Moonlight Skiing in Quest’s backyard

We took full advantage of the clear skies and full moon this past week, and headed up into Garibaldi Provincial Park, just up the road from Quest, for a moonlight ski. What an absolutely gorgeous night! The moon was so bright, we only used our headlamps when shadowed by the trees. Once we got into the alpine, the trees opened up and we were in a magical moonlit land! The snow sparkled in the moonlight, as we continued up into the alpine. We headed up the ridge, and found a perfect little ledge for our picnic dinner with a glorious view of the peak of Diamond head, the lights of Squamish, and the surrounding snow-capped mountain ranges.

After a scrumptious falafel wrap (from the Quest dining hall of course) and tasty hot chocolate, we then snapped into our skis and headed down. The snow conditions were fantastic! We got some great powder turns in, and then continued on down the trail back to the parking lot. What a perfect way to experience a full moon! As we drove down the road, we drove past Quest, lit up in all its glory. How amazing to experience something like this in, literally, the backyard of a university!!!

Catskiing on the Hurley Pass

The other weekend, I was fortunate enough to be invited on a 2-night catskiing trip with Backcountry Snowcats on the Hurley Pass. The Hurley Pass is just north of the Pemberton Meadows and is only accessible by 4x4 in the summer and via snowmobile in the winter. It was my first time catskiing, and I highly suggest it for those looking for fresh powder turns. We almost had too much snow (if that's even possible...)! Unfortunately, avalanche activity was considerable, so we stuck to the trees. But no complaints - we experienced an entire weekend of deep, blissful powder and untracked turns. One especially cool spot was 'the Badlands', a burned down forest, where we skied amongst black tree skeletons.

Be sure to check out our video too: