Begbie Shoulder (112 Chute)

Distance: 12km

Elevation: 1400m

Peter drops into 112 Chute  as Kristina and Sabina look on

Our fourth and final day with ACMG guide Sabina started with a plan to ski some yoyo laps in the Bonney Trees. Much to our surprise after no new snow, all the winter restricted areas in the pass were closed for the day, likely due to rapid warming and another storm system expected that afternoon. This was the third time in four days that the WRA's had been closed and we had started to run out of options. Despite frequently visiting Revelstoke to ski the resort, all of my ski touring in the area had been centred around Roger's Pass so when Sabina suggested a tour up to Begbie Shoulder I was excited to check out a new zone. Maybe we should have questioned her a bit more about what the day would look like as we were exhausted from three huge days in the pass. But then Kristina may have never learned what it felt like to be "really tired".

Our trail overlaid on Google Earth image of the ridge

The trailhead is a logging road 19km south of town on Highway 23S (Mulvehill FSR). The approach starts up the road for about 200m before dipping into the trees on the right to cut off a switchback. After rejoining the road, we followed it again briefly before cutting another switchback through the trees. After crossing the road a second time we started up a drainage, exiting to climbers right as it started to get steeper. From here, the going gets challenging with a steep climb through an overgrown cut block. Beyond Our Peak blog has an excellent photo of the route in winter.

Our GPS track (red) with road (orange)

Steep trail up through the cut block

It was a quiet death march up the cut block. Everyone was tired from our big days over the weekend and we were all fighting our own mental battles to keep the legs moving. At 1050m, we hit a skid road that lead us out of the cut block and we entered a beautiful old growth forest.

Old man's beard and a well spaced forest

The sun makes an appearance

It was still slow going up the steep ridge, and we stopped often to rest. Overnight the temperature had been climbing and it showed. The snow was full of huge tree bombs and everything was crusty.

Nearing the top of the ride

We finally topped out on the ridge and were hit by a blast of warm wind. Tucking into the trees, we transitioned and ate lunch, happy the long climb was over. From Begbie Shoulder you can see across the valley to Mt. Cartier and the RMR Ski Resort. To the west, you have views of Mulvehill Valley and Mulvehill Glacier.

Kyle looking forward to dropping into 112 Chute.

From the shoulder there are a few options for ski lines. The first chute is 112 Chute, and there are a few other chutes farther down the ridge. The other option would be to ski back down the forest beside the skin track which, on a pow day, would probably make for some excellent tree skiing. We dropped into 112 Chute. One group had already skied it that morning but there were plenty of tracks left for us.

Watching Kyle test the slope

It was...grabby. The warming and wind had turned the snow into a big slab and despite being at 1900m, there was no powder to be found. We tentatively made our way down one at a time. As we got lower, the snow actually got better and felt more like spring skiing. We found some decent snow in the trees to the side of the slide path where it hadn't been as impacted by the wind and sun.

Looking back up from below 112 Chute

We navigated through some tight trees, looking for the most open paths down. The heavy snow was tiring for our already tired legs. We avoided the bushy drainage and skied a cut block instead, opting to ski out the last few kilometres down the road rather than thrash our way through the bushes.

Peter finds a pillow at the bottom of the cut block

Mentally and physically exhausted, we had a team debrief at the cars that turned into a backcountry therapy session. Tears were shed and hugs were shared after an epic 4 days of stormy pow skiing, whiteouts, committing lines, bluebird glacier travel and ski touring adventures with Sabina. It was a weekend of team bonding and new experiences that I am so grateful to have shared with my friends. The final obstacle was driving back to Calgary, but somehow the roads were in good shape for once. Upon arrival home, we dumped our gear and collapsed into bed. It felt like I could sleep for a week.