Sunshine Meadows

Trip date: Wednesday Mar 08, 2023

Submitted by NotDeadYet

Particpants:

Just me

Discussion:

The tour to Citadel Pass via the resort and Sunshine Meadows is another favourite of mine. The forecast was for sun and no wind. It was right on, but a cold -21c to start.
The 5km and 500m elevation gain up the Sunshine ski out was a slog, but outside the resort boundary, there were the usual great views and no people. I followed a rough skier track to the base of Quartz Mountain for extensive views further south over Citadel Peak. On return, I was early enough to ride the Gondola down for free. The alternate ski-out is a long snow plough for me on light touring skis (fun and easy on downhill gear). A very scenic 7 hr day for 16km and 800m elevation gain of actual skiing.
This scenic tour has some avalanche hazard which can be mostly avoided. It can also be extended to Citadel Pass for views of Mt Assiniboine. This is a 31km and 1100m gain day, which took me 10.5 hours last year car to car(9 hrs more usual).