Starting from McLean Creek ATV Staging Area (50.88018, -114.68743), Aga, Zosia and I skied southwest along the main access road for about 1.2 kilometres before turning left onto a second road heading southeast.  This road undulates a fair bit, and admittedly, I picked up my skis and walked a few of the steeper hills along the way.  About 3.7 kilometres from the turnoff, we reached a T-junction where we stopped to attach climbing skins.  From the junction, we headed west for about 200 metres before abandoning the road to plunge down a bushy embankment.  My original optimistic plan was to make a beeline for the north end of a vast cut block on the first hill we would climb, but realistically, this would have entailed a steep and difficult bushwhack.  Luckily, we stumbled onto an unexpected trail at the bottom of the embankment, and we took advantage by following the trail southward until we found a more reasonable spot to cut through the bush and reach the same cut block.  Unfortunately, ascending the cut block was not as easy as I had hoped.  Snow coverage was barely adequate, and the underlying slash was tedious, if not difficult, to ski over.  Despite the slow uphill grind, we persevered and ultimately made it to the semi-open high point of the first hill.

	Aga and Zosia try to keep below the speed limit on the main access road.
	Zosia and Aga turn off onto a second road heading south.
	Zosia climbs up the first of several uphill sections on the second road.
	Zosia and Aga ski along the road under a dramatic Chinook arch.
	Zosia gets her first glimpse of one of the Silvester Creek Hills just beyond the trees right of centre.
	Aga follows Sonny along an unexpected trail in the forest. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Aga and Zosia break out of the forest and enter a huge cut block.
	Aga and Zosia are still smiling despite the tedious ski through the cut block.
	Aga and Zosia approach the top of the first hill.
	Aga, Sonny and Zosia proudly display their skis near the high point of the first hill (1689 metres).
	In this view to the northwest from the top of the first hill, parts of the main access road leading back to the trailhead can be seen in the valley below.

After a brief stop on the high point of the first hill, Aga, Zosia and I kept our skins on as we descended southward through more of the same cut block.  This was just as slow and tedious as the ascent since we had to be careful to avoid snagging our skis in the slash.  We eventually crossed a short dip and worked our way up another cut block to the edge of a forest covering the top of our second hill of the day.  Ironically, the skiing became easier once we got past some deadfall and entered the forest, and we were soon standing on the viewless high point of the second hill.

Although I had originally planned for us to backtrack to the short dip after tagging the top of the second hill, Aga, Zosia and I were not particularly enthusiastic about skiing through more cut blocks.  Instead, we opted to drop down the forested west slopes of the second hill to connect with a road--marked on my GPS map--that runs along Silvester Creek.  Of course, we kept our climbing skins on for greater control which was especially crucial for descending some alarmingly steep sections.  Strangely enough, I found this challenging descent to be surprisingly fun even though we were in full survival mode as we slowly but methodically zigzagged between the trees down the slope.  We eventually stumbled onto the road to find that it was mostly reclaimed but still skiable.  Turning northward, we gradually descended the reclaimed road and soon connected with a well-traveled ATV track.  This ATV track is actually in a controversial reclamation zone, but we did not realize this until we arrived at a signed barrier near a four-way intersection.  I am still unclear whether or not the area we skied through is closed to public access, but the sign here explicitly prohibiting motorized traffic had obviously been ignored.

Turning right (east) at the four-way intersection, Aga, Zosia and I were now on the long but uncomplicated main access road leading all the way back to the trailhead.  The road was markedly grittier than the previous weekend which made some of the fast downhill sections a little nerve-racking.  Fortunately, none of us took any unexpected spills as we closed our loop and returned to the trailhead just as darkness began to fall.

	Aga and Zosia carefully descend the cut block as they head toward the second hill at centre.
	After crossing a short dip, Zosia and Aga begin climbing up the second hill.
	With the first hill visible behind him, Sonny picks up his skis in the shadow of the trees covering the top of the second hill. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Ironically, the forested top of the second hill is easier to ski than any of the open cut blocks.
	Zosia and Aga stand near the viewless high point of the second hill (1706 metres).
	Aga descends the forested west slopes of the second hill.
	The slope is alarmingly steep here.
	Zosia and Aga descend a reclaimed road near the bottom of the second hill.

This ATV track along Silvester Creek is supposed to be decommissioned and off-limits to motorized vehicles, but this regulation is obviously difficult to enforce.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

 

Total Distance:  16.7 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  7 hours 36 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  281 metres GPX Data