4 Days of the White Stuff

Last weekend the plan was to hit Jumbo for 4 days. As the mountain gods would have it, we were given lots of snow...too much. As the snow piled high, so did the avalanche danger and plans would have to be changed. The Maudie family once again played host to a group of stinky skiiers....

The Warm-up: K-Country

K-Dawg

Jo, given'er on the sugar daddy's

CRANNY

Sled or die...sled and die?
Just after our first run at a cat skiing operation outside of Fernie, we were flagged down by one of the operators to help an injured sledder. He had decided it would be fun to race up a 50 degree slope, with a cornice above, in high avalanche danger..what do you think happened?

Jen putting her emerg skills to use on the young sledder who mashed his tibia/fibula in his very own class III avalanche.

You might think that this was one of the sledders...no, that's Cranny's very own Alan Maudie. Not only does he take a mean photo, but he looks damn good in them as well.

Al, out of his sledder digs--but once again, lookin' smooth

Has anyone ever landed a 270 degree spin?

...it's like Sputnik. Spherical, but with small pointy parts!

K-Country Turns

If I get a chance to get out with Steve and Joanne Riggs, I always jump at it. They're always just happy to be in the mountains, and they invariably take me along to a places I've never been. This past weekend, I tagged along with Steve and his brother to K-country. Trail breaking was a bit rough on the hip flexors, but it was a great day and we managed to squeeze out a few good turns.

After an epic 1.5 days of travelling, Kath and Rob made it to Calgary on Saturday morning. I'm always eager to get out there, but it wasn't difficult to convince Rob to hit the back country for his virgin trip.

Rob, looking good on the climb, just prior to bonking.

Like many first timers to Black Prince, Rob could not avoid the vacuum effect of the tree well.

The Lawless invasion of Calgary

This past week, Jill and I have had the pleasure of hosting mom and dad Lawless here in Calgary..actually it was more like them hosting us, as they cooked, drove us around, and tried to help organize our lives (to those who know us, you realize what a big task this is). Anyway, it was fun times, and we're sad to see them go.

Jill with Mary and Gerald

Mary gets up close to inspect the the Lake Louise ice sculptures

Burstall Pass

The newly formed "wive's club" decided to get out for a tour to Burstall pass on Saturday. A poor consolation prize as our significant others got to sit in meetings all day at kananaskis lodge. The things we do to keep a healthy relationship.....

#1 wife...sacrificing his day to keep Heather happy.

Jen, looking smooth in her new AT gear.

Roger's Pass vid

Here's a link to our video from Roger's pass...compliments of Blue Banana Productions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6yToPJXpKk