A long skin in is rewarded with some huge scenery and epic tree skiing.

Statistics

2 - 3

hrs

391

m

390

m

29

max°

Difficulty

FATMAP difficulty grade

Moderate

Description

This is a wonderful ski tour which is close to Big White ski area but feels peaceful and remote.

It begins from the foot of the Black Forest chairlift so it can easily be combined with a few rides on the Big White lifts, and you can also skin back into the ski area on the way down instead of retracing your ascent back to the parking lot. The tour begins with a long and beautiful skin up the tree-filled valley just to the west of Trapping Creek.

There is something resembling a trail but expect to do some micro route finding rather than blindly following our line.

There are some bits of tape around trees and other signs of previous passage, but if you're here immediately after a snowfall then count on finding the route for yourself. As the trees begin to thin out you'll begin climbing more steeply towards the blunt east ridge of East Peak, the mountain immediately north of the foot of the Cliff chairlift.

Round the bottom of the ridge and climb up it until you find a good spot to drop in! All the possible lines funnel you back into the valley you skinned up, and all are low-angled, smile-inducing fun.

If you don't go all the way to the top of East peak you shouldn't encounter any particularly serious terrain so just get on with enjoying yourself.

One option, if you want to get an extra bot of skiing, is to ski north off East Peak's ridge and then skin back onto the ridge and do the descent shown here.

Once you're done skiing the perfectly spaced trees, either retrace your steps back down to the parking lot at Black Forest, or make the short ascent to the Cliff Ski Out groomer.