Tigger Peak, Channel Creek

March 21-22, 2015

Some people check the forecast before heading out. Tyler is not one of them. He is the kind of person who thinks "100% chance of rain" just means "bring snacks and a tarp." So, when the Duffy forecast was looking like a soggy soup of despair, naturally he said, “Sounds perfect.” I, being equally questionable in judgment, said, “Let’s go.”

We left the car at the bottom of Channel Creek FSR and started hiking up the road with skis on our backs like real backcountry purists (i.e., people who couldn’t drive farther). A few spur roads later, we turned left at the third junction and followed the road until we hit Channel Creek, which we crossed like soggy mountain goats.

The flagged trail through the forest was helpful… until it wasn’t. About 400m before the lower lake, I led us confidently in the wrong direction, only for Tyler to gently point out that we were, in fact, bushwhacking toward nowhere. This would become a theme.

The weather started off like it was trying to behave; overcast, some flurries, and then promptly escalated into a full-blown snow tantrum. We bushwhacked to the upper lake and pitched camp on the west end, which was scenic but windy enough to make the tent sound like it was hosting a rock concert.

We crawled into our sleeping bags around 8pm, lulled to sleep by the calming sounds of fabric flapping at 80 decibels.

We woke to the most glorious surprise in the Coast Mountains: sunshine. Not a single cloud in sight. All that stormy suffering suddenly felt like strategic planning. We quickly packed up camp gear and headed up the north side of Tigger Peak.

Skinning was smooth until we reached the bowl, then we heard it.
Whumpf.
A friendly reminder from the snowpack that it's still in a mood.

We scoped out the steep wall leading to the summit and decided not to trust the heavily loaded convex roll above the headwall. Instead, we opted for a more mellow Southeast aspect, threading the line between "this seems okay" and "please don't slide now."

Summit views? Incredible. You could see from Duffey to dreams deferred. And the ski back down? Chef’s kiss. Cold powder, no tracks, and zero regrets.

We packed up our soggy tent, retraced our trail (this time staying on it), and made it back to the car with legs of jelly and hearts full of stoke.

Muddy road

Tyler hiking up on Channel FSR

Tyler crossing Channel Creek

Flagged trail we followed to the lakes

Snow condition at 1500m

The view from our tent. North aspect of Tigger Peak

Beautiful ski run on the East face of Tigger Peak. The summit is behind that rocky bump

Boot packing the summit ridge

Tyler on the summit of Tigger Peak

Looking towards South, Tigger SW1(foreground) and Gott Area

Western view. Duffy Lake, Matier-Joffre range and Cayoosh

close-up shot of Matier-Joffre range

Tyler on the summit of Tigger Peak

Tyler and Dean on the summit of Tigger Peak

Gott Creek, Moomin

Tyler down climbing on the summit. Elusive in the background

Tyler skiing off from the summit. Elusive Peak in the background

Tyler skiing off from the summit. Elusive Peak in the background

Tyler charging on the East face of Tigger Peak

Tyler skiing back to our camp

Our ski tracks on the North aspect of Tigger Peak

Tyler wishes he could do more on this area

North aspect of Tigger Peak

Tyler getting some air. Crazy kid!

Time to go home. Crossing the lake towards Channel Peak

South end of the lake and Tigger Peak

Not much of skiing back to the road. We traverse to the South slope of Channel Peak to avoid the bush

Our ski tracks from across the valley

Tigger Peak and the West ridge

Tigger Peak and the West ridge