Jumbo Pass Cabin Pow Fest

Approach to the Jumbo Pass Hut

Booking a winter hut trip is a gamble. You never know if the weather will cooperate or if you will even be able to get into the hut at all. We booked the Jumbo hut months in advance after multiple failed attempts to secure a booking at any of the Columbia Valley Huts. Somehow, the stars aligned and we ended up with 5 days over the Family Day weekend. With a treacherous start to the backcountry season and a low snowpack, people were hesitant to commit, but thanks to Steve's network of cool friends we managed to put together a crew of 6 stoked skiers who were all praying for snow.

Its a good day when you get to ride in a heli

We met in Invermere at the Glacier Heli Base, where Greg our pilot ran us through how we were going to load and unload the heli. As they only had a small Astar available, we had to fly in in two loads. Half the group staged at the heliport while the other group was staging out of Toby Creek Road where we were going to load and unload our gear while the the blades were spinning. We had only met Niall and Reid on a zoom call so this was our first intro to the brothers who kicked our asses and kept us entertained all trip on their skinny skis. The weather held and both groups arrived uneventfully at the Jumbo Pass Hut. Time to go skiing!

Fresh snow and smiles

Despite the low snowpack in the Rockies, we were pleasantly surprised to find excellent snow and coverage up at the pass. We spent the first 2 days punching in skin tracks all over the slopes near the hut to use as super-highways for the rest of the trip. We even got some sunshine and had some amazing laps off the peak above the hut during a break in the clouds. We had unlimited fresh pow and all agreed it was the best skiing of the season so far. An overnight refresh made for an excellent second day and we tracked out the easy pickings near the hut.

Blue skies above the hut didn't last long but we took advantage of the good visibility

Punching in tracks for the week

Digging pits

More skin tracks

Niall shreds the pow

Happy to be back at Jumbo for my first mid-winter trip to the pass

Cozy hut after dark

And then it started to snow...

Heading out into the storm

Steve finding face shots

A huge storm rolled in and didn't stop snowing for the rest of the trip. All our tracks filled in and we had the joy of breaking trail each lap. Hungry for face-shots, we started pushing further from the hut looking to explore new zones and found a short, steep tree run that was easy to lap. We spent most of the day ripping lines through the trees in perfect pow until we ran out of energy and daylight.

Ready to drop in

Kyle coming up for air

Great day!

Back up for another lap

Not having any fun at all!

Snorkle time

Sendy Steve gets sendy

I think he had some face shots!

Day four was even deeper as the snow kept falling. We had to dig out the porch and path to the outhouse every few hours as it kept drifting in. In the spirit of Reid's 30th birthday, Reid, Niall and Mike put in a huge effort with a goal of skiing "30 for 30," 3000m of elevation in a day. This would be a huge day at the best of times, but with the heavy snowfall it meant that they were breaking trail each lap too!! Steve skied with Kyle and I most of the day but joined the crazies once our legs were done. At the end of the day, Niall and Reid were the last ones standing. The final elevation came out to 3100m of elevation and 14 laps of epic pow. A feeding frenzy ensued which included a tiramisu birthday cake, followed by a serious food coma.

Kyle eats powder for breakfast

Go big or go home

Steep and deep

Niall breaking trail as usual

Birthday pow

Fresh lines for days

Happy 30th birthday Reid!

We woke on our final morning to see the storm had passed and left behind another blanket of white and a beautiful sunrise.

Dawn at Jumbo Pass

Fire in the sky for our final morning

Energy was low and legs were sore after four days big days but the fresh powder was calling. One lap proved to be enough for the guys that had put in huge efforts the day before and they returned to the hut to start packing. Kyle and I stayed out for another lap, this was hands down the best skiing of the season and we didn't want it to end. On the way up the skin track, I turned on the inReach to get in touch with Greg and update him on the visibility at the ridge-top and confirm our afternoon pickup. A message came in from the guys at the hut, "heli is on its way."  Kyle and I freaked out, we still had to get back to the hut and get packed. This wasn't what we had planned!

Great visibility for our final day

Fresh tracks and tired legs

Steep and deep

Face shots for breakfast

Back at the hut we got an update on the situation. Our pilot Greg had another group he was supposed to pick up in Revelstoke and needed to fly straight there after picking us up. Another storm was rolling in and he wanted to try and beat the weather. He had managed to get in touch with Niall to let him know that he was coming in early. We gave my car keys to Mike so he could get the first flight out with the brothers and they could drive my car down from Toby Creek to the heli-port in Invermere. Kyle and I finished panic packing and tidying up the hut, but we had plenty of time to let the adrenaline wear off before Greg was back to pick us up.

Time to go!

Rad trip with a rad crew

Thanks to Greg at Glacier Heli for getting us in and out!

Despite all the unknowns when we booked the hut, we managed to get lucky with an amazing crew and perfect snow at the Jumbo Pass Hut. Sometimes things just work out.