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Holger, Stefan, and I Went up to Keiths hut for three days of riding
powder. After making powder laps across the road last week
http://talk.splitboard.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=3411,
we had plans of summiting Mount Matier and riding its NW face.

Keiths hut in a good snow year:


I'm told that Keiths hut is often very croweded. And for good reason,
its a comfortable hut in an ideal position with lots of tasty terrian
to ride. We were hopeful that it would not be to crowded mid-week, and
we were right. Only about 10-12 people each night meant plenty of
space for cooking, relaxing, and sleeping.

The first day was beautiful BC bluebird, cold and clear. We dumped our
gear at the hut and climbed 2000 ft to the Joffre-Matier col. We were
rewarded with a long run down Anniversary Glacier. The glacier is fun
to ride, starting at a rather low angle, then a good steepish 500 ft drop,
then a really low angle runout to the hut. A nice warmup.

Skinning up, Duffy Lake road in background


A look back at our tasty tracks. Matier in background.


The next day, the weather had turned. Overcast with light flurries,
and a bit of wind down at the hut. We had hopes that the weather might
turn, so we again headed up the the Joffre-Matier col. Weather
continued to deteriote. After reaching the base of the NW face, we
decided to turn back because we were unable to see any of the route
up. Riding back down the glacier in zero visiblilty was not so fun. We
knew the route from the day before, but without any features for
reference the turns were awkward.

Back at the hut we were tired and disappointed we missed yeasterdays
bluebird. After a leisurely lunch in the warm hut, we headed back out
to ride the NE ridge of Joffre. We stayed pretty low and out of the
wind. Nice powder was found and we did a few laps.

Our third and final day we were feeling pretty worked, but the blue
skies were back and it looked like a fine day to try and bag a peak. A
couple of other parties in the hut were planning on Matier as well, so
we could share the trail breaking. 2000 ft later, we are back at the
col for the 3rd time in 3 days. This time the weather is cooperating,
and we all feel good for the final 1500ft to the summit.

The objective


Dropping onto the glacier


Final bit of skinning


We left our skis/boards behind for the final bootpack to the
summit. Softboots felt a bit sketchy in sections, but with the extra
security of an ice axe, it was quite manageable.

The final ridge to summit


Holger summiting. Joffre is in the background, and another one on the
todo list.


It was cold on the ridge: -16 and windy. You could feel the metal from
the ice axe suck the heat right out of your hands. Several people had
white spots form on thier faces. So we did not linger to long on the
peak. Just snapped a few photos then downclimbed back to our rides.

Turns down the face were fun, however the wind had gone to town on the
snow yeasterday. We cut the run a bit short and traversed skiers right
to get back to the top of anniversiry glacier. The final run down the
glacier was the icing on the cake.

Holger on the glacier


Clint on the glacier


Back to the hut to pack up our gear, a quick skin to the other side of
the ridge, some final fun powder turns, an the ski-out to the
car. An great trip to an amazing area. We will definitly be back.

Dude, really kickass report and pics!

Looks sweet.

That,my friends,is jumbo/LARGE!!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail156.html

Great report - really dreamy pics. I really love this one:



What an excellent variation on the classic summit point, with the pole as a pointing device and an over-the-shoulder perspective. Also, the partner shading his eyes adds drama to the equation. Good stuff.

Excellent TR, beautiful area. Thanks.

Lucky!

That's some awesome terrain.
Thanks for sharing!