This year’s Christmas trip landed us in the Blowdown area for four days of skiing and exploration. Though I’ve been to this playground a few times, it was Ben and Alex’s first visit, so the excitement was real!
Day one was a bit of a slog, with a late start turning our approach into a nearly five-hour trek to camp. But hey, that’s backcountry life, patience and persistence pay off.
Waking up to crisp, bluebird skies the next morning was a gift. Our plan: ski the peak near camp, unofficially dubbed Gottless or Yoho (because who needs official names?). We hit the NE face and enjoyed some fun, fast skiing, albeit a short run. Then we pushed up to Notgott Peak from the East ridge. The summit was windswept and the weather turned sour, making the descent on a breakable crust less fun than we’d hoped.
But the day wasn’t done! Spirits and skies cleared enough for us to cross the valley and climb the bump on the NW ridge of Gottless. We caught a stunning sunset up there,definitely saving the best for last. The NE face of that bump delivered the best skiing of the entire trip. I even had to go back up for seconds… until darkness told me it was time to call it quits.
Our cozy camp had the place mostly to ourselves. We cranked up some stoner tunes, fed the stove with logs, and spent the night chatting about future ski-mountaineering goal, a perfect way to bond.
Day three saw us heading west to tackle Gotcha Peak. A fresh 5-10 cm of snow greeted us, but the scenery was a bit grim,Blowdown Lake looked like a snowmobile racetrack. As we ascended Gotcha, we got socked in with low visibility, cold temps, and a sketchy, corniced traverse above us. We skied off the summit against the wind, taking the West ridge back to the pass. By then, we’d had enough and called off the Gott Peak plan.
On our final night, we shared camp with three other outdoor enthusiasts, swapping stories and gear tips. The last day was an easy ski out back to the car, tired but happy.
Another great outing with friends, and a reminder that sometimes the journey, the views, and the laughs are just as important as the skiing. Looking forward to the next one!
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