Back country skiing is really damn hard.

I’ve been back country skiing for a bunch of years. That time has brought experience and practice. Being experienced and practiced means that ski touring doesn’t suck. Sometimes I forget that it's hard just because I'm used to it. Yes, there’s the continual challenge of avalanche hazard management or the fun of skiing technical lines, but the whole thing feels pretty comfortable and routine. But it really is frickin hard work.

That routine-ness is sort of a shame when you think about it.

There’s a solution though – you do a trip with a bunch of people who don’t have that mileage. You get to experience it through their eyes and it reminds you of how fucking hard it is to climb a damn mountain, on your skis, carrying a big pack and then ski back down it. It reminds you of how daunting and cool something as straightforward as a hut trip really is.

One of the most amazing things that my time in the mountains has given me is an appreciation of just how much someone can do on sheer determination and smiles. If you have never really pushed yourself in the mountains, then I really don't think you have any idea of what you're capable of. It's incredible. The VOC has a hilarious glossary of terms for people new to mountaineer. Synonyms for 'Beginner Friendly' are 'Sufferfest' and 'Death March'. Just because you don't have a ton of experience doesn't mean you can't push yourself to incredible feats.

That realization of just what we're capable of has allowed me, a slightly doughy mid-thirties desk jockey, to do some amazing things and I really enjoy any opportunity to help people realize that what you think of as 'tired' in the city is 'just warmed up' in the mountains.

When you're just figuring touring out - likely on slightly beat up rental gear - the learning curve is insane. You're figuring out how to make your skins actually stick to the ground while carrying a crazy heavy pack that you may not be used to. You also don't have any of the efficiencies that come with experience - you're picking your skis up with every step instead of gliding them forward, you're bobbing your upper body up and down like one of those drinking birds and you're fighting the terrain instead of using it. Oh and when you finally do get to the top, you get to ski down on tired legs carrying a way heavier pack than you would ever use at a ski resort through terrain that hasn't had a maintenance person come through with a saw to clean it up for you.

Ski touring is really fucking hard - but if you do it enough, you stop noticing that fact.

This past weekend I headed out to the Thunder Meadows Hut with a group with very mixed experience levels. We literally had the full gamut ranging from ‘can ski anything and break trail for 2000m’ to ‘first hut trip ever’.

Gig and Danielle are quite experienced; Conor and Colin have done a few things in the mountains but not a ton of ski touring; Kiran's a snowboarder who's seen the light and is getting into touring while simultaneously learning to ski, but has already racked up a bunch of trips; Leah's a really solid skier but had never done a real ski tour before I don't think; Ross had been snowboarding a few times at the resort and Ibrah used to snowboard but is basically doing a crash course in skiing as he gets into the backcountry.

Like I said, mixed party. Probably the most unifying thing about the party is I don't think I've even seen a group smile so much.

After staging in Fernie the night before, we started up the trail to the Thunder Meadows Cabin around 8:40am.

The route we were taking was the Cabin Ridge route – you park at the Mount Fernie Provincial Park and then tour up Island Lake Cat Skiing’s road until you reach a sharp bend at 11U 633030E 5484600N – about a 5km slog. There’s a signed departure from the road and you drop down into the drainage before you start climbing up the Cabin Bowl ridge before eventually breaking climbers right off the ridge and climbing up through a high col at about 1950m elevation. From there, it’s a short drop down to the hut. With good snow conditions, it should be a big day, but doable for just about anyone.

I did not really plan on abominable snow conditions.

We made it to our departure point on the road by 10:00am and I was super stoked with the pace people were maintaining. Despite heavy packs and a steady climb to the road, people were really cruising.