Two of us hiked and skied up Connaught Creek yesterday to Balu Pass. Not really ideal conditions for either, but we did get a good look around. The skiing was good once we got high enough for solid coverage.

The snow started about 100 m above the highway and from there we alternated hiking and skiing until about 1700 m (turnoff to Hospital Gully). From there on it was good coverage for skiing, especially for June 9. Probably at least 200+ cm snowpack still at Balu Pass. A lot of alders are coming back up at the lower elevations and we got tangled up in them on the way back down when we tried to leave the summer trail.

The west ridge of Mt. Tupper still holds a lot of snow and is certainly not close to good summer climbing conditions yet.

Grant Statham and Chris Gooliaff
Parks Canada Visitor Safety