With the avalanche forecast flexing its “high drama” muscles all over the Sea to Sky corridor this weekend, we wisely gave it a hard pass and pointed our skis toward Manning Park instead. Manning Park is currently on a strict snow diet. We weren’t exactly expecting powder paradise, more like a snow appetizer, but hey, adventure is about the journey, not just the fluffy stuff.
We kicked off from Allison Pass by the salt shed (the unsung hero of the trip), then traversed high along the ridge toward Poland Lake. Our route eventually dropped us off at Gibson Pass, conveniently located at the resort where you could buy hot chocolate to forget about the crusty snow outside.
The West aspects treated us well, skiing smooth enough to make us forget about the rest of the mountain. Unfortunately, the other slopes were auditioning for the role of “breakable crust”, the snow equivalent of walking on thin ice while wearing clown shoes.
The South aspect? Let’s just say it looked more sun-baked than a backyard barbecue, complete with traces of crown lines reminding us who’s really boss here.
At least the trees were spaced out nicely, making the skiing feel more like gliding through a nature obstacle course and less like an epic crash test.
All in all, we didn’t get the deep snow dreams, but we did get fresh air, good laughs, and the kind of memories you make when the mountain’s playing hard to get.
Awesome!
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