Backcountry Lodge Ski Touring in British Columbia
Above Burnie Glacier Lodge
6 years ago we started ski touring. It all started when we took my dad to a summer hiking lodge, Whitecap, to have some more logistical support in case there was any medical issues. One of the guides, said, if you can ski reasonably well, and enjoy hiking, you should be ski touring. As someone who grew up in the prairies and learned to ski as a adult, I had this uninitiated idea that backcountry skiing meant doing things like DOA at whistler, which we didn’t feel ready for. But with the encouragement that next winter I bought the gear for us, reached out to a local (legend) guide, and we haven’t looked back. At first we were lucky if we could link 3 pow turns together. Stubbornness, or perseverance if I want to be generous, is a strength of ours. So now matter how embarrassing it was to fall repeatedly and search for your poles in deep powder we kept it up. Some bigger skis were in order. I signed us up for a couple lodge trips we had no business being on. We pre-drank far too much water, went to bed before everyone, got up early because everything from putting liners in or getting boots on seemed to take us twice as long as the others. We didn’t touch alcohol and prayed that we could somehow keep up. Rolling into transitions, exhausted, getting a bit of water, throwing some snacks into my pockets and trying to rip the skins off fast enough. Cursing myself when I rolled out of the transition still with my boots in the wrong mode or helmet still on. Despite all this, we loved every minute of it. Over the years the falling stopped, the descent becomes blissful, and frankly resort skiing becomes a training mode more than anything else. Backcountry skiing is the essence of skiing, the mediative time on the skin track, seeing the mountains at their wildest, then skiing down through untouched pow. It’s therapeutic. A lot of other travel has been sacrificed for ski touring, and we have no regrets.
One of the best ways to backcountry ski in BC is at one of the multitude of backcountry ski lodges. They are comfy, you can dry your boots, the food is cooked for you, the guides are dialed and know the terrain and snow conditions really well. You just have to show up and crush pow. Here’s where we’ve checked out:
Whitecap: our most frequented spot. There’s no glacier skiing here, but good variety of terrain, really nice team, excellent food program and super dialed operation. They are also really close to home, and run short trips so easy to squeeze into the work calendar. A bit drier snowpack than whistler backcountry, we’ve had some really deep, great days here.
Sol Mountain: Flights out of Cherryville in the Monashees. This place gets tons of snow early. Pre-season tree skiing with cold smoke. The lodge is top notch, think indoor toilets, showers, excellent food program, great family hosts, can’t go wrong.
Burnie Glacier: Our first lodge trip, learnt what breakable crust is. Fly up to Smithers (gem of a northern town) then catch the heli in here. Big mountains, great circuits available, need to return here now that we know how to ski!
Selkirk Lodge: This place has absolutely epic sunsets. Alpine terrain is ridiculously good and varied. Comfy lodge, although no sauna and you might have to haul snow buckets
Sorcerer: Well situated in the Selkirks as well, great mix of alpine and tree skiing right out the lodge. Need to get back here in April and give Iconoclast a shot. Reliable transfers, but no internet for the folks like myself who can’t completely get away from work easily.
Callaghan Journeyman Lodge: Accessed by cat/sled or human powered, somewhat of a hotel in the backcountry type spot, a bit different from the others, good skiing to be had though. Can also bring friends/family who Nordic ski, that was our move.
Hilda Hut: Our only kootenay lodge so far. Great tree skiing and avalanche paths. Comfy lodge too. We got hemmed in with avy conditions though, which can happen here I’ve heard.
Battle Abbey: Since our visit it is under new ownership and has been remodelled, now looks quite posh. Some steep, wild lines to be had here, really in the heart of the range, legendary former owners. Tricky valley to fly over to get in though, our longest delay of 3 days was here.
Purcell: Another more plush lodge, en-suite. Not quite as much skiing to be had but I’ve heard they have opened more routes. Great views over to Sir Donald, was absolutely frigid the trip we had here. No good wax for -35.
Chatter Creek: technically not a backcountry lodge, but they have a very solid cat assisted touring program. Cat drops you off near runs/zones where there is no cat path, and you get some really good skiing, often superior to the pure cat folks (at half the price). Solid option as their terrain is really good. Definitely not the same chill vibes as the pure backcountry lodges though.
Mistaya and Durrand (SME): We haven’t skied at either spot, but did the summer program with one in-law at each. Can definitely speak to both being very nice lodges though, top tier. Mistaya has a reputation for being a bit mellower, but we’d like to see for ourselves some day, and well Durrand quite the opposite.
