Grouty Ridge above Railroad Pass

Sunday, June 8, 2003. When the sign on the Upper Lillooet Road announced that the Meager Creek Road was closed, we had to change our plans. We decided to see if there was snow to ski at the top of Railroad Pass on the Hurley River Road. What we discovered was snow all the way down to the road (no bushwhack) and vast open slopes above. We had an outstanding day!

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(88K) As we prepare to skin up, Milton is setting a waypoint on his GPS. When we returned to the road we arrived 120 metres to the North and it was nice to know which way we had to walk to the car. You can see that there is still snow down to the road.
(47K) It was this view up (taken from the Road) that convinced us we had found the line we wanted to ski.
We didn't know that this glimpse of snow was not revealing the grand sweep of skiable slopes above.

(41K) We gave up skinning through the trees, and began booting up. Now that there were open slopes we just kept walking and kicking instead of skinning.
We have just emerged from the forests, and with this view, we are beginning to anticipate some great skiing. (That's not the top).

(81K) I love climbing up to a ridge because there is often an IMAX moment as the scene on the other side come into view. The top of Grouty Ridge was not disappointing.
To the southeast is the Tenquille-Goat Massif. That glacier between the hills looks like a great ski run.

(127K) As we climbed, more and more hills to the west appeared. This panorama from the top of Grouty Ridge is made from 4 images (a big file to load).
The high icefield is the Train Gl., and Locomotive is the peak on the left. Note that a huge cornice on the 3rd hill behind has collapsed and spilled out onto the glacier. Scroll to see the whole image.

(24K) Bright sun.
Warm day.
Hero snow.
Skiing does not get any better!

(40K) After 7 years of falling, sometimes I feel that I can do some of what Steve Barnett recommended in the first book that I read on how to telemark: Cross-Country Downhill.
(79K) Back in the trees, about 300 feet up from the road, my binding broke. The rivets holding the bar for the toe of my boot sheared. So, why am I smiling? I had to walk down from here.

(118K)
GPS Track on Map
The red line is my ski track (GPS tracklog) from the ridge to the car. The GPS waypoints are listed below. The road through the pass is not marked on the map.
Here is the GPS technical stuff if you want to use the waypoints. The map is NAD Canada 27, the zone is 10 U, and the contours are 100 feet. It is easier to use the UTM grid (the blue grid on the map) than to use Latitude and Logitude. I've marked two of the map's grid lines for reference: northing 5607000 and easting 499000. The blue "99" on the map refers to the second and third integers in that number.
Grouty Ridge: E 0499946,
N 5605095
Enter Forest: E 0499215,
N 5605019
Park Car: E O498762,
N 5604920

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This page created on a Macintosh using PhotoPage by John A. Vink.

(88K)	As we prepare to skin up, Milton is setting a waypoint on his GPS. When we returned to the road we arrived 120 metres to the North and it was nice to know which way we had to walk to the car. You can see that there is still snow down to the road.	(47K)	It was this view up (taken from the Road) that convinced us we had found the line we wanted to ski. We didn't know that this glimpse of snow was not revealing the grand sweep of skiable slopes above.
(41K)	We gave up skinning through the trees, and began booting up. Now that there were open slopes we just kept walking and kicking instead of skinning. We have just emerged from the forests, and with this view, we are beginning to anticipate some great skiing. (That's not the top).	(81K)	I love climbing up to a ridge because there is often an IMAX moment as the scene on the other side come into view. The top of Grouty Ridge was not disappointing. To the southeast is the Tenquille-Goat Massif. That glacier between the hills looks like a great ski run.
(127K)	As we climbed, more and more hills to the west appeared. This panorama from the top of Grouty Ridge is made from 4 images (a big file to load). The high icefield is the Train Gl., and Locomotive is the peak on the left. Note that a huge cornice on the 3rd hill behind has collapsed and spilled out onto the glacier. Scroll to see the whole image.	(24K)	Bright sun. Warm day. Hero snow. Skiing does not get any better!
(40K)	After 7 years of falling, sometimes I feel that I can do some of what Steve Barnett recommended in the first book that I read on how to telemark: Cross-Country Downhill.	(79K)	Back in the trees, about 300 feet up from the road, my binding broke. The rivets holding the bar for the toe of my boot sheared. So, why am I smiling? I had to walk down from here.
(118K)	GPS Track on Map The red line is my ski track (GPS tracklog) from the ridge to the car. The GPS waypoints are listed below. The road through the pass is not marked on the map. Here is the GPS technical stuff if you want to use the waypoints. The map is NAD Canada 27, the zone is 10 U, and the contours are 100 feet. It is easier to use the UTM grid (the blue grid on the map) than to use Latitude and Logitude. I've marked two of the map's grid lines for reference: northing 5607000 and easting 499000. The blue "99" on the map refers to the second and third integers in that number. Grouty Ridge: E 0499946, N 5605095 Enter Forest: E 0499215, N 5605019 Park Car: E O498762, N 5604920