Given the recent rains and warm temperatures in the mountains, Zosia and I were delighted to see an abundance of fresh snow when we arrived at the parking lot near the ski resort's lower gondola station.  The fresh snow certainly helped to freshen up the lower reaches of the ski-out as we skinned up to Sunshine Village without fanfare.  After taking an extended lunch break at the day lodge, we rode the Strawberry chairlift to the edge of the ski resort and entered the vast expanse of Sunshine Meadows.  Outside the ski resort boundary, we briefly followed a snowshoe track leading to Rock Isle Lake before veering off to the southeast to climb over a low rise.  Once we were in sight of our objective, we took the line of least resistance and tried to avoid any bare patches by detouring to climber's right.

An uncomfortably cool breeze at the high point ensured that we only stayed long enough to snap our requisite photographs and to remove our climbing skins.  One of my skis popped loose when I hit a thin spot of snow near the top, but otherwise, our descent of the west-facing slopes was unremarkable.  However, our ski back across Sunshine Meadows turned out to be a real slog as snow started to ball up under our skis and heels.  While Zosia fared a little better than me, I struggled a lot with my glide and had to stop numerous times to scrape the snow off the base of my skis.  Things improved once we returned to the groomed runs of the ski resort and resumed downhill skiing.  Upon returning to Sunshine Village, we took another extended break at the day lodge before tackling the mostly deserted ski-out to end the trip.

	Zosia starts off along the trail to Healy Pass.
	Zosia arrives at Sunshine Village.
	After riding to the top of Strawberry chairlift, Zosia casts her eyes toward the ski resort boundary.
	Zosia heads out of the ski resort into Sunshine Meadows.
	Sonny plows forward through Sunshine Meadows with Mount Bourgeau in the background. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

Sunshine Landing finally is in sight.

 

	Zosia ascends the lower slopes of Sunshine Landing.
	The west-facing slopes of Sunshine Landing are quite gentle.
	Zosia and Sonny stand on the high point of Sunshine Landing (2473 metres).
	To the north is Mount Howard Douglas.
	Citadel Pass (centre) looks far away to the southeast.
	Zosia removes the climbing skins from her skis.  At distant right is Brewster Rock.
	Zosia makes some nice turns as she skis back down to Sunshine Meadows.
	Twin Cairns provides a nice backdrop as Zosia retraces her tracks.
	The clouds lift to reveal a clear view of Citadel Peak.
	Here is one last look at Sunshine Landing. Photo courtesy of Zosia Zgolak

The Monarch dominates the western horizon in this view from Sunshine Meadows.

 

Quartz Hill (left) and Quartz Ridge look resplendent in the afternoon sun.

 

	The afternoon sun shines on Mount Bourgeau as Zosia follows a snowshoe track back to the ski resort.
	Zosia is about to leave Sunshine Village and descend the ski-out.
	Total Distance:  21.5 kilometres Round-Trip Time:  8 hours 23 minutes Net Elevation Gain:  726 metres GPX Data