DAY 5 12/05/2015 AVALANCHE PATH.

We have been skiing rope-less for the whole morning and enjoyed the freedom of it. The weather was just perfect today! Considering our slow progression so far, we definitely needed ''Mother Nature'' to cooperate. Our plan was to ski towards the Southern part of Sawyer and we knew that an important challenge lied ahead of us.

We needed to ski up a mountain pass before going down on the other side and connect with South Sawyer. We reached the pass around mid-day where we leaved our sleds and ski freely in order to recognize the way down. It was always tricky to plan a route from above… and especially on a narrow pass where we didn't have much options. We decided to strap our sleds so they had a catamaran shape. With this system, we had a better control when we went down and the sleds were more steady.

The upper part went well and we felt in control. However, further down, we discovered a recent and massive avalanche track. A huge side of the mountain has slided to the bottom of the glacier. On the way down, we were quite anxious. It was narrow and we feared the mountain on the other side. We had to hurry. Moreover, it was getting warmer and warmer. This south exposure faces got most of the sun. It could be fatal if a similar snow patch disconnect from the top as all the snow would consequently collect in the bottom of this narrow valley. Bad moment. Away from the danger, we took a break and looked back feeling lucky.