BOU AVENUE
Watridge Lake Ski
Avoiding the shopping malls on 26 December 2003, Dan Millar, Kelly Wood and I headed out to Spray Valley Provincial Park and skied to Watridge Lake.  We had no trouble reaching our destination in about 45 minutes, and after breaking trail across the middle of the lake, we stopped for a nice lunch on the north shore.  After lunch, we skied back across the lake and followed the trail up to Karst Spring below the northwest ridge of Mount Shark.  We eventually ditched our skis and hiked up the final 50 metres or so.  Fortunately, snowshoers had previously broken trail and packed down the snow for us.  Although the water output of the spring was hardly impressive (understandable in winter), the green moss and ice formations near the outlet were quite fascinating.  After snapping about a zillion photos, we scampered back down the trail, picked up our skis, and skied back to the trailhead.  Now, that's the way to spend Boxing Day!
How come we're the first to break trail in the middle of the lake this year? Dan is a little surprised that no one else has broken trail across the middle of Watridge Lake yet.  Tent Ridge is visible in the distance.
Easy. Dan and Kelly ski back across the lake after lunch.  Cone Mountain dominates the view to the north.
Yeah, you could maybe ski up this, but why put up with all that misery?! Kelly and Dan hike up the Karst Spring trail.
Come back in the summer. In winter, there's not a lot of water coming out of Karst Spring.
Wouldn't it be awesome if this was a HOT spring, instead?! Sonny stands beside the interpretive sign near the outlet of Karst Spring.
Cool. This is one of the many "ice curtains" found near Karst Spring.
Cool...and wet too! Here is another interesting ice formation.  Note the green moss at lower right.
It's actually lighter than it looks. Dan skis past Watridge Lake one last time on the way out.
Can't wait until scrambling season! From L to R, Mount Engadine, The Tower and Mount Galatea dominate the skyline near the trailhead.