Well, it's not quite like going through the ringer, but some folks might say that going through your training and examinations to becoming a certified guide is a tough (both physically and mentally) endeavor. Right now I am in the middle of teaching the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) Ski Mountaineering Guides Course based near Whistler, British Columbia. This program entails candidates learning and showing proficiency in various ski guiding techniques, including, but not limited to, snowpack assessment, crevasse rescue, skinning, short roping, downhill guiding...you get the point, a wide variety of backcountry skiing skills. It takes years of personal experience and prerequisite course work such as avalanche training and wilderness first aid, to even get accepted to the program.
I have gone through the ringer. I have done all of my trainings and became certified in Alpine, Rock and Ski guiding, and it took me quite a few years to do so. On average, it takes most candidates tens of thousands of dollars to put them selves through the program and about 3 to 5 years to complete the entire certification process. In the end, it kind of adds up to a PhD in mountain travel. So if you ever wonder why you should hire a certified guide, it is because someone has put them through the ringer and checked to see if they have what it takes to travel with people safely in the mountains.
We have just finished the first few days of the program, and it was greeted by about 80cm of fresh snow in the Whistler region. Wet and wild to say the least. The first two days were in heavy snow and concentrated on technical skills, and not so much skiing and touring.
Day 1's first objective was avalanche beacon tests to see if candidates could find and extract 3 avalanche beacons buried about a meter deep in under 7 minutes. The second test was the construction of rescue sleds and subsequent lowering of a victim down a few sections of steep slopes.
Day 2 focused on crevasse rescue techniques.
Day 3 (today) was about getting out and touring and some rope work on steep technical ascents as well as guiding a few technical descents.
Here are some shots...I have to go to sleep to wake up and do it all again tomorrow! Everyday we meet at 7 am and our end of the day meetings have been finishing at 7pm...and then the students have to go do their homework assignments!
Find that beacon! Probing for a buried target.
Pete Keane bringing us up through rock steps on Blackcomb Peak
Rob Hess tells us how to guide between bites of PB & J on the summit of Blackcomb
Candidates lead us up through some glaciated alpine terrain on Decker Mt.
Ski descent of the 9th Hole on Decker. Can you say 40 degree blower pow?
Well, it has been the driest winter in about 20 years, so 'they' say. Despite that, every single group that has been here this season (VMT) has skied untracked powder, I am not making that up. Sometimes it was settled out, and at the end of the day a bit moist, but there was always a place for every guest to get some untracked. 2 weeks ago was the deluge that my soul needed. 80cms in 6 days, and 4 of those days were the standard, ultra-light, champagne, make UT snow look heavy kind of days. Here is a link to a video from the group that came in that week.
Ok, finally got a helmet cam, but now my computer is too slow to deal with some HD video...you know what will be next then!
But for now here is a rough little vid to get you psyched on skiing powder again. We had a strong cold front blow through on Sunday night into Monday, and it dropped 30 to 40cms of good old fashioned Kootenay Cold Smoke.
This past week a group of athletes, desingers, product developers and marketing folks from Outdoor Research came up to Valhalla Mountain Touring to try and help push Outdoor Research even further to the forefront of making some great gear. The idea behind the week was to get out during the day ski touring, putting some gear to the grindstone, and then talk about the progression and development of everything at night. In my mind it was an incredible week of getting all of the different people to work together and to see and hear what everyone has to say about the products from the snowpits to the factory floor.
The week was a mix of sunny high pressure, light amounts of new snow, and some touchy days of avalanche activity. Overall, a mix of cold and dry, warm and wet, and a few temperature ranges in between. What could be better for testing gear out? Everyday we all swapped, gloves, pants, coats, etc...and then brainstormed and fine tuned what we put to the test.
But don't be fooled we had a ton of great powder skiing, a few summits, amazing food cooked by Annie, great tunes played by Alex K (VP of marketing) and Jasmin on the uke and guitar, and tons of pics and video to document the whole week.
I gotta say, there is some great gear and some really cool projects coming down the pipes right now from Outdoor Research. Two items of note are the Trailbreakers pants and the Radiant Hybrid Hooded top. The TrailBreakers use a waterproof laminate on the lower legs, and a woven soft shell on the thighs, with huge thigh vents and great pockets - obviously these were made by Uber ski touring/IFMGA mountain guide Martin Volken! The Radiant Hoody is the ultimate cold weather fleece. Highly breathable grid fleece under the arms, and smoother, warmer fleece on the rest, it is a great piece for alpine and ice climbing with its integrated hood that easily fits under your helmet.
During the week, myself and fellow IFMGA mountain guide Martin Volken filmed a few 'How To' videos on common backcountry skills, and we got some great skiing footage to get you stoked. Not to mention some of the new and improved product ideas! It was an amazing experience for me, and a testament to OR's commitment to work with people like you in the field and make some great gear to facilitate some even better times in the hills. Enjoy the photos from OR employee Charles Lozner!
"Hey, nice coat!" "You too!"
"This is how the Swiss eat appetizers. Try it." Martin Volken
Product Development Meetings post skiing
Shannon Lake
Dan, the boss, shows us how to alpine slackline in ski boots!
Yours truly checks out alpine snow stability
Sweet powder bliss in Grizzly Bowl
Classic Valhalla Skiing in Cariboo with Pyramid peak in the background
West coast sales director Dave Mahoney slays some pow
It's a tough job, but someone has to do it...me getting some!
So I finally got some free time to go and check off some classic ice climbs in the rockies. I have been living in Canada for 5 years now, and have never even come close to ticking off some of the most famous ice climbs in the world. The time was now, with a week for me to escape from the comfort of home at VMT, and my good friend T-Tones Touch aka Tony Richardson having a week to escape from Vancouver and the Olympics hoop la.
Both of us hadn't climbed ice in ages so we decided on a quick warm up in Field, BC with a climb of Guiness Gully and the the Extra Stout finish. 6 pitches of soft, warm, and plastic ice allowed us to get in the groove. An early finish and we were off to the ice fields parkway to stay the night at the Rampart Creek Hostel situated within a few KM of some of the most sought after ice climbs in the world.
Number one on our list was the 'show piece' of the Canadian Rockies, the famous Polar Circus. More of a day alpine route in my mind, the climb is only a short half hour walk from the road, but covers up to 10 pitches of technical ice with all of the standard mountain objective hazards to be dealt with, mostly avalanches. With a benign avalanche forecast and moderate temps, we were psyched and woke up early to make sure we had the route to ourselves. Fast travel in the dark via headlamps got us to the first pitch before the sun even woke up. A quick snack to let the light grow and we were off, getting more and more in to the groove with every pitch. Long rope lengths of steep ice led to great fixed belays and before we knew it we were topping out at noon, with a quick series of rappels bringing us back to the truck by 130pm.
We made the 2 hour commute to my sister-in-law's place in Canmore and made a plan to tackle the Sorcerer, labeled as the 'route to do in the Ghost River area if you only have time for one route.' But before we knew it, a deer changed our plans - poor soul, tried to play chicken with my truck and lost, but so did my grill, bumber and headlight. A quick look in the ditch confirmed she was on to the next adventure - which is good because my big sally vegetarian self was not looking forward to putting the deer out of its misery. As fate would have it we left the tailgate of the truck down and lost T-Tones' helmet some where along the way. So a 180 back to Canmore, a stop in the gear store for a brain bucket, and by noon we were clipping bristlers at Haffner Creek. A short walk, plenty of bolts and our egos were massaged by being able to send pitch after pitch of M7 and M8 off the couch. Good times and sore arms brought us back to Canmore to set up to try the Sorcerer again the next day.
Attempt 2 goes smooth as silk, and we enjoy the steep and dry 4 pitches in a spectacular setting. A quick turnaround had us back to Canmore before the sunset.
Originally we had wanted to cap the trip off with Nemesis on the Stanley Headwall, but alas, tired arms, too many early starts and a broken ski binding had us going to Lake Louise to kick and scratch up the classic Louise Falls. A million parties meant we tried our hand on the classic trad mixed line 'Lowe Impact' just to the right. Steep M8 and shitty rock had me hanging my way up, but it was a fun jaunt in a beautiful spot.
The journey was done, missions accomplished and now it is back to life at VMT...
The last week and a bit has allowed me some time to escape the wilds of BC to journey down south to UT. Meetings with the AMGA (American Mountain Guides Association), a visit with my parents and catching up with good friends before I return to my semi-hermit existence at my backcountry lodge in British Columbia Valhalla Mountain Touring.
The last 10 days skiing around Utah has been eye opening - 3 avalanche fatalities in the super dicey snowpack that has seasoned avalanche veterans running scared, and cocky locals pushing the limits. The situation in Utah is this: some early season snow sat around in the hills for weeks of high pressure. This created an extremely weak and faceted snowpack that was then pummeled by up to 80" of snow just over 10 days ago. Huge natural avalanches were popping out all over. Ski patrollers were getting caught in bounds, a few unfortunate people lost their lives. But all the while people are skiing in some wild places, pushing the boundaries of what is safe, and maybe even getting away with it. What gives? What is going on? Is it safe out there?
I have alot of thoughts on the topic, as I am an opinionated, IFGMA Mountain Guide and former avalanche forecaster. I know that I am very conservative, but I have also skied my share of big lines in big committing places. The difference I guess is that I have time on my side - I spend around 120 days a year ski touring. I get my fix, my itch is scratched. But when I come down to UT and see what people are skiing with the snowpack they have, it gives me the chills. The problem right now is that we have what is called a Persistent Weak Layer. This faceted snow at the base of the snowpack isn't going anywhere, and it isn't going to heal very quickly either. People may think it will, but if there is one thing I have learned from my time in the hills, it's never, EVER trust a PWL. They stick around, (hence the name Persistent) and just when you least expect it, WHAM! You are in a big avalanche.
And right now is the time in UT that kind of scares me the most. Avalanches have stopped being triggered on a daily basis, there is no new significant loads, people are starting to ski in more radical terrain, but the PWL is still there. The shallow trigger points are out there, just waiting for the 3rd, 10th or 75th skier to hit the sweet spot and pull out a large unsurvivable avalanche. Yikes. Bruce Tremper had a quote in his "Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain" book that has stayed with me for years now. Since I don't have the book in front of me I will paraphrase. Basically he said if are 99.99% certain that a slope is not going to avalanche, and you ski 1000 slopes with that confidence, then you will get caught 1 time. If I ski a big avalanche slope every day I go out skiing (some days I don't ski any, some I ski quite a few), than that means once every 10 years I will get caught. If I have a 40 year ski touring career, I will get caught 4 times. I don't like those odds. And skiing in avalanche terrain right now in UT is like trying to beat the house in Vegas, but the dice are loaded in the house's favor just slightly.
Part of the bigger picture problem in UT is that skiers here don't regularly ski in a PWL snowpack. The central Wasatch is host to a pretty forgiving snowpack, with the avalanche danger usually associated with new snow wind loading. The PWL doesn't live here very often, it usually just stays at home in places like Colorado. Coloradans are well trained in dealing with the PWL, and they skip through powder meadows, ski the trees, and generally just bide their time until late March/April when the spring conditions start to settle things out. So some folks have stopped seeing slides and are starting to go for it. Maybe an old slide path that has already avalanched is safe - but maybe not. Stop and dig on the reloaded bed surface and see if that PWL is still hiding out.
For now, while I am in UT, I am skiing like a Coloradan. Skiing dust on low angle crust on south aspects during or right after a storm. Steep skiing is confined to TIGHT trees, where on north aspects the powder is soft and deep. LAB (low angle bull sh*t) is the story on sheltered and shady terrain, where I am still having fun, traveling through the hills and staying fit.
Stay safe, dig around, learn about the PWL, and respect it before it schools you.
Kathy proves you don't need to be in the gnar all the time to have fun.
LAB skiing in the sun, so lame, why bother?
It might only be 30 degrees, but the sun was warm and the cold smoke kept getting in my face.
Here is a blog post I wrote up to kind of introduce myself and the lodge for my new ski sponsor K2. If you haven't skied on the new series of K2 skis you are truly missing out. Right now I am starting to amass my quiver, and the first two pairs are in the rotation. My slugger of the line-up is definitely the Sidestash. Not for the faint of heart, it is a bit beefy for weight (a little over 9lbs) but with tip rocker, metal, and some side wall/cap construction, this ski delivers no matter what you are doing. High speed GS turns, quick reaction tree shots, mega float in the deep pow. I am very excited about these skis. I have them mounted with Dyanfit TLT classics for weight savings, and ski them with my Scarpa Spirit 4 boots. The other pair I have is the Waybacks. Super light at under 7lbs, I pair these with my Scarpa F3's for the long, far and fast tours. These skis still float really well at 125mm at the tip, and I barely notice them on my feet. Check out the whole backside line, you won't be disappointed...
Any way, here is my blog post, with some great photos from a few weeks ago by Fred Marmsater, amazing shots!
If you are reading this, you are a die hard skier.And if you are a die hard skier, then you have, or should have, a dream to ski in the backcountry of British Columbia.Long since my youth, I have flipped through the pages of ski mags, and more and more photos of the skiers Shangri-la have graced the pages of those mags.There are a few good reasons for this, and I have come to fully appreciate them over the last 5 years as the manager, lead guide, and now owner of a backcountry ski lodge in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia.
Tucked away in a sub range known as the Valhallas, Valhalla Mountain Touring sits along the west side of the Selkirks. About halfway between the powder skiing meccas of Nelson and Revelstoke, we are graced with the perfect ingredients for backcountry bliss.
First things first, skiing is nothing without the mountains.Even if it snows just a little bit, people will ski the hills, just look at Colorado!The Valhallas might not be the tallest peaks in the world, but the deep lake filled valley bottoms are up to 7,000’ vertical below craggy summits.A few neves and glaciers dot the big peaks, and the snow starts to pile up in October.Not too far from the coast, so the moisture can make it, but far enough away that the storms cool down in temperature, and the air is not arctic cold.High enough mountains for snow to fall all winter, but still low enough that you aren’t sucking wind.Spruce and fir grace the hillsides to give you shelter and soft snow in the gnarly storms, but treeline is gained quickly for widespread vistas on the days when the snow isn’t flying.And the best part of it all?Hardly anyone around to enjoy it.This ain’t Was-Angeles, and there is no fighting the I-90, I-70, LCC, Sea-to-sky highway parking lots.
Every week of the winter a group of about 12 people make the journey up to our place in the hills.And what they get is what I just preached about.In my mind the resorts give us the skills, the ski area boundaries give us a place to test our skills and push ourselves, and the unexploited backcountry of the world, like the Valhallas, is where we go to have our adventures, to make memories and to fulfill our dreams that we started to have when flipping through the magazine pages...
Here’s a few shots to inspire you to get up to the Promised Land of British Columbia.Take a vacation, quit your job, win the lottery, marry a cute Canadian girl (like I did).Do what it takes to lay down some tracks in BC! And stay tuned…I will keep you posted on how it goes up here in powder Mecca.
Skinning up to Rugged Peak
Crown Jewel delivers the goods
First turns off the summit of Rugged with Big sister in the background
Find that beacon! Probing for a buried target.
Pete Keane bringing us up through rock steps on Blackcomb Peak
Rob Hess tells us how to guide between bites of PB & J on the summit of Blackcomb
Candidates lead us up through some glaciated alpine terrain on Decker Mt.
Ski descent of the 9th Hole on Decker. Can you say 40 degree blower pow? 
