Beginner backcountry terrain around Pemberton?

Hey,

I'm looking to get the GF into backcountry skiing.

We're spending a week in Pemberton and I'm looking for a spot that's essentially a bunny hill we can skin up. Doesn't have to be a long run, but wide open and not too steep. Any recommendations?

Also, is there any snow?

bring your bike, winter is over. ha.

for realz though, access would be the main issue for you. all the snow is way up high. I recommend shelling out for a back country pass at the resort. your girl friend will hate you if you make her bushwack through coastal brush for hours to slide on shit snow. there is easy, fun, terrain to be had with very little effort, just off the tee bar, if you dont mind crossing tracks.

bring your bike, winter is over. ha.

for realz though, access would be the main issue for you. all the snow is way up high. I recommend shelling out for a back country pass at the resort. your girl friend will hate you if you make her bushwack through coastal brush for hours to slide on shit snow. there is easy, fun, terrain to be had with very little effort, just off the tee bar, if you dont mind crossing tracks.

^ This.

Just starting out, the access (to a beginner) seems WAY further than it actually is… backcountry pass and go ski decker when there aren't giant holes all over the place.

^ This.

Just starting out, the access (to a beginner) seems WAY further than it actually is… backcountry pass and go ski decker when there aren't giant holes all over the place.

decker? for a beginner? more like backside of flute

bunny hill??? I'd learn to ski first. You should be at least a strong intermediate skier. elfin would be as easy as it gets.

bunny hill??? I'd learn to ski first. You should be at least a strong intermediate skier. elfin would be as easy as it gets.

I think she'd have trouble making it back down the access road at elfin. The terrain up there would be perfect for her to learn on, though. Perhaps she'd be ok getting down the access road if she left the skins on?

The trouble with the resort is that she gets all sketched out from crowds and near-misses.

I was imagining some gradual meadow in some foothills somewhere where I could just park the car next to the snow. I guess there's always an access road to get to the terrain, especially in years like this…

Is there a spot where people XC ski around Pemberton? Maybe I'm being a bit ambitious with this plan.

decker? for a beginner? more like backside of flute

I figure if he was proposing pemby, decker is a good start…

but yeah, if she's THAT beginner. Flute/Oboe.

I think she'd have trouble making it back down the access road at elfin. The terrain up there would be perfect for her to learn on, though. Perhaps she'd be ok getting down the access road if she left the skins on?

The trouble with the resort is that she gets all sketched out from crowds and near-misses.

I was imagining some gradual meadow in some foothills somewhere where I could just park the car next to the snow. I guess there's always an access road to get to the terrain, especially in years like this…

Is there a spot where people XC ski around Pemberton? Maybe I'm being a bit ambitious with this plan.

learn to ski first, I guess a strong beginner could be ok… I dont know her but it would suck to be stuck with no help.

you crazy. i wouldn't take anyone touring that isn't a strong skier.
she'll hate it, plus you want your partner to be able to perform when you get: caught in an avalanche/blow your knee/get stuck in a tree well/get stuck in bad weather/get lost/get funneled into more tech terrain than you planned, etc.

I am going to agree with all of the above. I was thinking the blackcomb glacier, not decker. and i was also thinking beginner ski tourer, not beginner skier. guess I should read more carefully.

120$ is a hard pill to swallow. but think of it as an investment if you want your GF to be a ski touring partner in the future. ride the lifts, learn how to ski.

in a normal year there would be a few logging roads you could use as a bunny hill. but not this year saddly.

and i was also thinking beginner ski tourer, not beginner skier. guess I should read more carefully.

also how I read it, for what it's worth!

I was up the Coquihalla a few weeks back and was surprised by how many full on beginner skiers there were sketching their way down Zoa. Didn't seem like much fun to me. You spend all that effort to climb up, just to fall your way back down.

Not really that safe either if you consider that whoever you're with may potentially have to save your life if things go wrong…

if this person is a total beginner , do yourself and her a favor and book her at least one lesson .

unless you are an instructor yourself , or really have the knowledge , skills , ( and patience ) to teach someone how to ski , on what could be widely varying surfaces and terrain , it can be tough on a relationship . at the very least spend some time at olympic station . let her figure out the basic maneuvers on appropriate terrain .

then go burnt stew to where she can see , and possibly ski , the " type " of terrain you might tackle beyond the boundary , or elsewhere .

don't risk a bad first experience , particularly considering the OB is not particularly attractive right now .

http://www.bbss.ca/hankin

This^^ is perfect for the newbies, a back country ski area with aviy safe cut runs, complex terrain above tree line, no staff, no lifts,its free, its mapped, its signed and to more or less quote Lee Lau "even a moron couldn't get lost"