Ex SELVA BACKSTOP
CANADA , ALBERTA 01-11 March 2024
People come from all over the world to see the Canadian Rockies for good reason ; they are simply beautiful and offer a true wilderness experience – especially in winter . For many of the expedition members , it was their first time visiting the area and temperatures touching -30oC on the first day was a shock ! Despite the long travel time from Imjin to Canmore , Alberta ; the journey was seamless , right up until arriving at the accommodation , when the temperature took its first victim . Fortunately , it was not an expedition member that succumbed to the freezing temperatures , but a window on the minibus that was due to serve as our transport that shattered due to the cold .
Undeterred , we were able to secure the use of an alternative vehicle and proceeded as planned . After collecting the final pieces of equipment and obtaining supplies , a day of training was conducted at Sunshine Ski Resort , unfortunately the actual weather did not match the optimistic name of the resort . That said , the day served to acquaint ourselves with hired ski equipment and ‘ get our ski legs back ’ in addition to familiarising
ourselves with the variable terrain that we would be surrounded by throughout the rest of the week in the backcountry . We felt well prepared for our first ski tour of the week , and a sedate tour was planned near Hector Lake by our two UK SMI ’ s . As often happens in the backcountry , what appeared a benign tour on paper , turned out to be quite the challenge . Numerous events transpired against us , with equipment failure and conditions , amongst
other reasons , conspiring to elongate the tour into one that meant we had to tour back to the vehicles in darkness and with a split group .
Despite this baptism of fire for our first tour , the group were determined to continue to explore the amazing wilderness and find the sought after powder fields that Alberta is renowned for . The avalanche conditions in the area during the week were much higher than average , ranging from level 3 ‘ considerable ’ to level 5 ‘ extreme ’ on all aspects and altitudes . This prevented us from embarking on a planned hut-to-hut expedition at Bow Hut . Despite this disappointment , other equally as challenging tours were conducted that were in much less dangerous terrain , utilising the advice and knowledge of local guides from the area , which meant we were able to fulfil the aims of AT without being exposed to unnecessary risk .
For experienced backcountry skiers looking to experience the challenges that skiing in the Rockies provides , it was a perfect destination to conduct HQ ARRC ’ s premier annual AT event . Maj Gavin Dickerson deserves special praise for not only making an ambitious Adventurous Trg event happen way across the Atlantic , but delivering it without hitch , where no stone was left unturned .
the imjin SUMMER 2024
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