Description

This is an excellent adventure offering great skiing and an out-there ambience. Start the day by touring up the well-traveled ski/snowmobile track which winds up through forests to the col separating Midday and Cabin Peaks.

Initially the trees lining the track are dense, but as you climb they thin out and allow you to observe the terrain surrounding you.

Snowmobiles come up the track regularly, so keep an eye and ear out for them as you ascend.

The gradient is mellow and the track completely obvious, so treat the journey up to the col as an enjoyable warmup, and an easy way to gain some altitude. From the col, branch off right and climb up the blunt south ridge of Cabin Peak.

The skin to the summit gets more scenic with every step, and more and more peaks appear on the horizon as the minutes pass.

The terrain of Whitewater ski area and the [Ymir Lodge](https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/136483/classic-kootenay-ski-tours-from-the-ymir-lodge) is close by, as are the peaks of [Bonnington Range](https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/123094/the-beautiful-bonnington-range-ski-traverse) and other Kootenay sub ranges.

Once on the summit, follow the undulating west ridge of Cabin Peak via a few short (but fun) ski pitches and a couple of short skins.

The regular ski-skin-ski transitions feel a bit tedious but there's a good reward coming when you reach the mellowest part of the ridge's north side and are able to drop in! The initial ski from the ridge is steep (pushing 40 degrees) but in powder it doesn't feel too scary, and soon mellows. Once off the initial slope, ski a combination of tree and bowl pitches beneath a series of impressive cliffs, always pushing rightwards to access the avalanche gully which in turn leads you down to Barrett Creek.

The skiing is not too challenging but this is firmly avalanche terrain so only ski this line when conditions are right.

Assuming you get it in good snow, the descent is fabulous, with just enough pitch to allow to ski fast, but not so much that it ever feels scary.

Enjoy the turns and the ambience all the way down to the creek. How and where you cross Barrett Creek will depend on conditions, but it is passable without too much trouble in several spots.

If you're here in early winter it might be tricky but never impossible to get over, and once on the far side the easy slide down Barrett Creek valley awaits.

Follow this down and then branch off right for the skin back up to the Huckleberry Hut.