Lookout Col and the Ravens - Rogers Pass

Looking down at our tracks on Lookout Col and the Ravens from the Dome Glacier

Day 2 of our guided long weekend began with an early wake up to even more fresh snow in Revelstoke. After cleaning our cars, we met Sabina at La Baguette to discuss possible route options for the day. Once again, the winter restricted areas in the pass were closed leaving us limited options. We settled on a route up to Lookout Col via the Illecillewaet Glacier in hopes that it would not be as busy as some of the other non-restricted zones near the visitor centre or up the Asulkan Valley. 

Anticipating a busy Saturday in the pass, we hit the road in hopes of snagging a parking spot at the limited Illecillewaet Valley Parking lot. We arrived just in time to land spots for us and Sabina, then watched lots of cars get stuck trying to turn around in the deep snow. It was snowing heavily as we left the parking lot but the skin track up towards the Illecillewaet was broken for us initially.

Heading up towards the Illecillewaet Glacier

Eventually, the broken trail veered left towards Mt. Sir Donald and we followed a skin track from the day before. Although it was covered in 20 cm of fresh snow, it was easier than breaking a new trail. We started to climb steadily out of the creek into the alpine, navigating broken terrain through the moraines. The clouds kept shifting and swirling and we caught brief glimpses of skiers on the slopes below Sir Donald and the stunning peaks above. Then as quickly as they cleared, the clouds rolled back in enveloping us once more in a shroud of grey.

Looking up into the fog with Glacier Crest to the right and Lookout Peak obscured by clouds

Climbing up into the clouds

Moments of clarity

Looking back to Glacier Crest

It got harder and harder to stay on the old skin track. Squinting into the flat light it was easy to mistake a shadow for the faint depression and end up knee deep in fresh snow. Peter forged on ahead as we shouted occasional words of encouragement when we weren't lost in our own thoughts. Without any wind, it was eerily quiet. All we could hear was the slithering of skins on snow as we pushed upward towards the col we knew was there but couldn't see.

The sun briefly breaks through revealing a large slope above us

Alone in the white

Without Sabina's knowledge of the terrain, we would have turned around. It was disorienting to be in such complex terrain without any landmarks and even Sabina started to wonder if we were heading in the right direction. Intermittently a gust of wind would blow the clouds just enough to give us a quick glance at what was around us but it never lasted long. Finally, we reached the bottom of a steep slope. The GPS showed we were so close to the col, but Sabina warned us that there were avalanche slopes above that we wanted to avoid. We took a long break and willed the clouds to clear...

Waiting for a break in the weather to start the final push

Just as we were considering skiing back down the moraines in the whiteout (a task nobody was particularly keen about), the clouds broke and the col appeared. Time to move!

Sabina leads the final push to the Lookout Col

Made it to the top of Lookout Col with views of the Lookout couloirs across the valley on the right

The snow was changing fast as the warm sun peaked out of the clouds and our window of visibility could close at any second. We made a quick decision to drop in, sending Peter first with the radio. The run was steep and deep, and well worth the effort.

Gearing up to drop into the Lookout Col line

Peter gets his well deserved first tracks after breaking trail for the majority of the day

We skied one at a time then pushed our way across the flats to the safety of the trees on the other side of the valley. After a stressful morning of whiteout navigation and a committing line, we were finally able to relax. We threw on the skins and leisurely followed a skin track around the shoulder so we could drop into the Ravens, a fun run down to the Asulkan drainage and the Mousetrap.

Panorama of the Lookout Col and The Ravens from the Winter Terrain Atlas (Parks Canada Photo)

More deep turns down the Ravens

A fun day out!

Although our day was only 1200m of elevation gain, the route finding had been exhausting. We only did one run in the Ravens before skiing back down the Asulkan drainage to the car. After 2 big days of powder skiing, sunshine was in the forecast and we had plans to tackle the Lily-Dome Traverse next. We spent the evening route planning at Mt. Begbie brewery and stretching sore muscles in the hot tub before another early bedtime. 

So stoked!