At 4am I was back awake. After only two hours of sleep, Francis texted me in the morning to ask if I’d even come to bed at all. But boy did I treasure those two hours! I’d just completed the Neve traverse in a day, and while skiing out of Rubble creek around 10pm I was still coordinating this day up Mount Pattison with Heather & Christian. They were surprised that I was keen to join them for this objective after the most massive day on skis I’d ever had, but words can not describe how determined I was to win the Ski to Sky challenge. To be entirely honest, at this point I was actually no longer enjoying skiing… but because of this fact, I was more determined than ever. I felt like the all the hard work I’d put in towards the end would not be worth it if I didn’t win. 

I’d strategized it all perfectly… The day I spent up at Blackcomb, combined with the Neve traverse, the Gargoyles, Mount Matier, Darkside lake and then finally Mount Pattison would put me at a more than 15 point gain in the final week of the challenge. I even went as far as to track my competitor’s tick marks to make sure the guy in first place could not possibly link enough challenges to beat me. After all these mind games, my final task was to make sure my legs didn’t entirely collapse so I could finish it off strong (enough).

I met Heather and Christian in a Squamish parking lot for an early start. Surprisingly, it was my first time meeting both of them! I’d been chatting with Heather for months trying to arrange some time to climb, and I was glad to find out she also loves skiing! Christian was the competitor in 3rd place in the Ski to Sky challenge (or I suppose 2nd before I overtook him), but knowing he wouldn’t be going for the win at this point, he happily agreed to come with me for my final tick mark. We boarded the gondola in Blackcomb right as it opened, but seeing as it was a slow morning for us all, we had some leisurely hot choccys in the lodge before getting started on our day. As we loaded on to the T-bar, I cracked open the first of many snacks I’d packed for the day: as many possible calories and as much sugar as possible, knowing I’d still be lacking from the day before.

Skinning up to the first pass was easy, I was still warmed up from last night! Just kidding. My legs ached as I plodded up between Blackcomb and Spearhead. My companions kindly let me set the pace, making sure I wouldn’t be left behind for the day. They said they were impressed with my speed, though I’m sure they were just trying to encourage me 🙂

Before long we were taking our skins off and skiing down a leisurely run toward Decker Mountain. At the base of another ascent, we made an assessment of the conditions. The snow was looking just as windy as it had the day before, and we made note of a very large cornice looming over us. Our plan was to ascent as quickly as my legs would let me, and get out of harm’s way atop the ridge. We passed a couple parties on our way up Decker; the snow was so crusty it was hard to get traction, and kick turns were quite difficult in spots.