setup for the rest of the season. I also need to figure out a better way to carry my camera when space and weight restictions are tight – the camera block from my sequence is waaaay too clunky to bring along on a multi day trip…