Well, back to the back country this week. The Powder Wardens have been a bit removed from their skiing for a spell due to Wolfgangs' Island adventure and work commitments. The Wardens have been back out to the Valley-X for the third time this season, carefully poking around exploring this new area. Every one has been a bit spooked after the burial and death of a well known local back-country skier. Now as Wolfgang toils at the keyboard, word comes in of a large slide on Boulder Mountain that hit and buried up to 200 sledders. Like the Canadian Avalanche Centre says, it is spooky out there!
Regardless, we loaded up early Saturday, and headed south, back to the Valley-X. After a battle with a recalcitrant gas pump and a dead sled battery we roosted up into the fresh snow that blanketed the gravel in the parking area. A stunning day was dawning with sapphire tempered skies and a billion tiny diamonds hanging suspended in the cool morning air. As we climbed away from the noisy machines, it was evident that it was a day destined for a long tour.
This thought, however, was interrupted by the siren call of a beautiful, beckoning downhill slope, covered with cold smoke, that sat warming in the sun. If we didn't ski it, the afternoon sun would render it cooked, like overdone mashed potatoes. Not wanting to be responsible for such a travesty, we quickly came to the consensus that we would ski it. So we did. And it was fine.

Continuing along our way, we wound a circuitous path along the ridgline. Stupendous views, and unskied slopes called out to us, but we were men on a mission. The summit of *&**^% peak had eluded us twice before, so our resolve was iron-clad, and could not be shaken. So we skinned up to the top for some stunning views, the Monashees to the east, the Coast-range to the west and all the way to Mt. Baker in the South. A rare day to behold. After a bite to eat, we tore off our climbing skins, and had a fantastic run back down the ridge. Indeed, a line down a scenic ridge may be second only to a rock-walled couloir in terms of aesthetics. At the bottom we decided to descend further, off the south face of the ridge down into Valley-X itself. Spring corn was on the menu for this part of the run that tallied 1500 feet or so.
After a climb back up to the ridge we had a long tour back to some fine, cold powder on north-facing slopes that we, as Powder Wardens, felt obliged to inspect. The run started in the sun, dropped a bigger than expected cliff(optional!), and then cascaded down towards the valley floor on a perfect fall-line. Sweet turns to conclude the gravity fueled portion of the days' program, then a long slog back to the top and out through the thick timber to our awaiting chariots. Back out to the trucks for a total of 8 hours, 20kms and 4000 vertical feet for the day.