Ski Trips
In the winter season we specialize in high end ski touring trips to BC’s finest Backcountry lodges as well as exotic international destinations like Svalbard, Greenland, Antarctica and Europe. In 2021 we added a new array of trips in our own magnificent backyard to appeal to the growing demand for local trips close to home. Trips we haven’t done for years, such as our Wapta, Bow Yoho, Northern Selkirks and Bugaboos Traverses, are world class and have a strong appeal to Canadians especially this past winter when we couldn’t travel internationally. When our borders reopen — and we hope they do soon — we look forward to sharing with our visitors, once again, what we believe to be the Best Skiing on Earth.
This is a complete listing of our upcoming trips.
Heli-accessed backcountry ski lodges
Escape the crowds and stay in a luxury backcountry ski lodge. Access is by helicopter, and all trips are fully guided and catered.
Now booking Winter 2024
Vista lodge is located in the middle of a beautiful alpine meadow at the edge of Vista Lake near the source of Schlicting Creek. Vista has five drainages to ski offering a myriad of terrain choices. Vista is also the portal to the big alpine zones off Cherub Glacier to the west. Strategically located at the center of the Esplanade Range, Vista is equally famous for its amazing spring skiing.
Now booking for 2023 and beyond
Vallhalla Mountain Lodge was built in 1987 before most other backcountry lodges in the Koots were imagined. Best terrain, epic snow fall and perfect temperatures = heaven!
This is the Classic Wapta traverse. An excellent hut system, perfect terrain for traverses, and easy access to excellent ski mountaineering objectives. By March and April the snowpack is settled and the travelling is easy, but with great low-density powder skiing still.
Now booking this coming ski season!
One of Canada’s very best ski touring lodges, Burnie is surrounded by towering glaciated peaks with epic 1500 m runs, and 700 m tree skiing behind the hut!
Sunrise Lodge is located at the headwaters of Wisted creek and offers stunning views of Rockies to the west and Purcells to the south. Sunrise is the southern gateway to the amazing Esplanade range, including Meadow, Vista and Sentry Lodges. Consensus among those who’ve spent time at all four Esplanade Range Huts though is that Sunrise is the best: best terrain, best for storm skiing, and best snowpack of the bunch!
Courses
For backcountry skiers who want to improve their skills for getting out on self-guided adventures, we offer these Avalanche Canada certified courses.
An effective framework for riding safely in avalanche terrain
Our two evening online zoom sessions introduce the concepts taught during the field day. The field day focuses on practical application of safe travel techniques and rescue systems.
Intermediate level decision making in avalanche terrain
This course expands on the AST 1 program with more advanced weather and snow evaluation and, a lot more time in the mountains with our professional guides observing and moving in and around avalanche terrain.
Local guided backcountry skiing adventures at a great price point
Join us on a guided backcountry splitboarding/skiing tour in the Canadian Rockies. An ideal way to get out and see/experience more committing terrain under the guidance and leadership of our fully certified ACMG ski/board guides.
Wild Ski Trips
We have offered ski camps and ski traverses for many years. This season there is an increasing demand for more local trips geared towards Canadian clients, not to mention trips that allow for better social distancing than the huts allow.
Every ski guide I know learned their craft starting with these kinds of trips in the company of others on the same path. Ski traverses and ski camps are where our hearts lie. Even though they are hard work and involve at least a bit of suffering, being in these remote, wild places has an irresistible lure.
This is the quintessential Canadian wilderness ski experience. We fly deep into the mountains and explore a spectacular area from the comforts of a basecamp.
Town-based ski touring out of Golden, BC
Perfectly situated in the middle of the Canada’s best mountain ranges for ski touring. Take advantage of the many excellent accommodation opportunities and enjoy day trips into the Selkirks, Pucells and Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Town-based ski touring out of Revelstoke and Golden, BC
These ski towns are perfectly situated in the middle of the Canada’s best mountain ranges for ski touring. Take advantage of the many excellent accommodation opportunities and enjoy day trips into the Selkirks, Pucells and Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Really “off the grid”
Every ski guide I know started with these kinds of trips. Ski traverses and ski camps are where our hearts lie. Even though they are hard work and involve at least a bit of suffering, being in these remote, wild places has an irresistible lure.
Mountains as awesome as their mythical namesakes
“Rows of glaciers on either side of the valley are lined up one beside the other at varying degrees of steepness, all perfect for skiing. The peaks are towering and rugged. I’ve been to most of the best backcountry ski lodges in the world … Nirvana tops them all for terrain.”
Booking for 2022
North of Rogers Pass is a chain of high glaciated peaks that forms the Northern Selkirks Traverse. We begin the trip near Sorcerer Lodge at Ventego Lake at the base of the south face of Mt. Iconoclast. Over the course of 7 days we work our way northward, exiting either via Stitt Creek or over the Adamants and fly out from Fairy Meadow.
Canada’s Great Haute Route
The Bugs to Rogers traverse is arguably the most coveted ski traverse in Western Canada. It starts with the spectacular Bugaboos and continues across the beautiful northern section of the Purcells, finishing with a high line through the Selkirk Mountains to Rogers Pass.
Kootenay Hut to Hut Skiing
The Rockies are known for the great glaciated hut-to-hut traverses: the Wapta Traverse and the Yoho Traverse (or the “Bow-Yoho” Traverse as it’s also known). Deep in the Kootenays is a completely different kind of trip, the Bonnington Traverse. This is a 3-day (with heli-drop) or 4-day traverse that links alpine and sub-alpine ridges from Ymir all the way to Porto Rico, just a few minutes drive south of Nelson
This is the Classic Wapta traverse. An excellent hut system, perfect terrain for traverses, and easy access to excellent ski mountaineering objectives. By March and April the snowpack is settled and the travelling is easy, but with great low-density powder skiing still.
Comfortable hut to hut ski touring in the Canadian Rockies now booking for this ski season!
We are the Wapta Deluxe experts. For over 20 years we have offered the very finest Bow Yoho traverses. Our clients have confirmed that this is the closest you’ll get to a luxury Euro-style traverse in Canada and certainly on the Wapta. Find out why! Book now!
Ski and Sail
Skiing and sailing seems an unlikely combination. In the arctic regions of our planet, however, are outstanding rugged mountains rising out of the ocean that are really hard to get to except by boat.
Think of these trips like a floating backcountry ski lodge. In evenings we board the ship and eat dinner while we sail to another fjord. In the morning, new vistas new ski objectives await.
Explore the Fjords of Northern Norway from a remote backcountry lodge
– Seiland is a ski touring paradise accessible only by a 3-hour boat trip from Alta. For six days we will enjoy the arctic hospitality of this family-operated lodge and ski the slopes above the nearby fjords, accessed each morning by motorboat.
Explore Northern Norway’s fjords and glaciers
We will spend the week sailing and skiing along the coastal mountains of the Lyngen Alps, on board the s/v Noorderlicht. Our goal: explore the rugged coastline of Northern Norway, with the fjords and glaciated peaks that makes this region so famous.
Ski, sail and kayak tour on the Antarctic Peninsuila
In November/December 2021 we are partnering with Ski Antarctica to provide an unforgettable trip of a lifetime to Antarctica by sailboat.
Ski the Land of the Rising Sun, now booking 2025 and 2026
Japan has formed a legendary reputation for deep powder skiing in January and February. The saying “Don’t Leave Powder to Find Powder” is common in western Canada – why leave Canada when we have the best skiing in the world? Well, Japan is a strong contender, and when you add the incredible cultural experience to the mix it rises to the top of any serious skier’s bucket list.
Explore the Fjords of Svalbard from a sailing vessel
Backcountry ski touring and sailing along the west coast of Spitsbergen in the Greenland sea, 1000 km north of Norway, in the remote arctic Svalbard archipelago. Svalbard is a wild and remote place, yet a land perfectly suited for ski touring and easy to access, with direct flights from Oslo. The only way to visit this region is by sailing yacht; Noorderlicht and Qilak are two of the very best boats for the task.