Archive:Early Season Skiing Debacle to Brew Hut
Synopsis
This will be a beginner friendly skiing trip to the Brew Hut. People interested in participating should probably have some winter camping skills, have carried an over night pack and have been on backcountry skis before or be very keen/tough/willing to suffer a bit. The last point is key - if you don't mind suffering and are in reasonable shape, we'll make sure you make it to the hut (but for the love of god you need to read and understand the gear list - Saturday morning is too late to find out you don't know what some of the items are, didn't think a headlamp was actually important, or figured you should bring some extra (and heavy) items "just in case").
In fact, that's the whole point. This should be a trip in the classic VOC skiing style - a bunch of keen VOCers, never having been on tele skis before, will tough their way up to the hut and discover that (despite the suffering) they really love the mountains in winter. Exchange students who've never seen snow before are ideal, and this is probably the best place to start if you want to be skiing across the Garibaldi Neve this spring (this, or one of Roland's Red Heather trips...).
Past trips of this style have taken anywhere from 4 to 17.5 hours to reach the hut (in the good old days before GPSs sometimes they didn't find the hut at all). Days are short and the snow is fluffy - so put your headlamp at the top of your pack.
Equipment List
See Gear_lists#ski_hut_trip. You need this stuff to survive, really.
Note that you can borrow equipment from the club for free. Gear_rental does require a cash deposit, however.
Please consult the above links for all information regarding proper skiing clothing and gear. In winter especially, none of your clothing should be made out of cotton. Anything wool or synthetic is probably safe. Just remember, Cotton Kills.
Stuff you need from the club probably includes:
- Skis (bindings are adjustable, ask when you pick them up, make sure they fit your boots)
- Skins (ask the QM - they let your skis go uphill, quite necessary for this trip. Make sure they fit your skis)
- Boots (make sure they fit your feet (both feet), and your skis)
- Poles
- Shovel
- Probe
- Avy transceiver
