julianiles.com

The snow started falling and the temperatures climbed up above the grim minus 20 degrees Celsius, finally Sean and I could head up to the Wapta Icefield for a little whiteout navigation. Of course, we got a few powder turns on the way- but they were blind turns where you don’t know if the next ten feet will drop you thirty feet or level out. Good adventure. The best part for me was discovering that I actually can be outside in gale force winds and sideways snow while following a compass for four hours at a time. No, I lied. The best part was having the entire Bow Hut to ourselves. The fire was hot. We got to chop wood and build fires and watch the huge cauldron of water sitting on the wood stove boil. Macaroni and cheese never tasted so good. We pulled some mattresses right next to the wood stove to curl up for the night. The Wapta was magnificent in its fierceness, yet the hut was the bright light during a storm. What great contrast!