Steep Creek is a fantastic backcountry skiing area that offers some of the quickest and easiest access to high-elevation skiing and snowboarding in the Sea-to-Sky region. A wide variety of terrain choices range from mellow tree runs to steep 600-vertical-meter death-defying big mountain lines with tight chutes, big cliffs, mandatory airs, and no-fall zones. During more dangerous avalanche conditions, there are also tree runs to be had up here, but the main draw to Steep Creek is the big, steep, high-alpine terrain.
Accessible from Duffey Lake Road (BC-99), the trail climbs from 1,140 meters on the shores of Duffey Lake up to 2,200 meters at the ridgeline in just 9 kilometers, providing good bang for your buck on a day trip. The first 4 kilometers of the trail are passable and usually tracked in by snowmobiles, which makes for quick walking, but the sledders generally stay away from this zone because they aren’t able travel through the tight trees to get up into the alpine terrain.
At the 4 kilometer mark, the trail enters the trees and follows the creek another 1.5 kilometers before arriving at Darkside Lake, which is surrounded by long, steep, mouthwatering, rideable lines. It is also home to very large avalanche paths and should only be ridden with very good stability and an expert group.
To the west of the lake the usual skin track climbs steeply up through trees to gain the lower ridge before turning to the south to climb up toward Darkside Peak. From here, if the conditions and experience/ability levels permit, it’s possible to walk along the ridge toward Steep Peak directly east of the lake and pick a line down anywhere in between. If not, there are less intimidating runs to ski off the lower ridge into the Darkside Lake drainage or into the valley on the west side of the lower ridgeline.
Backcountry skiing is inherently dangerous, and skiers and snowboarders may encounter significant hazards in this area, including but not limited to various types of avalanche terrain, cornices and tree wells. Be prepared and stay safe.
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