Western Canada Road Trip 2013 - Fernie

[longshanks]

I'm starting off this TR kinda near the end as that was where the best conditions were to be had by FAR (Fernie Alpine Resort). After a 4 day weekend in Rossland for the Winter Carnival and riding the slopes of Red & Granite, I departed the condo at Red at 5 am on Monday the 28th and made haste for Fernie. The distance is 339K, about 4.25 hrs in clock time +1 hrs as you leave Pacific time and enter Mountain. On route, a voice on the radio said that Kootenay Pass would close at 7am Pacific for 2 hours for avalanche work...I had to beat that closing or the day would be lost...No worries, there is absolutely no one on the Powder Highway in the wee hours and I had clear sailing through light snow, making the pass by 6:40 or so.

I had been watching the weather and snow reports for the entire area since arriving in Calgary on the 22nd. From the 23rd on, most areas in the interior had similar snowfall (25-40 cm) with the exception of Fernie... 13cm, 17cm, 34cm, and 16cm on the morning I arrived. For you metrically challenged folk, 80cm is 32" which is very good for the BC interior. FAR has had about 7 metres so far this season... I was parked, ticketed, and on the Timber Bowl Express Quad lift by 10:30 local...the snow was deep the crowds were light, always a good combo. Road up with another Boarder...Jules, a ex-Calgaryian who had been in town for a dozen or so years. We swapped stories and near the exit, she said if I was interested in a short hike, she'd show me the goods. 10 minutes later we had scaled the boot pack up to Siberia Ridge...very few had been up here in this storm cycle. We walked along the ridge for a few minutes then buckled up. I followed the leader and she proceeded to follow the ridge line down to the ski-out. Absolutely beautiful snow, blower pow, barely a track in it. The ski-out was a bit flat for a boarder so I passed her to carry speed as I hate having to skooch. I waited at the Timber lift but she kept going giving me a wave on the way by. So I went right back up to do it again. It looked to be clouding over so I thought it best to do it again right away. Instead of riding Siberia Ridge again I dropped into Siberia Bowl and hit the area between Morning Glory and Mars. Only one other track was visible...sweetness! I decided it was time to pull out the used GoPro Hero that my son gave me for Christmas. A gift which, required the purchase of a new case and instead of a helmet mount, I opted for a grenade grip handle.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCceOlkxRkI[/youtube]

Up the lift for a 3rd time and hit the Lost Boys Cafe for a quick lunch and a beer...

...before proceeding to work my way across the resort hitting lines in each of the other 4 bowls although each had closed terrain. The Polar Peak chair was open, but I missed my first attempt to get to that chair and by the time I did make the tricky entrance the top was socked it solid...so I went up anyway. Total white room, almost zero vis. and the signs suggested it would be a good thing not to fall...very exciting stuff indeed. The murk was thick and the light was flat but the snow was so lite and soft you could float blindly with only the odd rock or person to provide perspective. Slipped under a few ropes into closed terrain and poached lines along the edge...went as hard as I could until I felt I could do one more...and quit, because injuries always happen on your last run, right?

 

[socal]

Looks like a great day and a good writeup. Just a comment but for me, I can't watch POV like that unless its a neck deep day like mbaydala had at Snowbasin a few days ago.

 

[Marc_C]

Unfortunately most of the POV was of the rider's head, torso, and arm and not what we're really interested in seeing - the terrain. In a 4-1/2 minute video, the self portrait shots should be no more than maybe 20 seconds at most. Perhaps OK for the rider's mom, but that's about it.

 

[longshanks]

...I can't watch POV like that unless its a neck deep day like mbaydala had at Snowbasin a few days ago.

Really? it has to be Neck Deep?...Oh how I pine for the days when Bag Deep was enough... :lol:

Unfortunately most of the POV was of the rider's head, torso, and arm and not what we're really interested in seeing - the terrain. In a 4-1/2 minute video, the self portrait shots should be no more than maybe 20 seconds at most. Perhaps OK for the rider's mom, but that's about it.

Everybody is a critic...so sorry to disappoint you Marc...but my Mom is long dead so I felt a need to share with FTOL...and I did not realize that you spoke for the entire group - mea culpa. Would it have been any different if I was a two planker? The vanity involved in this attempt at ski/ride porn (face shots anyone?) is what I thought most would like...many of the POV cameras on the market have a fish-eye type lens which doesn't provide true terrain perspective anyway as they have a tendency to "flatten" the pitch. The focal point of these cameras is quite close to the operator, so a good look at the slope is not typically what you get. Whereas, high quality stills of the type that Admin and his powder posse prodigiously post, most certainly do give truer terrain representation.
Thanks for your input nonetheless.

 

[socal]

...I can't watch POV like that unless its a neck deep day like mbaydala had at Snowbasin a few days ago.

Really? it has to be Neck Deep?...Oh how I pine for the days when Bag Deep was enough... :lol:

I just meant that if the camera is facing the skier/boarder its gotta be super deep. I can handle POV facing downhill if it is properly setup ( ie not facing straight down and not facing up too high).

I appreciate the TR, sorry if it didn't come across that way.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[longshanks]

...I can't watch POV like that unless its a neck deep day like mbaydala had at Snowbasin a few days ago.

Really? it has to be Neck Deep?...Oh how I pine for the days when Bag Deep was enough... :lol:

I just meant that if the camera is facing the skier/boarder its gotta be super deep. I can handle POV facing downhill if it is properly setup ( ie not facing straight down and not facing up too high).

I appreciate the TR, sorry if it didn't come across that way.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

No worries Socal...no offense taken. Keep on Rockin'

 

[Marc_C]

Unfortunately most of the POV was of the rider's head, torso, and arm and not what we're really interested in seeing - the terrain. In a 4-1/2 minute video, the self portrait shots should be no more than maybe 20 seconds at most. Perhaps OK for the rider's mom, but that's about it.

Everybody is a critic...so sorry to disappoint you Marc...but my Mom is long dead so I felt a need to share with FTOL...and I did not realize that you spoke for the entire group - mea culpa.

I don't. Thought it was obvious it was strictly my opinion. Welcome to the internet.

Would it have been any different if I was a two planker?

Nope. It's still narcissistic and boring to watch. Doesn't matter if it's you or if it's the "pro athletes" in the GoPro commercials.

Thanks for your input nonetheless.

You're welcome.

 

[longshanks]

Unfortunately most of the POV was of the rider's head, torso, and arm and not what we're really interested in seeing - the terrain. In a 4-1/2 minute video, the self portrait shots should be no more than maybe 20 seconds at most. Perhaps OK for the rider's mom, but that's about it.

Everybody is a critic...so sorry to disappoint you Marc...but my Mom is long dead so I felt a need to share with FTOL...and I did not realize that you spoke for the entire group - mea culpa.

I don't. Thought it was obvious it was strictly my opinion. Welcome to the internet.

Then you sir might suffer from schizophrenia since you used the plural "we're" instead of the singular "I'm"...admitting is the 1st step

 

[kingslug]

Wow..amazing how much more interior BC got compared to where I was. Whistler only picked up 4 inches in the week I was there, Jan 26th to Feb 2...still had a good time but we where all praying for more...

 

[Marc_C]

Then you sir might suffer from schizophrenia since you used the plural "we're" instead of the singular "I'm"...admitting is the 1st step

The we would be the 5 people who saw the vid with me.
Here's an example of a really good POV video:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10795

 

[socal]

Then you sir might suffer from schizophrenia since you used the plural "we're" instead of the singular "I'm"...admitting is the 1st step

The we would be the 5 people who saw the vid with me.
Here's an example of a really good POV video:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10795

Are you this crotchety in real life or just the internet? I know we met but I don't recall if you disagreed or caused conflict about everything anyone said.

 

[Marc_C]

Then you sir might suffer from schizophrenia since you used the plural "we're" instead of the singular "I'm"...admitting is the 1st step

The we would be the 5 people who saw the vid with me.
Here's an example of a really good POV video:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10795

Are you this crotchety in real life or just the internet? I know we met but I don't recall if you disagreed or caused conflict about everything anyone said.

What conflict? I gave my opinion of a video. Mr. longshanks apparently didn't like that and also took me to task on using a plural instead of singular personal pronoun. And I offered up what I thought was a good video.

 

[socal]

Unfortunately most of the POV was of the rider's head, torso, and arm and not what we're really interested in seeing - the terrain. In a 4-1/2 minute video, the self portrait shots should be no more than maybe 20 seconds at most. Perhaps OK for the rider's mom, but that's about it.

Everybody is a critic...so sorry to disappoint you Marc...but my Mom is long dead so I felt a need to share with FTOL...and I did not realize that you spoke for the entire group - mea culpa.

I don't. Thought it was obvious it was strictly my opinion. Welcome to the internet.

Would it have been any different if I was a two planker?

Nope. It's still narcissistic and boring to watch. Doesn't matter if it's you or if it's the "pro athletes" in the GoPro commercials.

Thanks for your input nonetheless.

You're welcome.

This.

 

[longshanks]

Then you sir might suffer from schizophrenia since you used the plural "we're" instead of the singular "I'm"...admitting is the 1st step

The we would be the 5 people who saw the vid with me.
Here's an example of a really good POV video:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10795

Well, there is no accounting for taste...Really Good?...totally subjective. Interesting for sure..,but a collection of daisy chained short clips, eerie music and tacky cinematic edits might work for you, but not for me and I really didn't get a good feel for the terrain either...