Andrew Whiteford’s Best Day in 2013 | Adamant Range, B.C.

words and video by Andrew Whiteford

Picking a single day that stood above the others during an awesome season was a difficult but pleasant task given by Powder Magazine. After some internal debate, I went with a day of ski touring with close friends in the Adamant Range in interior BC.

The confluence of several factors makes March 7, 2013 stand out to me. Being later in the season, I was feeling strong and healthy. Having spent a couple days becoming familiar with the surrounding terrain and snowpack, the weather allowed for a long day with decent light. Skiing with competent and capable friends provides a huge boost in confidence and allows you to share the experience with someone else. (Brett says it was also his best day.)

Finally, a great day needs some challenges to make it exciting- and for me, skiing a large hanging snowfield and a lot of exposed scrambling- something that I’m not as familiar with- provided me with the right level of challenge that leads to great satisfaction.

I tried to wrap up each day in the fun mini golf lines just above the hut, and on this day I chose a straightline down a spine to a sharp transition- one that had my wobbly legs barely holding on through a massive backslap…but providing a little bit of excitement before accepting beers at the hut.

The whole day = quite choice.

(BTW, the high summit I climbed up to is Sentinel, seen in the thumbnail/frame grab- upper right hand corner between the two tall pine trees, dark rocky peak in the back. Mini gold zone to the lookers left.)