At the parking lot getting ready to head out by loading up the last of our gear and setting up the pulks.

This trip was with the CSMC. During the winter before this trip we had been out on quite a few trips with them as a lead up to this. I was glad to be accepted for this trip despite my skiing ability. The original plan was to ski all the way up the Saskatchewan Glacier onto the Columbia Icefield before ascending Castleguard Mountain. That way there was very little terrain that was steep at all and so therefore I could ski it all. We didn't end up going that way, we went up the headwall on climbers left side of the glacier up to Castleguard Meadows and from there onwards. But I ended up being able to ski up and down that slope anyway. Though I sure wasn't so happy about it. Haha. It was character building and hopefully improved my skills.

This trip felt very epic to me even though I know it wasn't. It was the first summit by ski touring, only by third mountaineering ascent, and my first time winter camping.