Marie and the Blanket Glacier Chalet

By Don Wales

OK!  It looks like nobody else is going to write this trip report so this is my opportunity to tell some lies about the great group of people we had on this trip.

Blanket Glacier is a short 7 minutes  helicopter ride from a little south of Revelstoke and it is renowned for its snow; in fact on average 25 meters of snow falls which translates into about a 9 meter base. We have been told if you get 1 or 2 days without snow falling you are lucky but, for the second year in a row, we have been fortunate with only 2 overcast days each week.

The powder snow this year was exceptional and we trashed the area on runs with names like Christmas, Million Dollar, Castor, Pollux, and Home run.  Many of these runs are open glade tree skiing but on the second day John and Linda and my friend Dave from Seattle skied to the top of Blanket Glacier.

On these ski weeks the endurance required has nothing to do with the skiing but involve eating our way through some spectacular meals, trying to finish off two kegs of Begby Beer and multiple casks of wine as well as surviving the red hot sauna.

The Chalet is an old style A frame but very comfortable for the 14 of us. We were self catered but had Ron and Louise as caretakers, music makers, and informal guides pointing us in the direction of the best snow.  We were even blessed with a visit from 3 mountain caribou who were attracted to the salt content of the disgusting men’s pee hole.

This trip is the highlight of most of our ski seasons and it looks like we will have another opportunity again next year if there is interest.  It is on the same Feb 19-26 week in 2012 but you need to let Vance know soon if you are interested and cement the interest with a deposit.  It is guaranteed to be a ski trip of a life time.