Dam Mountain 12/04/08

Rob at Dam Mountain/Thunderbird Ridge:
“Getting to the mountain chalet was in itself eventful – the Georgia corridor was choked with cars – we took a shorty through Stanley Park where there was a nasty motorcycle accident – to exercise the Good Samaritan vow was exchanged between two onboard who were certified. Midst raucous DJ’s and marketing swag, only the half capacity/half speed blue tram was in operation on the last two skiing days on the mountain. An hour later we were at the chalet in excellent spirits and pumped for the hike. Half an hour into the hike entering the service road we were faced with a number of very active 50 degree+ slopes – lotsa pinwheels but nothing to set off an avalanche – windward slope, no treebombs, cornices, surface evidence of slab instability (we didn’t pit), no human activity at the top. We walked quickly one at a time through anything remotely risky. There were a few inches of fresh snow covering the trail but at least 8 inches of snow was sticky wet making the hike somewhat laborious. We snacked, yaked and hydrated throughout the hike. The trail out onto the ridge seemed safe if you stay the trail. With almost unlimited visibility, the vistas were awesome. Taking advantage of the slippery slopes and our bumpkins we made it back in record time but still missed the last scheduled tram – we hit the parking lot around 11:30. Thanks to Iryna, Nicole and Emily for sharing so much!!”