Work Block At TLH

I just finished up a two week work block at TLH Heli-Skiing.  For our first group, I was surprised when I greeted the guys from Mountain Life whom I know from Squamish, and some people from Europe at the helicopter.  I could tell it was going to be a great week with our crew.  In true Canadian style after doing the beacon training, we played hockey out on the lake with the sun setting in the mountains, and beers in the cold.

(Photo Above:  Mountain Life Magazine Crew and TLH Guides and Staff Hockey Tournament)

We had tricky conditions to find snow, but we made it work, skiing some of our biggest tree lines and some really cool big features.  We managed to find pillow lines, cliff hucks, half pipes, and fall away rollers immediately.  Even more amazing is the area's we made it into that don't get skied on a regular basis such as The Matrix, and some steep runs called African Tribesman.  Check out the great online feature on Mountain Life from their trip here.

(Photo Above:  Your's truly around the White Cross area.  Credit:  Todd Lawson)

(Photo Above:  Heli Landing underneath some of TLH's "smaller" alpine features.  Credit:  Todd Lawson)

Fast forward through the next group cruising big alpine bowls, blasting steep trees and skiing fast open runs to the third group.  With new snow falling and the storm still going we went searching for long tree runs.  Those snow geeks out there will note that the storm came in covering the January 23rd Surface Hoar and Facet layer, and within our tenure we didn't see a large amount of natural activity, although one avalanche failed on the January 04 Surface Hoar layer.

(Photo Above:  Snowboarder shredding 'Puerto Rico' in the Taylor area)

(Photo Above:  GoPro's, mountains, and really big toys  Run:  Tahiti Bite.  Thanks Lorenz Muggli!)

When the sun broke again we were lucky enough to have amazing views, and good stability, which translated into shredding really cool runs!  It's important to know that every week at TLH is steep week, if conditions permit, and we got on stuff that was steep and aesthetic.  Chutes, big faces, massive alpine features and bowls, stoked to be out so far in the coast and have the chance to ski all this amazing terrain.  Especially happy when the conditions lined up to drop into a line that was 45 degrees, full of pillows and great cliff hucks, in perfect thigh deep powder.

(Photo Above:  One of our guys squeezing in the last of our light for the day)

(Photo Above:  Heli-Ski Sightseeing while skiing between Ethelweard and Icemaker Mountains)

Now, I got a week off for some rest and relaxation, along with some Ski Touring!  Stoked on shredding at work and at home!
Vertical Skied on Shift:  62,025m (203,494 ft)

TLH Setup

Just got back from an incredible few days up at work.  The goal of the week wasn't to guide but to get everything ready for when guests arrive.  We ended up flagging helicopter landings throughout the entire tenure, dug snow profiles everywhere possible, and "tested" the snow with our skis as well.

(Photo Above:  Snow info exchange, then.... skiing)

The goal of digging lots of snow profiles is important, and I like to do this myself throughout the beginning and rest of the year so that I can make better plans in regards to avalanche hazard, weather, and terrain.  Areas such as the Whistler Blackcomb area are very different than say for example the Steep Creek Area, Brandywine, or Coquihalla even though they are all in the Coast.  They are all subject to different weather, see different temperatures, snowfall amounts and weights, along with wind and sun.  So flying around the massive tenure is important, just the same as travelling throughout all your regular mountain ranges to gain relevant snowpack information is.

(Photo Above:  Yes this is work, what line to ski?)

(Photo Above:  Ski Tech and Aspirant Guide Ben in the early morning light, already way out in the Ochre Range)

Day 1, we saw a bit of snow around 2cm, and the rest of the day was mostly broken sky.  But we still got lots of stuff done, skied some runs, and dug a bunch of profiles.

(Photo Above:  Our Operation Manager cruising off after we finished our test profile, North of the Dickson Range.)

(Photo Above:  Fasp Peak Couloir, Salal Creek Area)

Day 2, was stellar.  Unbelievably beautiful weather, high quality hero snow, no wind, cold temps, and fuel to burn.  We skied runs in nearly every sub range, dug 10 profiles, ski cut, ate amazing food, checked out some great terrain for potential ski descents, and flagged a large part of the tenure.

This year is looking up to be a great one!  Happy New Year everyone!

December Skiing

December.  TLH Guides Training, teaching avalanche courses, ski touring, some Heli time, and a few days of guiding make for little time to blog.  Getting out as much as possible in the mountains for work or play is soul soothing.  The challenges behind access, navigation, avalanche hazard, decision making, etc, is what drives the motivation and is kept by experiencing something new each day.  Here are some photos to show you what's been going on...

(Photo Above:  Re-Fueling the Heli for the first day of Heli-Skiing)

(Photo Above:  Just a bunch of Guides hanging out on the Hurley area near Tenquille Mountain)

Lucky enough to get a break in work and getting out in the mountains for myself has been just as good.  Christina Lusti, Jason Kruk, and I got out for a pow slashing day on Mt Cayoosh to go ski the Million Dollar Couloir in the increasingly high quality snow December had brought us.  We were fortunate enough to break trail the whole day, not seeing another soul, and even found the snow on the glacier to be filling in nicely.  It was good to be among friends harvesting DEEP powder.

(Photo Above:  Christina Lusti cruising over to Million Dollar Couloir)

(Photo Above:  Jason Kruk harvesting some DEEP snow before dropping into the Million Dollar Couloir)

There have been more people heading to the mountains this year, again.  Days, weeks, and months of time spent in the mountains make them home, introducing people to them and seeing their respect grow is amazing.  It's good to see people's interest grow in them, so there are more people out there to protect them, and ensure they stay wild.

"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity..." - John Muir

Becoming An ACMG Guide

There's always a lot of smoke and cloud around the rumours, legends, and stories from candidates going through the ACMG programs on their way to become Ski, Rock, Alpine, and Full Mountain Guides.  Some are true, some are embellished, some are just a product of a previous generation.  There is no question that it is a hard process run by hard people, but the goal of every examiner and instructor is to produce the best of the best guides the industry could ask for.  At last with the final words saying "pass," and a few emails on inquiring to how the process has gone, as well as what potential aspirants should expect, I thought I'd put down the entire process I went through on digital ink.  (Photo Below:  Early morning heli-prep on the 212, before flying into the final exam venue.)

Many people who are thinking about going through the process don't know what to expect.  Expect everything, and expect the unexpected, but go in confident in your abilities.  The high's and low's, uncertainty, self doubt, and personal conflict is exactly what you should expect when trying to become an ACMG Ski Guide.  Throughout the process you are skiing the best terrain and snow possible for the conditions at hand, while being closely scrutinized by mountain guru's who somehow see through mountainsides and around corners.  It is your goal to become the elite all-knowing guide, who even if he or she makes a mistake, it is so quickly corrected it might as well have never even happened.  And after years of training, avalanche courses, work experience, thousands spent traveling to distant remote mountain ranges, and somehow make it through your exam, you earn the right of being named an apprentice on your way to working and completing another exam to obtain the title Full Ski Guide. 

(Photo Above:  Massive amounts of trip planning pre-exam, from custom maps, satellite photos, historical photos, trip reports, etc)

The process started for me years ago heading out on trips into the mountains for days on end, completing large traverses, ski mountaineering descents, ascending peaks, and repeating throughout the rest of North America and internationally.  I started with friends who have gone through the same process, shared tents and snow caves beside people who I trust with my life, and learned how to learn and enhance my mountain craft alongside them.  Skiing and completing a ski resume has taken me all over the world.  From Canada's epic Waddington Range, freezing in the Rockies, sipping wine and skiing through the Alps in France & Italy, among countless other places.  A trip that stands out was in May 2008.  Ty Petrusic, Jeff Van Driel and I made our way across the Garibaldi Park Traverse, doing the entire traverse primarily in white-out, little food, had a wolverine break into our food cache only then come back to smell our heads as we slept that night, and watched size 3 avalanches rip out all around us as we made our way safely through the depths of the far reaching ranges.  As a result and byproduct, I now have partners (now also guides) I can rely on, and true friends who I haven't just had a beer with but worked and sweated beside in order to stay alive.

Throughout the years professional avalanche courses, forecasting, first aid, and tons of different courses and skill sets became more tools in the toolbox of tricks for mountain travel.  How to sleep outside with no sleeping bag in minus 25, how to build anchors with a stuff-sack, how to look at the mountains and immediately tell where the best quality and most stable snow conditions exist, how to dry your sopping wet gloves overnight inside a tent, the ability to gain vertical and cover vast distances in a short amount of time with the least amount of energy spent in a whiteout through complex glaciated terrain that you've never seen, and trillions of other hard skills to learn.  On the journey to learn these skills many horrible cold nights were endured, desperate days spent in the mountains trying to get home quickly long after running out of food and water, and poor snow conditions were skied in search of powder.  

(Photo Above:  ASG Candidate and Examiner skinning up from the Tijuana Glacier, Frost Fiend Area)

The ACMG Ski Guide Program starts with a competitive application, which requires multiple day tours, overnight's, multi-day tours, traverses, technical descents, summer mountaineering objectives, work experience, first aid, avalanche courses, and all must be in varying locations in the high alpine on glaciated terrain in different snowpacks through the Coast, Interior, Rockies, and other areas.  If you can manage muster together a resume built by a full-time ski bum, it still better be impressive, as the bare minimum is hard to get away with and the program typically involves a competitive edge to be accepted into.  Every time I skied deep blower snow in the Selkirks, Purcells, or really anywhere, I always asked myself is this worthy of mention on my resume; every ski mountaineering peak was an easy decision. 

After getting accepted on to the program, candidates complete an alpine skills course in the fall, covering technical rope work, crevasse rescue, and being walked up a glacier in poor vis while roped with a foot of wind transported new snow covering bottomless crevasses to negotiate the hazards in poor conditions.  After that, a mechanized skiing course involving more crevasse rescue, avalanche rescue, victim extrication, avalanche forecasting and stability analysis, downhill ski guiding, dangerous terrain management, treewell management, and a slew of other operational concerns regarding helicopters, snow cats, and lodge work.  Then while your head is trying to recover from it's gluttonous overindulgence of mountain know-how, it gets packed with even more knowledge, as you continue onto the ski touring course.  The ski touring training involves more stability and avalanche forecasting, field weather forecasting, trip and route plans, glaciated travel, uphill track setting, hazard management, client management and care, navigation, cornice hazard, lightweight rescue systems, unplanned overnight stays, and tons of other touring concerns.  All this, and "if" you do well, you will be recommended to the Apprentice Ski Guide Exam.  Oh and one other thing, ski like a rockstar, because if you don't you may not make it through the process and may be held back.

(Photo Above:  ASG Candidate evaluating the lead below Mt Sifton, Rogers Pass)

The exam itself is stressful.  You are being evaluated 24 hours a day for 9 days, on professionalism, hazard management, mountain sense, client care, etc.  Each day has daily feedback that will either put you at ease, or fully throw you, but will help you no matter what.  After flying back to civilization from your 1 of 4 various remote mountain range locations where the exam is being held, you get an interview, and are sent on your way to over-think, stress-out, re-live, and pray that you've passed for the next two weeks.  

(Photo Above:  ASG Candidate hard at work Oyster shucking, Coast Range)

That being said, there is still a large component of fun, despite what you may be thinking so far.  Every course and the exam is all about skiing, and not just skiing, but skiing the best quality and coolest terrain you can find.  On the mechanized course, I was told by an instructor, "I am your client today, I ski well, I am here to ski.  So ski fast and don't stop, I want to go fast."  We skied a 550m tree run through perfectly spaced trees, complete with fallen trees perfectly perpendicular to the slope to launch off, while doing Super G turns and going only as fast as our skis would carry us.  On the exam we skied numerous first descents including the first descent of Dom Perignon to 50deg, and climbed massive alpine ridges through vast sums of terrain, while guiding our cook for the week around.  Let's not forget the mid-week fresh Oyster Heli Drop, straight from Princess Louisa Inlet, into the depths of the Vayu/Frost Fiend area.  

(Photo Above:  FD: Dom Perignon To 50deg (top) average 45deg, 360m, credit:  Deanna Andersen)

Yes a hard process, but an amazing and gratifying experience in itself.  It is the true step away from being the expert recreational backcountry skier to the professional.  Overall, the process is very similar to a University degree (Master's at Full (any) Guide Level, PHD at Mountain Guide).  Schooling is just as intense, may take longer, and really in the long run never ends with continuous updating courses.  However, after passing and gaining work, you rock a gore-tex suit instead of pin-stripe, commute by helicopter instead of bus, water-cooler talk is over the radio, risk mitigation involves explosives and ski cutting rather than a high rise boardroom, and you probably will never own a briefcase.  

The Office - Beautiful Selkirks

Courses completed this season for a full on year of studying:

CAA ITP (Operations) Level 2

ACMG ASG