It was a good thing that the Heli dropped us off. with 100lbs of gear and food each, the walk up would have been not only torturous, but almost unfathomable. Still, we wonder whether all of the booze was a smart idea, but quickly dismiss that notion. After all, this is a quasi Bachelor Party and we needed to celebrate. The seven of us came together in short order for this trip, Daryl Treadway was the last to join the group on the day before departure. If anything, we had too much shit with us.



Freshfields Movie Save this Movie to your Hard Drive - its 9 minutes and 40mgs, but well worth the viewing!




The Freshfields are a steep skiing paradise with numerous sites that offer quick access to steep and beautiful lines. The prize of the zone is Mt Freshfield and that is what we had come to ski. The Heli dropped us off at 10,000ft and we settled in on the windy col for our first night. The plan was to start early and move camp for access to some good lines. In the morning we realized what a poor job packing we had done, too much gear and solved our problem by leaving a cache at our drop point. As we depart camp, Crosland and Field opt to take all of their gear in one shot, the rest of us decide on two trips. The fog is thick as we start our adventure. We can't see shit for a while and the group meets to contemplate our best descent route. We are standing on top of a steep face and can't see whats below us. The topo tells us that it is a clean line and we put our faith in the map. BP drops in first and I follow. It is steep and we can't see very far into the abyss, the uncertainty has the butterflys going. Our first line of the trip ends up being a mandatory as we pop over the Bergshrund. Just as we reach the bottom the sun breaks the fog and we get a chance to look at our surroundings. It's going to be an epic trip!




The 5 of us drop our gear and head back to pick up the second load. Field and Crosland continue on their way. We get a good opportunity to scope out some lines that we will hit on our return. Tim, Daryl and myself are standing on top of a gorgeous, steep line ready to drop in. Daryl drops first and his line choice is the steeper. Tim and I wait for a while, but don't hear or see anything, so we go for it. Tim drops first and skis the face with smooth control, essential given the extra weight on our backs and the sluff that is cascading down the slope. I follow and have a great run. It's when we get to the bottom that we realize what has happened. Daryl has tumbled the full length of the face - about 1200 feet, snap his binding and plop down onto the edge of a bergshrund. Shaken but not stirred, Daryl climbs back up, gathers his stuff and we continue on our way to camp one. The setting is beautiful and there is a gorgeous line that Tim and I ski as the sun sets. Day one has been interesting and challenging. Tomorrow we will depart for our final camp spot where we will spend the next 4 days as we get ready to ski Mt. Freshfield.



Day 2 is the big hump. We depart early and move towards our destination at a steady pace. Travelling safely is key and the sun is starting to beat down heavily on the white slopes around us. We want to get up and over the col before it gets too warm and we hit it just on time, a half hour later and it would've been too dangerous. The hard work is over. We rest and rejeuventate and then glide to our final campsite. The sun has been beating down on us all day and we need to replenish our strength. After hunkering down and building our Kitchen and Living room we feast like kings on some heavy tacos. It's now cocktail hour, and what better way to celebrate than with an evening ski. We head west towards an enticing peak and manage to score some nice turns. On the way back to camp Eric and Brandon head up towards what is now called 'The Cocktail Hour' peak. I get into position and start the camera rolling as Eric shreds his line in the pink light. Tomorrow we will ski some lines close to camp and get ready for Freshfield the next day.



The morning dawns blue again as we are greeted with another glorious day. 5 of us head out to bag a couple of lines as Treadway finishes fixing his binding. The day is beautiful and the scenery is unreal. It's warming up fast and by the time we get to the top of our objective the snow has been heavily sun affected. Field lays a cut and the sluff rips off and cascades over the bergshrund. The slope is cleaner but still somewhat questionable. BP decidedes to ski it and makes his way slowly and precisely down the face, suddenly he triggers a point release and starts to slide... fortunately he pulls out and makes it down safely. The rest of us ski back down the shoulder that we have just climbed. A couple more lines and the Cocktail Hour Peak wrap up the day in good fashion. We eat well and get ready to leave early the next morning.



The sky dawns grey. Unfortunately our high pressure window was lost last night as the cloud rolled in and prevented anything from freezing. With more cloud in the forecast, our options no longer exist. We pack camp and head back to our drop point to get the rest of our gear. Its a long, arduous and tense process. The snow is shit and we need to get through some exposed areas without getting washed out. I'm moving like a weighed down yak when Field comes through with a magic little pill called dexadrine, from zero to hero. It turns out that our decision on day one to make two trips was a good one. Field and I can't see more than 3 feet in front of us and all we have to guide us is a faint track from 4 days prior and my spotty memory. Safely back on the col, we settle in for our final night with the wind howling. Tomorrow we will ski and hike out to where we dropped our trucks on the logging road far below.



The morning doesn't give us much other than haze, and the route finding is tough even with a topo. We contemplate a descent, but want to travel as safely as possible. We end up backtracking, which is always fun with 100lbs on the back. Finally we get some light and see that we have found the proper and safest descent. From here on its down down. As we hack our way through crappy snow and uneven terrain, we are finally greeted with a golden present. There is an avi path that will allow us to drop about 2000 more feet on our skis. As we hit the end of the debris we are forced into dense bush and wonder if our decision was a good one. After bushwacking for a couple of hours we emerge onto a path. We roll into Golden at just before midnight and head straight for the Husky house. The don't serve beer - so we go to Humptys.




This was one of the best trips that I've ever had. Enjoy the video.

Words- Scrim
Video- Eric Crosland and Dave Petch