On Saturday Tess, Loïc, and I went for an amazing ski. If you’ve been following either of our Web Blogs, you’ll have quickly come to notice that we are creatures of habit, with most of our ski destinations being up in the Rogers Pass area. Well, on Saturday we broke the mold! It’s true, believe it or not, we decided to try something a little closer to home in Malakwa. Malakwa is located on your way towards Revelstoke, but turning left off the Trans Canada brings you up into an area known as the Gorge, which is only located about 2 hours from door to skinning area. The drive out actually took a little longer than expected though due to sunny morning personality and requirement for caffeine. Tess tried to stay strong and go without, but crumbled by Sickamoose. Check out the photos.
After arriving at our destination, it was an easy skin track to the top, winding through old growth forest, meandering creek drainages, and into countless
After arriving at our destination, it was an easy skin track to the top, winding through old growth forest, meandering creek drainages, and into countless
open bowls. It was snowing relatively hard all day, so visibility was limited but still clear enough to vaguely see across the valley and pick our lines for the next trip. We toured a total of 6 kilometers, skied for 5.5 hours, had 3 great runs through some perfectly spaced trees, and dug one snow pit to test avalanche conditions. All in all, we had an amazing day.
White
Great Turns Mark! - Photo by Loïc
On Sunday Dee, Pico, and I went exploring on the Westside. We’ve done this a couple times in the past few weeks and found some great hikes. Today was no exception. We started at the Gellatley Nut Farm. Working at the Regional District, I’ve heard so much about the Farm, but I don’t think that I have ever visited it. If I have it was over 23 years ago when I lived up the road, and I don’t remember it. After that, we went to the Gellatley Heritage Park and explored the historical buildings there, then left the park and hiked up an area known as Goats Peak. This area is the mountain located northwest of Gellatley Bay, and it’s all private land. Apparently it is slated for development. Public outrage has slowed the development from breaking ground thus far, but unfortunately I fear that it is only a matter of time before the excavators get in there and destroy this beautiful area.
A list of great hikes that we recommend include:
Mount Boucherie – moderate hike, taking approximately 45 minutes to summit and get great views of Kelowna and the Westside.
Goats Peak – moderate hike with many options. You could go all the way to Peachland, or to the top of the mountain. Make it as long or as short as you want, but make sure to bring your camera as you get great views up and down the valley.
Get out there and have fun!
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