Gibsons Meadows

March 2, 2024 -- Manning Park

Stats: 9.6 km / 330m gain / 1734m high / 4 hours MT

I've done this Poland Lake route many times, but this was the first time we didn't make it to the lake. So why did it take us so long? You'd think with a group of 19 it wouldn't be a problem. But more snow had fallen in the last week (about 100m) than it had the entire winter. This made for a tough time breaking trail. Not many were too eager to take up the position in the front of the line. It can become exhausting very quickly.

Only our outdoor club is given permission to snowshoe along the blue-chair downhill ski run. Gary Baker has secured this privelege with the owner and managers of Manning Park. This route has his signature on it.

About 3/4 way up the edge of the downhill ski run, we turned right into the trees. There were no far-reaching views of the peaks as we'd had just one week prior.

I took our Dutch student along who's staying with us while he works for our company as part of his internship. This was only his third day in Canada. It was a full blown introduction to our winter wonderland in the mountains. He survived.

Dave, Paul & Don were in charge of leading the group. They were relying heavily on their GPSs, constantly stopping and checking. Because of the foot & a half of powder sitting on top of an older thin layer, the creeks were still a bit exposed in spots and much caution was needed as unstable gaps and cross-overs were hidden and had to be tested. Many mini detours were necessary. This and breaking trail slowed us down.

Basically we followed along the left side of the creek to the first of three meadows.

Since Pieter was by far the youngest in the group, Dave singled him out to break trail. But he had just arrived two days before from a classroom from a country that is flat as a pancake and he was dealing with jet-lag. By the end of the day he was exhausted but he said, "It was beautiful!"

At the first meadow.

And the second meadow.

The third meadow.

Leaving the third meadow and angling to the north into the forest.

After about 30 minutes in the forest the slope became steeper.

We ended up going a bit too far to the right. We were only about 50m vertical from the summer road but decided to call it quits. The group was getting hungry (1:15pm) and as Dave, who was in front yet again, stopped at the base of a particuly steep slope to check his GPS, he heard a "whomp" sound. Danger of avalance was very real with the conditions being as they were. The mountain was warning us. Time to stop.

Group shot back row, left to right: Don F, Ed, George, Dave B, Val S, Ingrid F, Lori B

Middle row: Paul L, Lonja, Allana W, Denise D, Sandra, Peter E

Front row: Margaret T, me, Pieter, David, Gary B, Gretta

Heading out took 2 hours, whereas heading in took 3:15 hours.

The tip of Frosty Mt. in the background.

Lori, Gretta, me & Pieter had dinner at the lodge, cozied up beside the fire and beating the skier crowd. I was stunned when suddenly standing before me was my daughter, with the biggest smile on her face. Who would've thought to meet her there! Her and Jordan had gone skiing. They joined us for a drink. Good times!