Yesterday, we went out to check out some more winter logging for ski touring opportunities. Kalesnikoff is logging in the Harrop Creek drainage for the Harrop-Proctor Community Forest. Some searching around the internet, revealed a couple of maps, and a few Google Earth photos overlain with the new logging roads, that gave us a good idea of where we might get road access. I had hopes we would be able to drive to 1200 metres, turns out we were lucky and got to just over 1400 metres.
Once we had worked out where we were, I quickly came up with a reasonable looking tour. Following drainages, we planned to gain the divide between Harrop and Sharp Creeks near the north end at about 2100 metres. From this point, we could follow the ridge south to a 7,600 foot highpoint, and then various options for descent were possible.
Everything went well, travel was relatively easy to the first drainage, and very easy once we got started east up the drainage. It took us just over two hours to gain the ridge at about 2100 metres, and travel south along the divide was superb. Open easy travel with wonderful views in all directions.
We had a lunch break on the highpoint at 7,600 feet where we were overlooking most of the route Doug and I had skied years before when we skied from Whitewater to Proctor. From our highpoint, we descended due west down a beautiful 1,700 foot slope that was the perfect pitch for skiing and featured large openly spaced larch trees and lower down open pine forest.
At the bottom of our descent, we hit Harrop Creek and skied easily down the creek with the sun shining through open timber, and, quite quickly met our original track from the morning.
A spectacular day out exploring an area we haven't visited for many years.
At the north end of the Harrop-Sharp Divide
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