Slogo rama ground zero to Tricouni

Submitted by: Andyt on: 14 December 2011 - 01:00am

G3 athletes Mike & Andy Traslin checked in from a recent day in G3's greater backyard - Tricouni Peak, Squamish, BC. While recent sunny and dry conditions weredenying those who were chomping at the bit for early season storms, Andy & Mike were making the most of it...

I heard through the grapevine you can climb this peak in two hours. Unfortunately you either need a sled or a high clearance vehicle. Which I had neither. I sure underestimated this trip.

Driving up the Squamish valley, once the paved road ended I immediately was dragging my under carriage through that centre lane of snow. We forged on past the other two wheel drive truck. We attempted the very first climb and got denied by gravity.

Just like the Blade Runner said "If it was easy everyone would be doing it." The slog began with a walk then a skin on a logging roads. Good thing at the last moment we decided to pull out the light skis. I grabbed my Saints and Mike his Soulflys. We knew conditions were going to be solid and variable.

There was a maze of turnoffs with one skin track most of the way. To follow or not, sure follow the track and waste an hour. Luckily it was good travel snow and we were motivated by the good weather. Night was fading fast but we managed to skin up the glacier up a short chute and quick scramble up to the summit.

We skied down the SW face on wind affected snow with isolated pockets of descent snow. It was a hard day but we were stoked to get into a new area and ski some spring snow in December.