Chic-Chocs - Steep couloirs and powder in the East

The Chic-Chocs are located inside the Parc national de la Gaspésie at the eastern end of Quebec. Pat and I left after I was done attending a job fair with the faculty of education at the University of Ottawa. We left on Friday, Feb. 15th and arrived in the parc at 3am. We settled for the night in the parking lot and slept in the car. Overall, the conditions were supposed to be generally crusty since they received 50mm of rain earlier this season. Fortunately for us, there was a good amount of snow that accumulated in the couloirs. Our last day was a real treat! (read more bellow)

It was a great ski trip!

Our first day was spent doing laps on "Le mur des patrouilleurs" on Mt. Albert. We brought our crampons along, but chose not to wear them on our first ascent. That was a mistake. The slope was crusty and it was hard to get confident footing. We opted to wear them during the following two ascents on the slope. Overnight, we spoke with someone who suggested we take a look at an area called "La coulée du diable". He told us "It's off limits, but locals still go there." It sounded interesting! We slept in the tent overnight.  There were huts and heated washrooms nearby, but we were the only ones sleeping outside.

Usefull info

Avalanche report: http://www.centreavalanche.qc.ca/info.php

Preparing on the first day.

Oatmeal. The best way to start the day.

Bootpacking up "Le mur des patrouilleurs" on Mt. Albert.

Windy conditions near the top.

We spent our second day skiing the beautiful and steeper couloirs of "La vallée du diable" area. Again, we used our crampons to ascend the crusty slope, but we found great snow accumulated in the couloirs. Each descent was a different line. After 4 laps of going up and down we felt tired enough to call it a day. This was our last night. Before settling down for the night. Pat came running and yelling "I found an Igloo!". Sure enough, there was a snow cave that was built earlier in the season and it even had a bed frame made out of pine and twine. It was a warmer and more comfortable alternative than our tent.

On the approach in "La vallée du diable"

Taking in the view.

The various lines we skied are seen here.

Choosing the right line was important.

Storm clouds moving in.

Nice snow in the couloirs.

We ended the day with a lap down open trees.

The third day was a treat! There was 60+ cm of snow that fell overnight. We woke up with the hole of our snowcave completely blocked. To get out of the parking lot, we needed to use our avalanch shovels to dig around the car and through the snow bank that was along the road. When we reached our skiing destination for the day. We needed to dig through the snow bank and clear some space in the parking lot. There was a lot of snow!  We skied the "Champ de Mars" area. The powder was better than the average day skiing out in interior British-Columbia. We planned to ski until noon and start the 10hr drive home. But the snow was too good. We chose to do an extra lap in exchange for a latter return. It was worth it! 

Deep powder!

A coastal view on our way home.

Photography Website

I have created a specific website focusing on my photography. For those interested, you can take a look here.

www.mlalondephoto.com/

Selected photos from the climbing trip

There were quite a few photos of the trip to go through. Just over 2000 photos were taken during nearly four months on the road. Here are my top 50.

Click on photos to enlarge and enjoy!

 

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
Can you spot the person walking?

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
A spectacular sunrise during an early morning start to a climb.

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
Dramatic clouds over the rugged spires.
Pigeon Spire to the left and the Howser Towers far centre.

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
Last light touching a selected few spires.
Taken as we descended the Beckey-Chouinard
route on South Howser Spire.

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
My brother, Pat, reaching the glacier after having climbed
the Beckey-Chouinard route on South Howser Spire.

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
A reflexion of Bugaboo Spire.

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
Pigeon Spire to the left and the Howser Towers to the right.
Notice Pat climbing up at the bottom of the photo.
He's a long way from the glacier bellow!

Bugaboo Provincial Park, British-Columbia, Canada.
A morning shot of Snowpatch Spire with the glacier bare of snow bellow.

Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada.
The first snowfall mixing in with fall colors.

Mt. Gimli, British-Columbia, Canada.
A night shot taken from my sleeping bag.

Mt. Gimli, British-Columbia, Canada.
Pat stayed in his sleeping bag as the
sun slowly warmed the air.

Pat took a photo of me as I composed a photo at sunrise.

Trout Creek, Oregon, US.
Volcanic basalt columns lean outward
buying time before gravity wins over.

Outside Smith Rocks National Park, Oregon, US.
Sunrise over the hills.

Smith Rocks, Oregon, US.
Pat rappelling down the Monkey Face.

Smith Rocks, Oregon, US.
The last rays of sunlight slowly lowering behind the cliffs.

Northern California coast, US.
Black and white photo taken along
the dark, grey and misty coast.

Yosemite National Park, California, US.
Yosemite Falls in the backdrop of a foggy morning.

Yosemite National Park, California, US.
"The rope swing" which was shown to me by a friend.
We all gave it a try and swung out nearly 100m!

Yosemite National Park, California, US.
Taken on the return from a climb.

Yosemite National Park, California, US.
The immense Half Dome silhouetted at sunset.

Yosemite National Park, California, US.
White-tailed deer.

Yosemite National Park, California, US.
White-tailed deer eating fall foliage.

The "Buttermilks" near Bishop, California, US.
Sunrise across the desert landscape.

The "Buttermilks" near Bishop, California, US.
Pat searching for a foot hold
on a bouldering problem.

Bishop, California, US.
A self taken photo of myself climbing a boulder.
It wasn't a difficult boulder, but it involved
running to reach it before the self-timer went off.

The "Happies" near Bishop, California, US.
A climbing friend committing to the next hold.

The "Happies" near Bishop, California, US.
A climbing friend silhouetted  on a boulder problem.

The "Buttermilks" near Bishop, California, US.
Early morning frost bring out
the footsteps in the desert.

The "Buttermilks" near Bishop, California, US.
A panoramic shot of the landscape
after snow fell overnight higher up.

Somewhere along long drive on Hwy# 6.
I woke up as the sun started to display vivid colors and ran
out from the comfort of the van to take this shot.

Somewhere along Hwy# 6.
A golden eagle holding on to its diner.

Indian Creek, Utah, US.
A tree stands out without its foliage against
the red sandstone of Indian Creek.

Moab, Utah, US.
Moab, the mountain biking capital of the world.
An interesting cloud stood above as Pat wheeled by.

Moab, Utah, US.
Pat stopping for a drink with a great view!

Indian Creek, Utah, US.
A panoramic shot of the landscape taken during a foggy morning.

Indian Creek, Utah, US.
The colors of the sun setting with a tower silhouetted.

Indian Creek, Utah, US.
Our buddy Reese shows his enthousiasm
before climbing this thin crack.

Indian Creek, Utah, US.
A climber taking in the scenery from higher up.

Indian Creek, Utah, US.
A great shot of a climber working his way up a crack.

Indian Creek, Utah, US.
An interesting shadow displayed on the rock.

Zion National Park, Utah, US.
Riverside tranquility.

Zion National Park, Utah, US.
The landscape taken from above West Temple.

Zion National Park, Utah, US.
Pat displaying the climbing gear and taped hands.

Zion National Park, Utah, US.
A summit shot of us on top of Moonlight Buttress.

Red Rocks, Nevada, US.
Clouds cover the top of a few cliffs.
One of which we climbed later that day.

Joshua Tree, California, US.
Pat looks on as a friend attemps
a tough overhanging crack.

Stanley Headwall, Yoho National Park, Alberta, Canada.
Ice climbing on Suffer Machine (A2, WI5).

Montana, US.
I stopped to take this photo of the sunrise and an old
farm house as we drove straight up from Joshua Tree, California.

Montana, US.
A fallen old farm house next to the previous photo.