MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Fall 2020

46 I add vertigo to my laundry list of struggles, muttering expletives as I attempt to buy just one solid turn. ALLISON KENNEDY DAVIES We arrived at a colourful string of Tibetan prayer &ags and a victory bell to ring on the summit. Our lunch spot would have provided stunning views had things not been so socked in. We refueled and readjusted equipment, removing skins, rebuilding boards until we were ready for what we’d come here to do. !e top section of the run was everything I’d hoped for: thigh-deep powder, a mellow incline and a wide-open bowl to do big sweeping turns. It didn’t last nearly long enough, naturally. We agreed to head back up for a second run, even though we were "ghting for time. We didn’t reach the summit before transitioning to ride back down in more powder. Life was good, until we got to the &at treed area that stood between us and the in-bounds cat track down. I’d been cursing cat tracks since I landed, but my angst was at an all-time high now. For the "rst time in my entire life, I wished I was on skis. !e ensuing 45 minutes wasn’t pretty. It involved me using Louis’s poles, Louis towing me out of snowy dips and at the bitter end, me riding the struggle bus hard until the gondola was in sight. We made it. We’d done it. I’d asked to be challenged and I can guarantee you, I was. Alive and exhausted, we headed back to the Kicking Horse River Lodge to crack a beer and hail a taxi (our legs were done) for our ultimate destination: jam night at !e Wolf’s Den. Exhausted but happy to be alive, we pulled ourselves together for !e Howl. It was Australia Day—which might as well be a B.C. holiday—and the bar was packed. We’d also heard from !e Wolf’s Den bartender, Mellie, that the "nal must-do on our list was a Shaft—a legendary espresso-based cocktail at a semi-seedy spot called !e Riverhouse. Mellie took us there, post-jam. We were barely in the door when I spotted Louis at the bar. He pointed at me with an ear-to-ear grin layered with extra meaning after the su$erfest he’d witnessed hours before. It seemed "tting to buy the man a Shaft. And just like that it was time to go. We retraced our steps to Calgary, my mind reeling. Golden had my heart, Rudi’s had my number, and I honestly I just wanted an encore with less nerves, more preparation and some joyful anticipation. I set out looking for a challenge and I got it. !e Kicking Horse backcountry has so much to o$er—and with a little help, you too can accept the challenge (and the ass-kicking) that comes along with it.