Slackcountry - Using resort lifts to reach a backcountry area - i.e hiking to an area outside the ski boundary from the top of the resort's lifts. As opposed to Backcountry where altitude gain is done entirely by foot and is not within a resort boundary.

As I write this, Revelstoke's out of bounds victim tally stands as follows:

* Two dead
* 13 nights spent outside
* 12 helicopter rescues

It's a haunting reminder of how easily things can go wrong outside the ski boundary, when people head out unprepared, without the right gear, or in stupid conditions.
It also weighs on your mind when you duck the rope for a hike out of bounds, even if it's just outside the controlled area.

Click read more for my perspective on hiking out of bounds.



One of our regular places to hike is up to the Mt MacKenzie summit, just outside the resort boundary. To get there, you have to endure a 10-15 min slog up to the sub-peak, then haul butt for 25 mins or so out along a ridgeline before another slog up to the top of MacKenzie. All up the walk is anywhere from 45 mins to an hour, depending on speed and visibility.
MacKenzie itself is outside the avalanche-controlled terrain, but gets a hammering from skiers because it's close enough to walk to and you can hook back to the gondola easily, meaning you don't have to hike out.

Despite the traffic, it's still uncontrolled terrain on a steep face, which, if nothing else, sews seeds of doubt in my mind whenever I hike out there.

When was the last fall? What did the avalanche report say? Why don't I have a beacon?


Hiking to the top of the sub-peak is one thing, you are still within the resort boundary and know that the only thing you have to worry about is riding down safely, navigating the gnarly chutes, comfortable in the knowledge that the snowpack isn't going to slide out from under you. But as you hike out to MacKenzie, with the eerie silence that comes from such an isolated place, you have plenty of time alone with your thoughts for the doubts to creep in.


Looking out along the ridge towards Mt MacKenzie

When was the last fall? What did the avalanche report say? Why don't I have a beacon? Oh that's right, I can't afford one...

You arrive at the base of MacKenzie, wondering if it'd be better and safer to drop in where you are. But the best lines are taken, and as you look up to the peak you spot your perfect run, wide, open, untouched powder, and the doubts you have slide to the back of the mind.

As you hike up towards the summit you're working hard, but still conscious of the snowpack - how is the snow responding to your foot? Does it look stable? You try and draw on the things you've heard about snow safety, but without proper training it seems like a silly risk to be taking.

You make it to the top, breathe heavily and soak in the views. There's only one way down now, so you might as well make the most of it. As you strap in you make a decision: 'I'll just boot it and hope for the best'.

The beauty - and danger - of slackcountry is that as soon as you start the run the adrenaline kicks in and you forget all your concerns. What could go wrong? You're riding the best line of your life, again! That beautiful floating, surfing feeling kicks in as you lean back and open the board up, pointing it straight down the steep, steep vertical and bomb down the face, drawing open S turns across the previously untouched face.


Fresh lines down MacKenzie face.

You scream, shout and whoop and get lost in the moment; it's a rush that has few equals in the world.

The feeling of being completely in the moment, the adrenaline, the pure magic and the realisation that I was exactly where I wanted to be.


It's at that point you decide whether or not the risk, the effort and the time, was worth it. Overwhelmingly, the massive smiles, the cries of pure, unrefined joy, the laughter of someone who has had a life-changing moment, say yes, it was.

There's a couple of points to this story, and they should not be overlooked:
1. While nothing has gone wrong with us, plenty of people have been found out in the backcountry. Yes, MacKenzie sees a lot of traffic and is a comparatively safe area to hike to, but for those wanting to head outside the resort boundaries, make sure you know what you're doing. Always travel with someone experienced, get the right equipment and for the love of god, pick your day. Two people died because they chose a bad spot on a bad day, use your brain.
2. The saying 'Earn your turns' is bang on, if you put in the effort you'll be rewarded with some amazing lines, breathtaking moments that you'll never forget. I sure as hell will always treasure the memory of my first run down MacKenzie, the feeling of being completely in the moment, the adrenaline, the pure magic and the realisation that I was exactly where I wanted to be.