From Chester Lake trailhead (50.79078, -115.30037), Zosia and I started up a well-established track on a trail reserved exclusively for skiers (snowshoers have a completely separate trail to access Chester Lake).  About half a kilometre from the trailhead, the skiers' trail splits into designated uphill and downhill routes, but on this day, it appeared that most skiers that came before us simply climbed the downhill route (left at junction).  With excellent snow conditions, we had no issues whatsoever following the ski track all the way to Chester Lake and arrived in a little under two hours.  From the northwest corner of the lake, we followed a snowshoe track up a forested slope and soon reached the first of two clusters of boulders comprising Elephant Rocks.  After poking around a bit here, we continued heading northwest along the snowshoe track until it ended near the entrance to what Daffern calls "Three Lakes Valley" (the hanging valley south of Mount Galatea).  At this point, Zosia began breaking trail on the faint remnants of an old ski track, and we eventually climbed to the top of a lightly forested knob separating Elephant Rocks from Three Lakes Valley.  This was a logical place to stop since we were reluctant to venture into more complex avalanche terrain further up the valley.  While we took a short break on the knob, we were reassured of our decision to stop when we saw some light avalanches coming down the nearby south ridge of Gusty Peak.

After removing our climbing skins, Zosia and I skied down the south side of the knob back to Elephant Rocks.  We were initially worried that the forest would be too dense here, but the route turned out to be quite reasonable to ski.  Back at Elephant Rocks, we went and explored the second cluster of boulders before descending another well-traveled track which ultimately popped out of the trees near the west side of Chester Lake.  Other than one or two short but annoying uphill sections, the return ski to the trailhead was a blast and capped off a thoroughly enjoyable day of skiing.

	Zosia starts along the designated skiers' trail at Chester Lake trailhead.
	Mount Chester looms in the background as Zosia makes her way across snow-covered meadows.
	Zosia arrives at Chester Lake with Gusty Peak in the background.

 

Sonny arrives at the first of two clusters of boulders comprising Elephant Rocks.

Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

 

	While poking around the boulders of Elephant Rocks, Zosia considers where to go next.
	Zosia breaks trail at the entrance to Three Lakes Valley.
	This lightly forested knob just north of Elephant Rocks is the high point of the ski tour (2326 metres).
	Sonny stands in a deep hole after stepping out of his skis. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	Zosia prepares to ski off the top of the knob.
	Zosia pops out of the trees just above Elephant Rocks.
	Sonny gets down on his hands and knees to climb up among a second cluster of boulders at Elephant Rocks. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak
	In this view from the second cluster of boulders, the knob from which Zosia skied is somewhere behind her at the top edge of the trees.
	Here is a last look at Elephant Rocks as Zosia prepares to depart the area.
	Zosia returns to the designated skiers' trail on her way out from Chester Lake.
	Total Distance:  11.2 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  5 hours 22 minutes Cumulative Elevation Gain:  411 metres GPX Data