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Glacier Circle Cabin

Glacier Circle Cabin

Canadian skitouring part one

Insert: 06.03.2013
Kuba Novotný is becoming our regular editor and his articles are more and more interesting. This time it will be about a skitouring trip to the Glacier Circle Cabin in Selkirk mountains. So enjoy photo gallery end some text.
Glacier Circle Cabin
Glacier Circle Cabin
Glacier Circle Cabin

The idea to visit Glacier Circle Cabin I got immediately, I have discovered that the hut is there. According to available information, we needed only about twelve-hour hike acorss Illecilleweat glaciers and ski down to the cottage. The plan was simple: go to glacier, find the hut, spend a day or two and return home by the same way. Now what we needed to do was to wait for good weather and go. Our friend Steave has joined us, so in the end we are three. Euphoria of the upcoming trip is marred only by information that in the case of high avalanche danger some expeditions cannot go down into the valley where the cottage is located, must bivouac on the glacier. In addition, those who manage to get down to the hut, sometimes cannot find it under tons of snow and the scenario is repeating, bivouac and hurry back.

Our alarm rings at 4:30, it's deep dark, but we have to get up quickly and go to breakfast. We already have prepared the car last night and is full of gear. Fortunately, we will have only about a 10-minute ride to the parking lot, where we intend to go. At the beginning of the beautiful valley we are still in the dark. Fortunately this track is normally used by skiers, so we are hiking on a nice track. Around 10 o'clock in the morning, we arrived at the bottom of the face of the glacier, the conditions are ideal for the end of winter, snow cracks are covered by thick snow layer. Despite of that we are on the rope that we'll be another eight hours our company. Later on when we see some cracks and snow bridges through which we have passed, I have to admit that it was a good idea. After about two hours we got to the upper plateau . Here begins the most annoying part of the day when we need to move about ten kilometers long glacier. In addition, the sun is shining, which is in combination with a 15kilos backpack making a nice sauna.

Late in the afternoon we get to the other edge and start to look for a couloir which we is leading down to the cottage. There are only two possible paths, one terrible and the other worse. Everything else ends at very very high cliffs. When we finally found ours couloir we are not too excited. Looking down, we see a few old avalanches and on the right side above us hung a huge heavy snow chunks. Some of them have already lost the battle with gravity. If you add the wet snow and ice crust and 15 kg backpack it was clear to me that this would be an unusual ski experience and also why some people change their mind and return back. Well, nobody got "killed" by a little more fear so nicely cut loose from the rope and go down. Slowly starts to getting dark and we finally stand at the bottom of the valley after a difficult downhill.

The last task that we have before us today is to find the hut. The whole valley is covered by forest and has a size of about one square kilometer. We are splitting and each of us is heading in different direction and are looking for the hut under about two meters of snow. Finally, after about half an hour I find it. I call on Verča and Steave who are back in a moment. Now I just dig entrance in the snow, make a fire in the stove, prepare some meal and good night.
 
 
Gallery  HERE
 
 
Author: Jakub Novotný
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OAeV - Alpenverein

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