...nwood...

(Originally posted on TelemarkTips.com)

Caption: First flight leaves Kaslo for Carlyle Lodge

Longish introduction which may seem to have little to do with subject at hand:

I've realized that there are a number of obstacles hindering my fledgling
movement to introduce Backcountry Touring as an Olympic event. For
starters, many Olympic host cities will not be able to provide the
large, and geographically diverse playing field required: I envision
the event starting at Trader Joe's at 8:53pm. Competitors have 7
minutes before closing to purchase all of the food necessary to
sustain them over the course of the gruelling ordeal. Following the
shopping phase the athletes (teams of 3) pile into a vehicle (not to
exceed the size of a Subaru Outback), return to a base for gear
loading, and then embark on a 5 hour road trip crossing a minimum of 2
mountain passes. During the journey a at least one pair of skins must
be re-glued. A number of other event details remain under
debate... I'd say that competitors should be prepared for: navigation
challenges, stove repair, conflicting priorities among teammates and a
minimum of 3 nightly pee breaks between the hours of 12am and 4am. In
addition to being a race, this event will be judged based on 1)
quality of turns 2) severity of hardship endured and 3) participant
desire to repeat the experience...and a special fourth category:
Impressiveness of photos and bravado in post-event TelemarkTips
postings.

Caption: Carlyle Lodge and the Kootenays

As I reflect on the riveting suspense this would provide spectators, I
realize that my recent experience with Canadian "luxury lodge touring"
had about as little in common with this event, as Heavenly Ski Resort
does with Mt. Tom. Is this the beginning of the end? Have I sold
out? What does it mean that I enjoyed my fully guided and catered
trip to Carlyle Lodge as much as a sorority coed enjoys Club Med
Cancun?

Caption: "I'm sorry Clivus, I've met someone else."

Having recently shed my status as lodge touring virgin, I probably
don't have much new information for the "more experienced" (slutty?)
members of the audience. Nevertheless, let's begin with bodily
functions: One of the gems of Carlyle is its night time pee toilet. I
must confess that I snuck visits to this "night time" facility several
times during daylight hours (please keep this under wraps!) It's hard
to describe with mere words the joy of a backcountry setting
combined with the possibility of barefoot, boxer-clad forays to the
head. Of special note is the fact that male visitors to the pee-toilet
will be confronted with a decorum test in the form of a sign strongly
discouraging a standing position. ("...the door is closed...it's the
middle of the night...no one will know...my aim is true...I could
always wipe the rim...")

I guess this is typical, but the hosts at Carlyle have thought of
everything: They've even chosen the most scenic location for outdoor
pee endeavors.

Caption: Robin Presenting Coconut Shirmp Curry

I'll leave the transition from urination to coffee to your
imagination. Some of my favorite trip moments (outside of skiing -
which maybe we'll get to here) were throwing back my down comforter
and stumbling out into the Selkirk morning to be greeted by the aroma
of Oso Negro coffee and the fruits of our caterer Robin's
early-morning kitchen efforts. I feasted on freshly baked cinnamon
buns with pecans, crepes with kiwi fruit salad and yogurt and
energy-packed rice-based hot cereal. An hour later I'd be handed a
lunch box containing my choice of a fresh garden wrap or sandwich with
optional supplements such as homemade brownies, crisp apples, mini
mandarins, and, my new favorite dried meat product, some kind of
smashed German pepperoni called something like "Longenjaeger." Also
deserving special note were the home made "energy bars." (That recipe
is from Whitewater Cooks. Apparently the Whitewater ski "hill" near
Nelson, BC has exceptional food...) Dinners were off the hook. The
week started with Coconut Curry Shrimp and ended with NY Steaks.

Caption: Leni, Jeff and Yukon

Among the many pleasures of Carlyle was the warm company and stalwart
leadership of our hosts and guides Jeff Gfroerer, Leni Neumeier and
Yukon (their a 14-year-old Australian Shepard/Collie who set the pace
on the climbs and never strayed from the fall line on the downhills.)
Jeff did a great job of making every day fun while keeping a careful
eye on safety and schedule. Leni's consistent sunshiny cheerfulness never ceased to amaze. That said, we got acquainted with Leni's focused, serious side early in the week when she lead us in avalanche rescue scenarios. (Carlyle, by the way, has it's very own BCA beacon basin which many of us made use of throughout the week - when we still had
energy after the tours.)

Caption: Mark heating up his Voile Carbon Surf so he can reglue the topsheet.

We shared the hut with a great group of free heelers hailing from all
over Mark and Theresa from Olympia, WA, Cornelia from a town in Canada
that sounds like "Cologne", Irene from Calgary, and Jerry from
Virginia. It was a pleasure!

We've now reached the point where, in the TeleTips tradition, this
trip report devolves into a slew of pictures. (I'm sure you are all relieved!) We had 6 bluebird and
one partially cloudy day. This meant that we were not skiing insane,
waist-deep pow, but we thoroughly enjoyed the north facing slopes and
the tree glades.

Caption: Justin DeSantis descending into 12 Mile Basin

Caption: Jen Evans on "Play Misty for Me" (north side of Misty)

Caption: We discovered some good things about surface hoar. Great turning!

Caption: Justin in Gold Mine

Caption: Yukon poaching my line!

Caption: Lunch at Prospector Col

Caption: Justin on Lower Quad-ra-phobia

Caption: Jeff waiting for stragglers below Mt. Heyland

Caption: Brian lunching at Mt. Heyland

Caption: Cornelia and Irene

Caption: Gettin' after it in the tree glades below Heyland

4 pm found use back at the lodge gorging on Robin's appetizers,
drinking a beer...
(Originally posted on [url http=http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=43876]TelemarkTips.com[/url])

Caption: Leni, Jeff and Mark

... and watching some video of the day's turns.

Caption: Irene, Jerry, Justin and Jen

Then it
was time to hit the sauna and the bucket shower before dinner. As an
added bonus I enjoyed viewing my best full lunar eclipse ever from the sauna
deck.

We attempted to compensate for the absence of our celestial neighbor
with our impressively luminous white asses.

Full Album: http://gallery.nwood.org/main.php?g2_itemId=2632